Finding and Adopting the Best Shelter Pet for You

Are you looking for a new fur baby to give a forever home? How wonderful! At any given time, you can find an overwhelming number of pets in need of good homes and families around the country. With pet shelters, humane societies, and pet rescues in most cities, there’s an abundance of cats and dogs available for adoption. A total of 6 to 8 million pets end up in shelters every year, with only around half being adopted. Here at Bayside Animal Hospital, we’re here to help you find the best shelter pet for you during your search for a new furry best friend. Check out our tips for picking out your next perfect pet:

Use our PetFinder Tool

Our new Petfinder tool has a quiz to help you pick your next breed of pet. This questionnaire asks a few questions and suggests a kind of pet that would work best in your home and with your schedule. Simply visit the quiz, answer a few quick questions, then follow the links to start browsing local pet websites and see what pets are currently available. It may take some time to find the pet you’re looking for, but our Petfinder tool makes browsing local pet shelters that much easier.

Determine the Best Breed for You

If you already know what breed of pet you’re looking for, our Petfinder tool can simply link you to local pets available for adoption. Did you know that 25% of pets in shelters are purebreds? While it’s easy to browse local pet shops and pick the breed of your choice, our tool and local web searches make finding a rescue pet in need of adoption from a shelter super easy. We always promote browsing local shelters to find a pet in need.

Be Patient During Your Search

While deciding to adopt a pet can be really exciting, that doesn’t mean you have to adopt a pet today. If you have a specific breed in mind, it’s important to stay connected with your local pet rescues and shelters in order to find the pet you’ve been waiting for. Most shelters will take your information and call or email you when a pet that meets your specifications comes in. Their ultimate goal is to help pets find forever homes, so they’re more than happy to reach out when you’re looking for a specific pet to bring home.

Take Time to Prepare

While doing your research, start getting your home ready for your new furry friend. This should include purchasing all the pet supplies you’ll need, as well as inspecting and setting up your home for the ultimate pet safety. Pets can get into cleaning supplies, food stores, and more. Some plants in your home and yard can be toxic for pets, so it’s also important to be aware of which ones you can keep and which ones to give to friends without pets. This is also a great time to plan where pet beds will go, the placement of litter boxes for cats, and where dog toys and leashes will go, etc. That way, once pets arrive, their belongings will have a permanent place and can be easily used in pet training sessions.

Bring your New Furry Family Member Home

After all that searching and preparation, it will be time to bring your new pet home to be part of the family. Hooray! You’ll be all set and ready, with the proper things in place to make your new pet the most comfortable. Always remember to schedule your pet’s first veterinary visit within a few weeks of their arrival home, and to keep up on annual visits for optimal pet health and disease prevention. We’re excited to be part of the pet adoption process here at Bayside Animal Hospital. We’ve connected with our local shelters to ensure that newly adopted pets get the best care and are in the best of health in their new homes. As always, please call us with any questions about your newly adopted Texas pet at (281) 334- 2273.

Sources: 

https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/adopting-animal-shelter-or-rescue-group