adoption
Our guide to animal adoption; learn why, where, and how to prepare to adopt a cat, kitten, dog or puppy from an animal shelter or rescue group.
Adopting a Special Needs Pet
Almost two years ago, I adopted my first cat. Not a family cat, but mine. One I would be responsible for, and who would live with me, wherever that was. A little backstory: the previous year, I had moved away to go to school. I’d tried multiple institutions closer to home, but none really worked for me. Moving away to go to school meant I was on my own for the first time. That first year, I was in a college dorm. The second year, I moved into a studio apartment near campus. Living in a dorm, I had missed having cats around (my family has always had at least one). Moving into a studio apartment, I decided it was time to get my first cat.
By Erin O'Neil5 years ago in Petlife
Crawlspace
The cat was in such bad shape. His toe beans were hard as rocks, his fur wiry, some of his teeth either broken or missing, and his ears and whiskers showed signs of frostbite. I pet him carefully, running my palm over his back, tracing the black stripe from head to tail. He was so muscular it was like petting marble covered by horsehair. He rolled over and exposed his belly. I placed my hand ever so gently on his downy, snowy belly.
By Robin James5 years ago in Petlife
A Friend for Life
Solitary, monotonous and alone. There lay, in an inescapable state of isolation and torment, the very definition of abandonment. There he lay, caged, dishevelled and bedraggled; no loving home to call his own; a history of pain and anguish. I could see it in his eyes, even as the innocent and inexperienced child I was, I could see grief in those bloodshot eyes. Those lonely eyes. Those eyes neglected from love we all so desperately need. His fur soft but matted. Ungroomed and uncared for. This poor pup appeared to be no more than 6 months of age. No- this was not life. It was at this moment, I knew what I had to do.
By Adam Newman5 years ago in Petlife
Damaged Goods
“I hate to say it, but you’re damaged goods,” he said in a gruff, matter-of-fact tone. “You just aren’t what we’re looking for.” I nodded my head, holding back tears, and thanked him for his time through quivering lips. My evident heartbreak must’ve triggered a small slice of humanity in him, and in an apparent attempt to console me, he said, “We’re just looking for people who have it all together. Scars and stuff just make people grossed out, you know?” I nodded, the first tear halted in its tracks by fleeting shock that he could say such a thing to someone who had been through what I had.
By Anna Fischer5 years ago in Petlife
The Wiggling Box
About 6 years ago I saw this tattered brown box on the side of the road. I didn’t think anything of it when driving to work. Honestly, I just rolled my eyes, thinking someone threw it out of their car, and by the time I got to work it had slipped my mind. However, on my way home the box was still there. As I looked and got closer I could see that it was wiggling its way toward the road. With curiosity getting the better of me, I decided to check out the box. When out of my car, I slowly made my way to the moving box peered inside, and discovered that the wiggling box held 9 crying baby kittens.
By Brittany Nicole5 years ago in Petlife
Big Ben's Big Journey
Big Ben's story started in the summer of 2013 when I graduated from high school. My mother was never a pet person yet she cared for animals but would never let me have a pet of my own until I moved out of the house. So I started dating this boy that I had known a long time and I started to stay at his place due to family issues with my mom. This boy and I fell in love and Big Ben was the beginning of our family. We were out and about on one of our million dates we went on and started talking about dogs. I was so interested because this boy had 3 of them. All I wanted was a dog to call my own and to care for. So we struck up a conversation and decided to go look at the local animal shelter to see if there was any possible way we could take a buddy home. We started to walk and look through the different cages and saw dogs of many different sizes. Most of them were younger and would have been adopted in a few days. But then we came across this big golden bear of a dog in a cage and he looked adult but not too old and seemed slightly scared and a little excited. We asked the head of the shelter if we could possibly bring him out and see if he would like us. Within seconds my boyfriend and I fell in love with Big Ben. Clearly so did he because he came up to us and started wagging his tail like he knew us all his life. The head of the animal shelter started crying and said to us that he had been there for almost 9 months and that he was scheduled to be euthanized in 3 days. My boyfriend and I looked at each other and knew immediately what we needed to do. We paid his adoption fee and brought him home to his house because my mom did not allow pets. This caused me to move out with my boyfriend and raise Mr. Benjamin together. He was a chow and golden retriever mix so he had some breathing problems. Overall his health was fine. He was the best dog you could have ever asked for and ten years later I am married to my husband who was then my boyfriend. And in August of last year Mr. Ben reached the age of departure and left us and is an angel in heaven. We gave Mr. Ben almost 10 wonderful years although I should say that he gave them to us. That day, if we never decided to go to the animal shelter we would have never met him. He was a loving and cozy friend and was always there for you no matter what went on in our lives. He will be forever missed and always be apart of our minds and hearts. Long live the golden boy, 'The bear dOge' Mr. Big Ben.
By Samantha Roquemore5 years ago in Petlife
Love And Sorrow
I was never going to have a cat. There’s nothing wrong with cats, but with my allergies, living with a cat didn’t seem possible. Then, in the spring of 2020, a stray cat had kittens in my scrap wood pile. I thought it would be handy having a few cats around the property, so I cut a cat door in the wall of my shop and started putting food and water inside, to encourage her to move her kittens in and stick around.
By Beau Harmon5 years ago in Petlife
Jay
I first saw "dipstick", as they called him, running full blast with no care, a chip on his shoulder, and enough confidence that made me even question if I was looking at a dog and not a college boy. What sold me on him was his attitude to small children, because my grandmother had all of us grandkids at her house all the time it was a must he was good with children. I had been on the look at shelters for a while, I had lost my previous dog to a FedEx truck. I was looking for that connection I had before, and normal shelter dogs weren't working. Even though he was not being fed well, he was infested with ticks, and these people did not want him he still had spirit. This was also a situation that I felt if I did not take him home with me, he would die. He would ultimately meet the same fate as his mother before him, with a bullet to the head.
By Kaysha Mock5 years ago in Petlife
Vicki and Ani
The vastness of the lonely long road ahead of me, that one teacher that disapproved of my homework and announced it to the class as a lesson of what not to do, and shaky hands did not help my anxiety on my way to the first day of third grade. First day of school in Armenia felt like a whole new challenge, my cold grey desk awaited me as did the same students from last year who did not use to choose me for group activities. My grandmother walked with me every day, everyone in our neighborhood knew each other and I got to see the other neighborhood kids walking to school with similarly anxious face expressions. Just the day before, we had been playing tag, building random structures with sticks and stones, and anything else we would think of on the spot. One of the older kids used to walk me up to my apartment on the fourth floor where my grandmother would stand at the doorway shaking her head because I had yet again disobeyed her order to get home early, and by then it was dark and scary for me to walk up the flight of stairs alone.
By Tamara Tatevosian-Geller5 years ago in Petlife
