Adopting an Animal

I would just like to put the plea out there:  anyone who can adopt an animal and has any inclination to have a pet - whether it be cat, dog, rabbit, whatever, please do so!  It is a topic that is near and dear to my heart.  I hate to see any animal suffer needlessly, whether that is because they will be euthanized because nobody wants them (how incredibly, heart-breakingly sad), or whether they are stuck in kennels and cages where they may be frightened, lonely, and without the benefit of a human companion.

My thoughts on this are:  we are the ones that have made the world impossible for domesticated animals to live on their own.  They NEED humans to take care of them, and rely upon us to give them a safe place to live, nutritious food to eat, take care of any health issues, and to provide companionship.  Since we have domesticated them, they are our responsibility.  Which means to me that we should all work together to reduce the numbers of unwanted animals - not by destroying them, but by adopting them and giving them permanent homes to live in.

We adopted Argos from a greyhound adoption group local to the Pittsburgh area - Steel City Greyhounds.  They are an excellent group, and very dedicated to matching retired racing greyhounds up with caring adopters.  I truly believe in their cause - and will be volunteering some of my time next weekend to man a booth at the Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show, along with Jeff and Argos, of course.  We will meet the public, let them pet the dog, answer questions, and give them adoption applications and/or brochures if requested.  I'm really looking forward to it, and hope that I can play my part in persuading someone to adopt one of these noble, sweet dogs.

But that being said, I would still encourage people to adopt whichever kind of animal suits them best, whether it is a chihuahua or great dane, tabby cat, or white bunny, and whether you adopt from a breed-specific rescue group  or Tiger Ranch or Animal Friends or Animal Rescue League or the Humane Society - all of these organizations (and plenty more, besides) have animals up for adoption.

We adopted all three of our cats from the Western Pennsylvania Animal Rescue League.  They, like most shelters, are desperate for space, because the numbers of animals are higher than the numbers of potential adopters.  When we adopted, the adoption fees for the two adult cats were reduced by half, as a way to encourage to public to take the adults (kittens have a much easier time getting adopted.)

It is a wonderful cause, so again, if you have it in your heart to adopt an animal, please do so.  You will be saving a life, and possibly even more than that, since an empty cage means that the shelter can take in one more animal that will hopefully get adopted out.