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.

I Don't Like Cats
I don’t like cats. In fact when I first mentioned getting a cat to a few close friends they laughed it off as a joke. Couldn’t be true.
By Pie Robinson5 years ago in Petlife
All Hail the Queen
Some folk think HELL is not real. It is. She lived it. She experienced it. She survived it. For six years, Elizabeth was nothing but a breeding machine. She was kept in the dark in the crate. She attempted to gnaw her way out and in so doing, several of her teeth broke loose. When she became too old and could produce puppies any longer, she was of no use. She was abused. She was neglected. The call came in. Transport had begun. Rescue would take place. She would be arriving at our home. Were we ready? Did we have all that was necessary to make her feel safe, secure and most of all loved? She arrived. We knew her spirit had been broken. She was afraid of touch. She was anxiety ridden. It was as if she had no where to turn. We learned that she did not know how to leave our home. She was unfamiliar with taking a walk. Placing her in a vehicle was the worst nightmare. She associated the travel with being taken to be impregnated. We never took her for car rides. We never took vacation. We could not take the risk. We could not even take her for a vet visit. We actually paid for a mobile vet to assure her she would not be leaving HER home. Gradually, we saw her personality. If she wanted a rub or touch, she would butt her little head into your hand. That was HER permission for you to return her affections. There were other small triumphs. The first time she laid on her back for us to rub her belly. She looked like a big ole walrus. She was our queen. She was Queen Elizabeth.
By de de Cox5 years ago in Petlife
Bantay
Bantay, in Tagalog meaning “guard” or a “guardian”. As a child, I found it humorous that it seems like everyone who owned a dog named him Bantay. It’s almost like a long-running inside joke in the country, where you hear “Bantay, sit!” and he will do just that. The joke was, no matter what, the faithful companion will follow his owner’s command. Without or without “proper” dog training. Because that’s who exactly Bantay was, an obedient dog.
By Pauleth Aviles5 years ago in Petlife
Chester the Chihuahua
It was February 14th 2014, there I was staying with my grandmother after I graduated from military school and I had no real idea what it was like on my own, outside of school. I'd never even have my first job until about next month. My Aunt Nicole, Uncle Bobby and their three children (my cousins of course) needed a place to stay while they were renovating their home for renters in one and remodeling the other home after a bequeathal from Uncle Bobby's mother passed away. They brought along with them one cat and three dogs ( King Charlie a German Shepard and three Chihuahuas; Chester, Chloe and Jack .) to pair up with myself, my grandmother and her three cats( Mon Kitty, Chester the Cat and "Feral no name cat who would only let my grandma pet him" or Hissy). So basically a packed house for a little while until things settled for my Aunt and Uncle.
By Kassy Mannoua Amoi5 years ago in Petlife
The ‘monster’ dog who taught me true love
There’s a reason why Greece’s ancient storytellers imagined mermaids, centaurs, flying horses, women with snakes for hair, and man-eating, one-eyed giants. The magic of the place is so potent that when you visit there even today, those and other fabled creatures won’t seem far from real.
By Katerina Lorenzatos Makris5 years ago in Petlife
Sugar and Spice
The moment I met my dogs was the day that my whole life changed. During my second year of college, I found myself in a very depressed state. I was doing poorly in my classes and was on the verge of being place on academic suspension. My mother wasn't doing very well herself after experiencing a painful breakup on Thanksgiving. One day, my mom woke me up saying we were going to go look for a pet at the PetSmart adoption event that was going on.
By Dylan Shane Arnold5 years ago in Petlife
The Ever Winking Cat
Meet Obi-Wan, the ever-winking cat. Obi came to us through our neighbor, who rescues and fosters cats from all over Oahu. He came to us with the name Bokeh, but this name was weird to pronounce and we already had a dog named Yoda, so it seemed fitting to give him a good old-fashioned Jedi name. Obi was a rescued kitten who had lost his right eye and is completely blind in his left eye. We aren’t sure what caused him to lose his eye or eyesight, and we have never had a blind cat or any animal, but watching him learn to navigate with sound and intuition has been pretty cool. My husband says, "The Force is strong with this one," whatever that means.
By Justin Owney5 years ago in Petlife
YOU RESCUED ME
I want to believe that the owners started out with the best of intentions. They had to consciously decide to buy a breed and puppy, and they had to spend money to care for the animal. One doesn't accidently get pregnant with a pet. Unless he was a stray who wandered into their lives, it was a deliberate decision to become pet owners. Perhaps they started off as responsible owners providing proper food, shelter, water, and love. Perhaps he had a clean, spacious pen with dog toys and bones to keep him company. However, tragically along the way in five short years, something went terribly wrong. The owners took a disturbing turn, and this dog's life was forever altered. This is the story of Roscoe the Saint Bernard from Wyoming, and his daring rescue journey to Colorado.
By Lisa Brasher5 years ago in Petlife
A Tale of Two Kitties
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... There was a boy with a strong jaw who loved animals. It was unfortunate that this boy couldn’t experience the loving companionship of animals because of his mother. When he was 10, his family moved to a small house in Northern Virginia, and there was a cat that would always appear in their backyard. She was a beautiful cat with long gray hair and white paws. His sisters named her Whitesocks. The boy and his two sisters took care of the cat by leaving food and water in the backyard. On the occasion when their mother wasn’t home, they would bring Whitesocks inside. Sometimes they would even sneak Whitesocks inside when their mother was home and bring her to the basement since their mother never went down there.
By SocrateZ5 years ago in Petlife
Keep Swimming
My hands were plastered, maybe even molded against this fluorescent fish tank. My fingers etched against the glass as I stared into the bright, flowy, squirming creators of the sea—how could anybody leave them all alone? I gulped down the breath I didn’t know I was holding in as my fingers grazed the roof of the fish tank. I’ve always been alone since Mama and Papa have left. I wondered how this fish would feel. How it would feel to be shoved underwater, drowning forever in front of an audience that practically snarls at you for being a fish. My eyes swiveled from left to right, left to right, left to—
By Aida Fakhry5 years ago in Petlife
Meeting Prince Charming
I was a sophomore in college and life was looking pretty bleak. My roommate was stuck-up and boring. My love life was incomplete. I needed comfort, a hug to come home to. I needed a friend…
By Jessica James5 years ago in Petlife
Fostering Saves Lives
Take it from a person who currently has got two medium sized dogs and a cat in her studio apartment... having pets is a huge responsibility. It's hard work, sometimes it gets expensive and super stressful. It's the best thing that has ever happened to me but it has also cost me great sacrifices. But all that doesn't matter at all because when I look at my 3 perfect fur babies, the only feeling I have is overflowing unconditional love.
By Martyna Dearing5 years ago in Petlife