Hooray For National Puppy Day!

Did you know that March 23rd is "National Puppy Day"?  Millions of

unwanted puppies sit alone in shelters every day and, unfortunately,

many never make it out to enjoy a life of love and security. Instead

of buying a puppy from a breeder or pet store, why not support local

animal rescues like Pet Pal Animal Shelter and save a life today.  If

we are ever going to fix the problem of pet overpopulation, we all

need to become part of the solution...not part of the problem.

ADOPT....DON'T SHOP!


So how does pet adoption work?  Well of course the process is

different from shelter to shelter but, as I eluded to in my last blog

post, here's the basic qualification criteria required to adopt an

animal from Pet Pal.  First, there's the application to fill out

including all of your information as well as contact information for

your landlord and current vet (if either of these apply).  Pet Pal

staff will need to verify with the landlord that it's okay for you to

have a pet on their property and if there are any size limitations or

breed restrictions.  They will also need to verify that all of your

pets (current and/or within the last 5 years) have been

spayed/neutered and kept up-to-date on vaccinations and heartworm

preventative.

 
Along with the application, there is an adoption fee of $200 for all

dogs/puppies and $40 for all cats/kittens.  As a non-profit

organization, Pet Pal Animal Shelter depends solely on these adoption

fees and whatever donations are received from the local community.

When you consider how much it costs to properly care for each animal

(i.e. housing, feeding, vaccinating, spaying/neutering, etc.), it's

easy to realize that the adoption fees and donations barely cover it

all.  However, as huge promoters of responsible pet ownership, Pet Pal

would NEVER neglect or mistreat their animals simply to cut down

expenses.

 
Pet Pal also requires that every person as well as any other pets

currently living in your home come in to be introduced to the shelter

animal in a supervised environment.  This helps to ensure that

everyone in the household is on-board with the adoption and, more

importantly, that all humans and pets get along well with each other

before leaving the shelter.  Of course animal behaviors will most

likely change once in a home environment which is to be expected but,

by observing the initial interactions at the shelter, the staff can

get a pretty good idea whether or not the animal you've chosen will be

a good match for your family and lifestyle.

 
It may seem like there are a lot of "hoops to jump through" to adopt

from Pet Pal Animal Shelter, but these are all necessary steps taken

to ensure every animal goes to a safe home with loving and responsible

pet parents.  The staff and volunteers at Pet Pal all dedicate their

time to love and nurture every animal that comes in and make every

effort to place each one in a FURever home.


So in honor of "National Puppy Day", let me encourage all of you to

consider adopting a dog (or cat) from Pet Pal and keep at least one

more animal from spending another day left behind at the shelter.  If

you can't adopt a new furry friend today, you can still make a

difference by donating to Pet Pal Animal Shelter.  Find out more about

ways to help by going to http://www.petpalanimalshelter.com or calling

(727) 328-7738.


Thank you for taking the time to read this.  Please send any questions

or comments you have for me via email to chrisnorm74@gmail.com.  I

welcome any and all feedback you want to share.


Happy Tails to you until we meet again!