Have you ever wanted to adopt a pet from one of your local shelters? Are you always looking at the shelter's Facebook page and OoOoing and Ahhing over the puppies or even the adult dogs? I can honestly say that was the case with my family just before Christmas. The number of animals that they had during that time tugged at our heartstrings. We were fostering one dog and he just was not a fit for our family and the other dogs that we had in our home at the time. He was an amazing dog but sadly we had to take him back before our foster period was over. Then we found Penny, well at the time her name was Terry.
We fell in love with her and our puppy who we took for a playdate before bringing her home was in love. The two were both a little skittish around each other but quickly opened up when we got them home. So we brought Miss Penny home and we had her home for maybe twenty-four hours when she got sick. Now if your shelter will let you foster a pet before adopting I strongly suggest you do this because when Miss Penny got sick I called the shelter and they said for me to bring her to them. They took her back gave her a look over and decided to keep her overnight. Our family was heartbroken that we would have to leave her there. As was our puppy who is just a few months younger than she is.
They told us to go to the main desk and let them know that way they could extend out our foster period. We went three days without that baby and our hearts were just crushed. My husband had called to find out when we could get her back. They had taken her to the vet and she had stayed the night there as well. Two nights we went without this girl that we had already managed to fall in love with. Then on the third day, my husband called to find out if she was doing okay and when we would be able to come and get her. He surprised our boys by bringing her home that evening. Along with all the medicines and food that had been sent home with her. Our boys were so happy to have her back home as was the puppy.
Our foster period was extended out as a medical foster until after the 1st of January. She had been with us for three weeks by this point and we couldn't think of a time without her. We took her by the office so they could make sure she was doing okay and to clear her for adoption. While the road has been a bumpy one for sure she was ours the moment we brought her home the first time. And when we were finally told that we could take her home to her forever home we were so happy. We paid the adoption fee for her and for the shelter we got her from it was $100.
I will say that she was one nervous puppy when we took her back to get the all clear to adopt her. So if you are adopting an animal from the shelter be sure that you love that puppy the whole time if you have to take the puppy back if it is a medical foster and you are just waiting for the all clear to adopt. That puppy is going to be so nervous. I will say that she has never been the same since bringing her home. There are days that she will drive me nuts because she still needs that constant reassurance that we love her. She has been the best dog for our family. She integrated herself well and quickly.
She sleeps with Doodle Bug nightly unless his room is too messy for her to sleep in there. She is still a puppy even at just over a year old so she still likes to chew. And I'm pretty sure you all noticed that we said that her name was Terry. They say it is easier to change the dog's name if you change it to something similar to what they were used to and I have to say that this did work for us. We were able to change her name from Terry to Penny. She just did not seem like a Terry to us.
So if you have been thinking about adopting from a shelter do not hesitate to call and ask questions. Many shelters have an area that you can go to and play with the animal to see their temperaments. Some shelters will also allow you to bring your animal in with you so you can see how the animals will interact before bringing the pet home. There are so many things that you can do when you look into adopting a pet.
Some questions to ask your local shelter:
1.) Do you foster animals out? *I would like to mention while I have posted this question that if your shelter does foster animals out they are going to ask for a deposit. The deposit that our shelter asked for was actually our credit card/debit card number that way if we did not return her they could charge the card.*
2.) Do you have a play yard that we can interact with the dog?
3.) Are we allowed to bring our pet with us to see if they will get along?
2.) Do you have a play yard that we can interact with the dog?
3.) Are we allowed to bring our pet with us to see if they will get along?
Honestly, these are the three questions that I would recommend most. These are the questions that you are not going to be thinking about when you get there because you will be thinking about all the cuteness that will be around you in the forms of dogs, cats, puppies, kittens. So if you can call before you leave so if you find a pet you would like to foster you will know if A.) they foster animals out and B.) if they do what you will need.
Penny has been an amazing addition to our family and we honestly do not know what our family dynamic would be like without her.
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