Chances are that an animal shelter or rescue group in your area has a pet that's perfect for you!

Adopting a pet from an animal shelter is a way to find a wonderful companion animal to add to your life and help open up one more spot in our nation's overburdened shelter system. Well-maintained shelters provide a temporary home, needed medical attention and plenty of loving care for millions of unwanted and abandoned pets, and help match these potential pets with permanent owners. So how does an adopter choose the right shelter and the right pet?

Shirley Spencer is a pet adoption counselor for Operation Kindness in Texas. She offers her expert advice for picking a reputable animal shelter and then choosing the perfect pet to adopt:

• Consider the shelter. When you first visit an animal shelter, take your time and have a look around. Make sure that conditions are clean, safe, and sanitary, and also keep an eye on the attitude of the employees. Are they helpful and courteous? Do they seem like genuine animal lovers? Are they interested in determining your qualifications as an adopter, or will they give a pet to anyone? Watch for acts of kindness between the workers and the animals.

• Ask questions. Make sure to ask plenty of questions of the shelter employees. Ask them where their animals come from, how they are treated, what kind of medical attention they are provided, and what shots they have been given. Do they have a no-kill policy, or do they euthanize animals after a certain time limit? You'll need to have a good working relationship with the shelter, as it's no simple matter to match the right adopter with the right pet.

• Pet foster groups. In addition to shelters, most areas also have networks of pet fosters who keep rescued dogs and cats in their homes and interview potential adopters. These caring volunteers desperately need to free up space for new animals, and so are a great way to adopt. When visiting a foster, use the same criteria to evaluate them and their home as you would with a professional shelter.

• Don't be pressured. Choosing an animal to adopt can be stressful, and many adopters feel pressure to rescue the first animal they come across. While this attitude is borne of noble sentiments, it's important to choose your pet based on more than just sympathy.

• Spend time with the animal. It's a sad fact that some rescued pets are psychologically or emotionally damaged (the same as some pets that come from stores or breeders), so it's important to get to know a perspective dog or cat before you adopt. Spend quality time with the animal, play with it, take it for a walk, and see how it reacts to you and to other animals. Try to determine if it fits your lifestyle and personality. In many cases an affectionate dog or cat will actually choose the adopter rather than vice versa, so keep your heart open and choose a deserving animal.

For more information about pet adoption, check out the following organizations and websites:

Kitten Rescue Online
www.kittenrescue.org

Pet Adoptions.org
www.petadoptions.org

Petfinder.com
www.petfinder.com

American Humane Association
www.americanhumane.org

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