EDUCATE

Before adopting, we urge you to educate yourself about pet ownership. Bringing a new best friend into your life is exciting, but it also comes with new responsibilities. Understanding these responsibilities beforehand can make the adoption process much smoother, and prevent these animals from being returned to the shelter. Remember that you are adopting a living being that will depend on your care daily!

Educate Yourself: Research, research, research is the name of the game. Books and Internet searches will help in not only finding your perfect pet but also help in raising them. Stop by one of our adoption events to see just how many amazing animals are in need of a good home.
Educate Others: You can help end pet homelessness by getting just one more person to “switch” from “shopping to adopting.” Sharing your story of adopting and how great your pet is can help dispel misconceptions people have about shelter animals. Educate your children, friends, family members and co-workers about pet overpopulation, adoption and the importance of spaying and neutering.

Spaying or neutering your cat or dog is the single best thing that you can do to end pet homelessness. If there weren’t a problem with overpopulation then there wouldn’t be thousands of shelters all over the country.

The ASPCA ( http://www.aspca.org/) shares the many benefits of spaying/neutering:

Spaying and neutering helps fight pet overpopulation. Every year, millions of cats and dogs of all ages and breeds are euthanized or suffer as strays. These high numbers are the result of unplanned litters that could have been prevented by spaying or neutering.
Neutering provides major health benefits for your male. Besides preventing unwanted litters, neutering your male companion prevents testicular cancer, if done before six months of age.
Your spayed female won’t go into heat. While cycles can vary, female felines usually go into heat four to five days every three weeks during breeding season. In an effort to advertise for mates, they’ll yowl and urinate more frequently—sometimes all over the house!
Your female pet will live a longer, healthier life. Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer, which is fatal in about 50 percent of dogs and 90 percent of cats. Spaying your pet before her first heat offers the best protection from these diseases.
It is highly cost-effective. The cost of your pet’s spay/neuter surgery is a lot less than the cost of having and caring for a litter. Many states and counties have established low-cost spay/neuter programs that make surgery easily affordable and accessible. To find a low-cost program near you, search the ASPCA Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Provider Database.