Photo by: OakleyOriginals

Carla and Hamlet: Tips to Finding the Perfect Family Pet

by Katya Friedman for "Adopt a Pet.com"
Photo by: OakleyOriginals

Carla’s kids wouldn’t stop asking for a dog. They wanted a pup to love, cuddle and play ball with. After speaking with her husband, Carla decided she would begin the search for a new furry family member.

Knowing this was a big commitment, Carla had no idea how to begin searching. She had heard about the horrors of puppy mills, and she knew there were many dogs at her local animal shelters. She just didn’t know how to go about finding the right one for her family without driving to every shelter and she didn’t have time to do that. It wasn’t until she heard about Adopt-a-Pet.com that she realized the process could be easier than she thought.

Adopt-a-Pet.com is a non-profit pet-adoption web service where thousands of shelters and rescue groups post pictures and information about their available pets. Carla was able to search for dogs based on breed, gender, and other specifics, and find dogs near her zip code. She doggie-shopped by looking at dogs’ cute pictures and profiles, and learning about their personalities and particulars.

As Carla soon learned, here’s what to keep in mind when you’re looking to adopt your next dog: Find a dog whose energy level matches your lifestyle. If you’re a couch potato, look for an older dog with lower energy levels. If you’re looking for a jogging companion, make sure you adopt a hearty dog with lots of energy. If you already have a dog or cat, make sure the dog you’re interested in likes other dogs/cats. It’s essential to learn which dogs are good with children if you have a family, and look for hypoallergenic breeds if you have allergies. Also, think about the amount of training you want to put into your new dog. Puppies are cute, but notoriously more work, while adult dogs are usually calmer and full grown, and many are house-trained.

Many people know about the pet overpopulation crisis, and want to be a part of the solution by adopting their next pet. Often folks want to adopt, they just don’t know how to do it best. As a staff member of Adopt-a-Pet.com and a longtime volunteer in the Los Angeles shelter system, I’ve learned firsthand how significantly the pictures and descriptions of pets on websites help people find their canine match.

Sadly, thousands of adoptable pets never do find a home. With your support of pet adoption we can give more animals the chance to end up in loving homes. I’m happy to report Carla adopted a beautiful Labrador mix named “Hamlet” for her family with the help of Adopt-a-Pet.com. Her daughters adore him and he’s perfect for their household. There’s only one problem: the nightly debate about who gets to sleep with him. Perhaps it will be time for this family to adopt a second dog soon!

Katya Friedman is an active Los Angeles shelter volunteer and the Director of Partnerships and Promotions for Adopt a Pet. Adopt-a-Pet is a 501©(3) non-profit organization

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21 Comments

that is so cool !!!!! my black lab mix when i was growing up i named hamlet aswell

Petfinder.com is also a great website that does the same thing. The important message is that saving a pet is easier than most people think, and you don't have to contribute to shelter-over-population even if you want a puppy. "Make Adoption your first option."

People think that if you adopt a pet from a animal shelter or a rescue group that there is something wrong with it. This is NOT TRUE you can get some great family pets, all ready trained, loving and housetrained. All of my pets come from shelters and rescue groups and I have never had a problem I have been doing this for years.
I would go no other way. They are the love of my life.

There are so many dogs and cats who need homes. I have dogs and absolutley love them !!

The website listed above is good. If you live near an area shelter, that's a place to adopt a pet from, too.

The owners of our local pet supply store usually have anywhere from 6 to 12 pets that they house until they find homes for them. Plus, they have a box in there store for donations such as blankets, dog food, etc that gets sent directly to local shelters...

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We adopted our dog through RAGOM.org. It's great to add a member to your family that needs the extra love.

My last two dogs were saved from being put down at a shelter. Both of them were between 9 months and a year old (estimate). One was completely house broken, and the other almost house broken. Both were highly energetic small dogs that just loved my kids, but were very afraid of men. I suspect they were mistreated by men.
I got around that by treats and patience. They both became "dad's dogs" because of the kindnesses I showed them...

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There are many small community groups that have a specific breed for adoption; it took me a few weeks to find our labrador retriever, she was 4 1.2 years old, trained, spade, and since I adopted her straight from the previous family, I knew about her personality and health issues up-front. How did I find this group? I started asking at shelters, which lead me to others shelters, where the specific breed adoption group had posted their fliers'.

We just adopted a Black Goldendoodle from the Nebraska Humane Society in Omaha. They were amazing at helping us find the right pet for our family. I would highly recommend reading The Adopted Dog Bible written by the people at Petfinder.com both before and after adopting your new pup. It's realistic about the challenges you'll face bringing home an adopted dog, which are different challenges than those you'd face bringing home a puppy from the breeder...

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We considered adopting a dog but after having to dogs that are non-shedding and one before that shed a lot and having allergies we decided to learn as much as we could in picking a new dog to replace our favorite one who was hard to train, hard to brush due to a tough undercoat we decided on a cross bread to make it easier to groom this next dog. We chose a Maltese-Poodle as it would have single non-shedding coat and its being a reddish color the coat is thinner...

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We just recently adopted 17 months old papillion and she is truely part of the family. She is already house trained, walked well on leash, good with grooming and baths. She's great with our kids and learning to get along with the cat. It was really tempting but I am glad now we did not get a puppy from the petshop.

I would recommend speaking with a local rescue group if you have children, rather than a shelter. This is only because the rescue groups that foster animals can generally provide a better temperament evaluation as they have had a chance to get to know the animal. Rescue groups often save animals from the euthanasia line at the shelter anyway, so you are still saving a life. We've had great luck with our two rescue group dogs, and we are fostering one who was dumped in our neighborhood...

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I agree that adopting a dog can be a very heartwarming experience. But, buyer beware. I have spent much time purusing the adopt a pet site and we finally decided on a puppy from Alabama.

First, our dog was not the same dog as the one pictured. It was purely accidental, but be sure to have additional photo's emailed to you.

Also, adopt a pet is just a clearing house for numerous agencies. Research yours carefully to ensure they are reputable...

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I have one problem with adoption... The HOOPS!!!

While I understand the dogs have been rescued - from the mill, from an abusive situation, from neglect - and societies want to make sure the dog is going to a loving forever home, most of the organizations have rediculous requests!!! It is easier to adopt a kid!

For example, when my husband and I were first married and tried to adopt we were turned down because no-one would be home "during the day" to take her out...

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I have two dogs they where given to me, my chihuahua, was given to me for my birthday the other one is a moodle, her owner could not stand her barking, her tearing things , since she is been with me, she stop been nervous, if you are going to adopt a pet that has problems make sure you are going to have the time for them, she is my baby now,

Adoption is a wonderful way of adding a new member to your family. We rescued our two furry babies and would love to adopt more if we had the room!

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