The history of interaction between humans and domesticated animals stretches back thousands of years. Today, many people keep pets in their home for love, companionship and other reasons. Different types of pets have different needs, so it's important that you do research before adopting a pet into your home. Once you've made the decision to bring an animal into your home, the next step is finding them! Here is a bit of information to help you find the perfect pet.

NOTE - It's not recommended that you look for your new pet at a pet store or breeder unless you have very specific requirements for your type of pet. Please consider instead adopting a pet that is in need of a loving, caring home from an animal shelter.

Animal Shelter

Adopting a pet from an animal shelter should be your first choice when looking for a pet. Animal shelters around the country are overcrowded, and thousands of animals are euthanized each year simply because they can't find homes. By adopting an animal from a shelter, you are saving two lives - the life of the pet you adopt, and the life of the pet that can now be brought into the shelter in your pet's place. Pets from animal shelters are often given veterinary care, and may even be neutered or spayed before you adopt them. Some shelter pets are trained, which can make caring for them much easier. Before any other choice, you should really consider adopting your pet from an animal shelter.

Online

There are a variety of resources online to help you to find a pet to adopt. Many animal shelters have an online database where they post photos of the pets that they're currently caring for. Some of them even have “pet selection tools”, where you can input details about your situation (size of home, amount of free time, budget, etc) and be matched with a pet that will best fit your lifestyle.

Newspaper Classified Ads

Many people still post available pets in newspaper classified ads. In some cases, shelters may even post about their pets in the classified pages. Like with any other transaction, exercise caution when choosing a pet from the classified ads. Always schedule a meet-up in a public location, so that you have a chance to interact with the pet before making the choice to adopt.