Adopt A Less Adoptable Pet Day is August 12

One of my favorite pet sites, PetFinder.com, has declared this Wednesday, August 12th as “Adopt A Less Adoptable Pet Day.”

PetFinder took an informal survey, asking shelters what factors make it hard to get an animal adopted out. Topping the list at 30% is elderly pets, followed by pets with medical conditions, pets that are victims of breed prejudice (think pit bull or black cats), shy pets and pets that need to be an only pet.

So, you can see why a special day just for these animals would be needed — people usually go into a shelter looking for the cutest dog or cat they can find (especially if they’ve got their kids in tow!). But what about the older cat, or the dog with a medical condition? Though taking on a pet with special needs isn’t for everyone, if you’ve got the time and patience it can really be rewarding!

Having adopted two older pets — our cat Kricket and our dog Honey — I’ll attest to the fact that older pets make great pets! We can’t imagine not having them and after having had kittens and puppies, I’ll say that having an older, “mellow” animal around can be a nice change, and they really are just as much fun.

Have you adopted an older cat or dog or a pet with special needs?

[image: flickr]