By Steve Wilcox Special to Official Kids Mag

Getting ready for a new cat or dog is like taking care of a new family member and ensuring they feel welcomed into their new home . That ’ s especially true if your pet friend is coming from a shelter .

“ The family needs to be ready to let the animal adjust and get used to them . The new family doesn ’ t know what background the animal has had and if people have been nice to them or not . So they need to be very gentle and patient with the animal ,” said Laurie May , shelter manager at Bella Vista Animal Shelter .

The beautiful dog or cat you see at the shelter may act a little differently when you bring them home for the first time . They could be afraid in the new environment , so be sure to take your time making friends with them if they seem fearful or timid . Or , they may be ready to play right away , which is great – but an excited animal can still be one that is afraid .

Ms . May has some suggestions that will help your new cat or dog feel comfortable :

• Don ’ t be too loud or run around them

• Let them be quiet and still if they want to

• Let them come to you when they ’ re ready

• Be sure to take your pet outside if it ’ s a dog or to the litter box if it ’ s a cat

Getting to Know You

It is important to spend the time necessary to make sure your pet knows that this is their home . Some dogs and cats may have moved from shelter to shelter , or shelter to foster home . You want the introduction to what will be their permanent home to go well .

“ If the child wants to be involved ( in home introduction ), make sure that when the dog is comfortable or the cat

is comfortable that they spend quality time playing with them and petting them , make sure they know they ’ re now part of the family ,” said Ms . May . “ There ’ s an adjustment period – it ’ s considered to be three months for the animal to understand that this is their home now . And it ’ s generally three months before you see their true personality , so that ’ s part of being patient with them and understanding .”

At the Bella Vista Animal Shelter , new pet families need to fill out an adoption application . If the family currently has animals , the shelter checks to make sure they are “ fixed ” and up to date on their vaccinations . If the new family is in a rental home , the shelter will check with the landlord to make sure it ’ s OK to have an animal on the property . The shelter wants to make sure the adoption goes well for both the animal and the adopting family .

The Bella Vista Animal Shelter has 24 regular kennels , plus isolation kennels . The shelter usually has about 40 dogs , but right now they have about 60 – that ’ s a lot of dogs ! They also have plenty of cats because cats take up less space than a dog .

Another thing to think about before adopting a pet is how much it will cost to feed and take care of any medical issues . Dogs and cats have to go to the doctor , too .

“ Make sure that it ’ s in your budget to be able to feed the animal and to be able to provide for vet care that they will need in the future ,” said Ms . May . “ Make sure you have time to spend with the animal . If your family is getting ready to move or having a baby , it ’ s not a good time to adopt . You should make sure you ’ re already settled . And another thing that would be good is to make sure you don ’ t have allergies .”

She recommends that potential adoption parents come to the shelter and spend

some time with an animal they want to adopt to make sure they don ’ t have any allergies to either dogs or cats . When thinking about adopting a pet friend it ’ s helpful to plan a longer visit to the shelter to spend time with the animal you ’ d like to adopt before taking them home .

“ Some children who haven ’ t been around animals much , they don ’ t know if they ’ re allergic to them ,” said Ms . May . “ But if they came and played with the animal at the shelter , they ’ re going to know whether or not they have an allergy .”

Hopefully your family has been thinking about getting an animal for a while , and it ’ s not a quick decision . It ’ s important to have a fenced yard , or make plans for how your will exercise your new friend . There ’ s more to taking care of a pet than just having them around . They ’ re going to depend on you , so make sure you ’ re ready .

4363 W Wedington Dr . • Fayetteville • 479-444-6600 www . WedingtonAnimalHospital . com 7:30am-10pm Monday-Friday • 9am-5pm Saturday & Sunday www . OfficialKidsMag . com • October 2024 • 29