The animal is not suitable for every person. What is the Conscious Adoption Program?
We must be aware that by adopting a pet, we take responsibility for a living being. When it feels bad, when it wants to eat, feel closeness and tenderness depends only on us. We cannot have such an animal when we get bored, put it on the shelf like a toy, say “today I have no time for you, I’m going out.” It is a being who entrusts his life to us. Not everyone is able to deal with it.
Can every person who comes to the shelter adopt a pet just like that?
A proper adoption process should start with careful consideration and reflection. You should visit the shelter for information and expert opinion before You decide.
First of all, we should consider whether the animal we want to adopt will cause us problems and troubles related to everyday, additional duties. Many people do not realize that an animal requires a lot of dedication and responsibility on the part of the owner.
We must realize that keeping an animal is a considerable expense. The cost of providing it with the right nourishment, keeping it clean and in professional healthcare. And it is not only about the situation when the animal becomes ill, which actually results in increased costs and the need to spend additional time for him to transport to the clinic or administer medications. In order for our pet to be healthy and full of energy, it is necessary to take care of its condition every day by providing the right food, the right amount of exercise, as well as complete vaccinations and deworming.
It should be remembered that the animal that we take from the shelter may have difficult moments behind it. Therefore, the process of adapting to a new home and owner can take a long time. Some animals are not able to get used to the new environment and trust the new owner.
Animals, like humans, have different characters that the handler should accept. However, do not be discouraged by possible difficulties, because ultimately the animal will certainly repay us for the kindness shown to him.
We hope that we are visited by responsible people, for whom adopting an animal is a deliberate decision. We hope that they will not treat the animal as something that is bought in a surge of emotions, often under the pressure of children, and when it gets bored, it abandons or returns.
Animal shelters more often conduct information campaigns, e.g. conscious adoption. Has the awareness of people who come to the shelter and ask about the terms of adoption changed over the last few years?
There is a great improvement in the awareness of the needs of animals. In the age of the media and the Internet, we are moving away from the utilitarian attitude that the dog is to be on a chain at the kennel and guard the property, and the cat is to catch mice. Animals entered our homes, became life companions. I think education is very important. We try to reach out to people with the problem of animal homelessness. We must remember that the animals that appeared in the shelter were once someone else’s. They were born through people who made this decision rashly, did not take care of sterilization or castration, and later got rid of these animals. It is not a disgrace to admit that we do not have the conditions to keep a pet, we did not cope with this task, but we are looking for a home for him.