The best places to find pets are local animal shelters or rescues, which house animals that are lost, stray, or even abandoned. These animals need care and attention, which one can offer by adopting them. Adoption gives animals a new home and also helps shelters by making room for other animals they can rescue. So, if one is considering bringing home a pet, here are a few reasons to adopt or rescue an animal:

1. Save a life
This is the most important reason to consider bringing home a rescued animal. These animals have often been mistreated or abandoned and left to fend for themselves before being brought to a shelter. By adopting such pets, one will give them a second chance at life and help them lead a happy, healthy life.

2. Fight animal cruelty
When one buys a pet from a store, more often than not, these animals come from breeding facilities like puppy or kitten mills. In these facilities, animals are kept under poor conditions, often without access to medical treatment, making them experience health issues and behavioral problems. Further, mills can discard such animals, slaughter them, or put them up for auction if they are not sold through stores. By adopting from shelters, one can contribute to the fight against such mills. This can encourage others to adopt, and without enough people buying pets, these mills will stop running.

3. Help tackle animal overpopulation
When one adopts, they provide care to a pet that already needs it, as opposed to placing a request to buy a new puppy, which would most likely be bred at a mill. Further, when one adopts from a rescue, they make room for other animals to be rescued and nurtured. This also helps shelters and rescues deal with animal overpopulation in their facilities.

4. Facilitate easy transition for the pet
Rescue workers who look after animals every day at the shelter are the ones who know the most about the pet one is adopting. The staff can then help new pet parents understand the animal’s specific needs and help the pet transition to the new home. Further, pets could often be abandoned if a family is relocating or is unable to take care of the pet. Chances are that these animals have already been trained. If not, shelters provide basic training to the pets and address primary health issues till they are adopted. So, one would get partially trained pets when adopting from a shelter, making it easier to care for them.

5. Support valuable organizations
The adoption fees help the shelter or rescue continue providing care to other animals. In this way, adoption supports these local organizations that offer a valuable service to the community.

By adopting a rescued animal, one can give them a loving forever home and the love and all the attention they need. One can easily find local shelters or rescues and visit them to find pets up for adoption. With so many animals available at these facilities, it is easy to find a pet one can connect with and nurture.