Choose your furry new buddy wisely

I am probably the most enthusiastic spokesdog who promotes adopting a shelter pet. I often speak of the numerous benefits of having a pet as a family member.

The health benefits alone from the companionship of a furry relative is reason enough to adopt one or more. It’s well known that just petting an animal helps to lower blood pressure and reduce stress. Some have even suggested physicians in the future may say to patients suffering from stress and anxiety, “Pet two cats and call me in the morning.”

Another benefit is a passel of new friends. It seems when you adopt a pet you develop a new social support with other pet parents you didn’t have before.

The benefits are incredible, not the least of which is the wonderful feeling you get from saving the life of a homeless pet from a rescue group or pound. There’s no doubt adopting a pet can enrich your life immensely.

But however valuable adopting a pet can be, it’s critically important to adopt the correct pet that suits your lifestyle and circumstances. Carefully evaluating your situation will help determine how to identify the correct pet.

First of all, consider cost. In addition to the adoption fee, which should cover mandatory spay or neuter, there will be expense for essential medical care. If you’re adopting a dog, it’ll need to be on monthly heartworm preventive medication, and dogs and cats both need to be on regular flea and tick prevention.

This, along with annual vaccinations and, heaven forbid, any emergency illness or accidents, comes at a hefty price. And please don’t adopt a pet without providing the medical care it needs. Veterinary attention is required to sustain the health of any pet.

Next look at your schedule. Are you away from home lots of hours during the day, or are you retired with plenty of time to share with a pet? This makes a huge difference.

If you’re gone a lot during the day, you may want to consider an older more sedentary pet and adopt two rather than one so they can keep each other company in your absence. Loneliness is a terrible thing for pets to experience since they’re typically very social creatures.

Please remember even older pets need exercise and lots of interaction with humans. So even if you adopt a middle aged or senior pet, please plan on exercising him regularly to the degree he can comfortably tolerate.

Then look at your living space. Do you live in a small apartment, or do you live in a home with a fenced yard? That makes a difference in the size and energy level of pet you adopt.

Finally look at the next 15 years of your own life. Where will you be? What kind of health will you potentially be in? Will you be having major life transitions such as moving, getting married or having children?

I’ve lost count of the number of family pets who have been surrendered to the pound because their parents had a change in their lives that did not include the pets. The most common reasons I’ve experienced are because the family had a new baby, the parents moved to another location that didn’t allow pets or the pet parent passed away and the surviving family surrendered the pet.

An adopted rescue pet wants the security of knowing he’s a part of a family for the duration of his life. So evaluate your situation, seek the counsel of experienced animal professionals and adopt wisely.

This story was originally published October 14, 2016 at 1:18 PM with the headline "Choose your furry new buddy wisely."