HUTCHINSON, Kan. — If you or your family are thinking about getting a new pet, the best place to do it is at an animal shelter. The Hutchinson Animal Shelter has cats and dogs for adoption and can help you find the right animal for your family.
“Start by thinking about, are you a cat person, are you a dog person, what your lifestyle fits best,” Shelter Director Michaela Schommer said. “Do some research of different breeds and make sure the entire family or entire household truly wants the responsibility of taking home an animal.”
Schommer says they have made some changes at the shelter regarding pet adoption that will make it easier for you and better for the pets.
“One thing that we changed this year is that we handle adoptions by appointment, which helps with a variety of things,” Schommer said. “One, staff flows throughout the day and the tasks they need to do, but there are studies that show that it actually reduces the stress on animals by not having too many strangers walk by them in their kennels.”
Once you have that appointment made, you can then get some one-on-one with your potential pet.
“Once you have an appointment, you come into the shelter and we will show you all of the animals and help guide you to what we know about them and find the right fit,'' Schommer said. “We have a short application that you fill out. If the animal is ready to go home that day after the adoption fee is paid and approved, we send them home with you.” If an animal is still new to the shelter and has not been spayed or neutered, then the animal will stay at the shelter for a few days until that surgery can be completed.
Schommer says the best thing to do when adopting a pet is plan ahead, make sure the family can take care of the new pet and that if you rent, your landlord says it is OK to have a pet.
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