2. Are you financially prepared to pay for food, toys, doctor/wellness visits? If your animals should need serious medical treatment, can you afford to give the animal the care they deserve?

3. Does everyone in your household agree that now is a good time to get a pet?

4. Are you ready for the daily demands a pet requires? Three or more dog walks per day? Daily litter scooping? Being home on a regular schedule to feed and walk the dog/cat?

5. Have you researched what type of dog or cat would best fit your family, housing and lifestyle?

If you have answered NO to any of these questions, you might want to give more serious thought to the demands and requirements that come with owning a pet.

1. Most animals, depending on size, breed and health, can live as long as 15 years or longer. This is not a decision to make on a whim when you see a cute box of puppies or kittens for sale. This is a life long commitment that should be taken very seriously.

2. You can expect to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year on a single pet. All of the food, toys, cat litter, monthly medicine, vaccinations and wellness visits can add up. This is especially true if your animal becomes sick or is in an accident. You owe it to your pet to be able to take care of them in sickness or in health.

3. Getting a pet is a major decision and is a big responsibility to whoever will take care of the animal. Make sure that everyone in your household is really ready to walk the dog at night even when it is snowing or is willing to scoop cat litter even when they are very busy and running late. Pets depend on you for everything - food, exercise, and entertainment. Make sure you are ready to be able to provide everything your pet will need!

4. Make sure you are home enough to take care of the animal. Working 12 hours a day is not an ideal home for a pet. They are lonely and will miss you! Not to mention the things they can get into when they are lonely and bored. Animals depend on your for their exercise. Without it, they may become destructive and chew or scratch things that do not belong to them!

5. Each year, tens of thousands of animals are given up to shelters or abandoned on the streets because their owners did not realize what type of animal they had adopted. Labs have boundless energy and border collies actually need a "job" to do. Some cats require lots of toys and games and others just want a pillow by a window. Some animals require a lot of exercise and some are not great around younger children. Look into how much time you have to spend with a pet to make sure that you can really provide what it needs to be happy and to make your family happy. Most of our animals are mixed breed dogs or cats. Even though we may not be able to tell you the exact textbook temperament you can expect, we can give you some insight into each dog or cats personality. It is our goal to find the perfect home for each and every animal. We want both you and the pet to have a long and healthy life together!