Age is Just a Number

"Thank you for adopting an older cat."

An "older" cat? Apparently 4 months old--still big enough to clutch in one hand--is too old for a lot of potential adopters. It's heartbreaking to think of all the sweet, loving, awesome pets in shelters who might never find a home because they're too old, too big, too... something.

Best Friends Animal Society says that 5 million animals are killed in shelters each year because they can't find homes. Five million! That's the population of metro Atlanta! And if estimates are correct, it's twice the number of people expected to attend Barack Obama's inauguration on Tuesday. Take a good look at all those people, then double that crowd in your head. Yes, really. That's how many cats and dogs and bunnies and other adoptable animals lose their lives in shelters annually because there are too many animals and not enough homes.

Many of us don't know that we have lots of options for finding a pet, from rescues and fosters, to shelters and even our neighbors. And using the online resource Petfinder makes it super easy to find just what color, breed and age of pet you're looking for. I knew I wanted an orange male tabby, and so I plugged that information in, and voila, dozens of animals currently in the care of shelters and rescues in my area were listed along with photos and brief bios. To read more about the early days of Petfinder and how it's helped thousands of pets find forever homes, check out the January/February issue of Best Friends magazine.

I found the perfect cat for me at my local shelter. And I like to think I'm perfect for him.