By Laura Potts, PetSafe Digital Marketing Specialist 
Two of the best decisions I ever made were adopting my dogs Lincoln and Ellie. Both of them had already reached adulthood when they found themselves looking for a good home. Of course, I can’t resist playing with an adorable puppy, but my experience adopting older, homeless pets was such a rewarding experience, I’m hooked.
Here are my 5 reasons you should consider adopting an adult pet.
1. Adult pets are often already trained.
Most of the adult pets available for adoption have already been house broken, are out of the teething phase, and come with basic manners. This makes the transition into pet parenthood much less stressful.
2. You’ll be contributing to animal welfare.
An alarming 3 to 4 million cats and dogs are euthanized in the US each year. The majority of these pets are healthy and adoptable, but simply can’t find a home. Even among homeless pets, adult cats and dog have a harder time finding loving home over the bouncy puppies and kittens. Choosing to adopt an adult pet over visiting a breeder or adopting a puppy helps make a difference in our pet overpopulation crisis.
3. They come with all the fixings.
Almost all animal centers and rescues insist on ensuring the pets receive vaccinations and are spayed or neutered. In fact, many times the cost for adoption is less than the cost in basic veterinary care the animal has received waiting for you.
4. What you see is what you get.
No surprises here. No need to wonder what they’ll look like when they’re older or what their personality will be. Older pets make it easy to picture them in your life. They have already settled into their size, personality and energy level giving you great insight into whether they’d be a good fit for your family.
5. There’s no better feeling.
At least once a week, I think about what it must have been like for each of my pets before they came home with me. Lincoln had spent 7 months in a kennel at his rescue and Ellie was living in a box on the side of the road. I believe adopted pets know they’ve been adopted and are incredibly grateful in return. In my experience, changing my pets lives for the better dramatically changed my life too.
What about you? Have you adopted an adult or senior pet? What was your favorite reason for choosing adoption?
ABOUT LAURA Laura manages the complete digital media presence for the PetSafe Brand. Laura also donates her time to helping improve animal welfare. She has helped saved the lives of many pets through her work and more directly by adopting two dogs of her own, Ellie and Lincoln who often accompany her to work and to volunteer events in Knoxville.
