One has obviously heard of adopting children and taking care of their needs throughout their life. But the concept of adopting animals is not so prevalent. I personally came across this phenomenon when I first accompanied a friend. She wanted to pick up a dog to fill up the void and loneliness in her life. I went along for moral support and also to ensure that she does not fill her house with a myriad of dog species.

Being a purebred fan, I had never even considered the option of adopting a pet. I always felt nice and smug about knowing that my older cat is a purebred Maine Coon. Knowing the place from where she came always gave me a sense of superiority. It was almost as if by keeping a purebred as a pet, I was a class apart. But a visit to the animal shelter made me realize my folly. When I looked at the animals in the shelter I could sense that they were yearning to be picked up by a family and to be loved.

The number of animals that become available for adoption multiplies soon after Christmas. It usually happens because children coax their parents into buying pets for them as gifts but loose interest soon after. The parents do not explain to their children that by taking in a pet they are agreeing to a lot of responsibility and work. And the sad part is that when the child looses interest, they do not have the time in their busy schedules to attend to the pet personally. And so these poor animals are abandoned, sent off to an animal shelter or left stranded to be confiscated.

While my friend made her choice, I decided to adopt a cat myself. I could not take home a dog since my busy schedule does not allow me to spend the kind of time dogs require. Choosing was easy. As I looked in a cage full of kittens, one of them came up to the door, held her paw up and meowed. The doleful eyes were imploring me to pick her up. I knew I had made the right choice when she playfully climbed my curtains at night in my house and a smile appeared on my face inadvertently.

To add to it, I have to admit that though my older cat, the purebred Maine Coon is well behaved she has that snooty air about her, swishes her long downy tail around attracting your attention and behaves like a pampered little princess all the time. On the contrary, my younger cat from the shelter has a gentler and loving demeanor and can endear herself to you in a second.