“Adoption takes time,” says Jinelle Hobson, executive director of SARL (Salem Animal Rescue League) in Salem, New Hampshire. “We match our dogs and cats carefully with a person or family, and sometimes you can’t find the right pet immediately.”
“And sometimes the right pet finds you,” continues Hobson. She recalls a family that wanted a cat. They spent time in a room with a group of cats, unable to choose. “So a woman sat on the floor and waited. One cat walked across her lap and returned to curl up. That was the cat that had chosen her.”
SARL, a nonprofit organization is funded by donations and managed by eight paid staff. Forty volunteers make the magic happen. It is a limited admission shelter with three trailers sitting on three wooded acres. Because the supply of adoptable pets is dwindling in New England, notes Hobson, volunteers transport about 12 cats every week from other states. An average of 8 dogs are transported from Florida, Texas and the Carolinas. Following New Hampshire state law, all animals remain in quarantine for 48 hours. Despite Covid limitations, SARL placed over 500 cats and dogs last year.
If you are planning to adopt a pet this summer, Hobson has a few tips for you.
- Do your research. Know what type of pet you want: active? 75 pounds? friendly with children? Match your pet with your lifestyle and the space you can offer.
- Check that the shelter that interests you is licensed by the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture.
- Check the SARL website http://www.sarlnh.org to learn about the adoption process. Visits are by appointment only, and applications are on the site.
- Before you adopt, all family members should meet the pet. It’s good for other family pets to meet and greet.
- Have a plan for introducing and taking care of a new pet.
And expect to be patient, kind, and unconditionally loved.
Nani’s corner note: Lexi is our fourth rescued dog, our second Jack Russell terrier. She came to us after two years in two homes, one foster home, and two shelters. After five years she knows that she owns the house and us, unconditionally.
Want to support SARL today in its mission to help homeless and abused animals find loving, forever homes?
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