Be aware that giving an animal back to a shelter is often a very good way to kill it. Generally, they assume that there’s something wrong with it, and it doesn’t get much of a second chance before it’s put down to give space to others that don’t have a black mark.
I’m not talking about adopting a pet and then returning it; instead you explicitly ask them “would you like me to look after one of your pets for [time interval]?” This temporarily expands their capacity, and you returning it later doesn’t tell them something’s wrong with it. (Well, it does tell them the pet wasn’t so awesome as to overcome your defenses and make you adopt it, but I think most people who do this really can’t adopt.)
I had a couple friends who would foster kittens from the shelter and house-train and socialize them for a few months, and then either the shelter or some other agency would find a more permanent home for them. I don’t know the details but this is a thing you can do.
That kind of defeats the “no longterm commitment” thing.
If you call a shelter they’re often happy to have people look after one of their dogs or cats for a while.
(EDIT: Julia and I did this for a while in 2010 when we wanted a cat but couldn’t commit to keeping one.)
Be aware that giving an animal back to a shelter is often a very good way to kill it. Generally, they assume that there’s something wrong with it, and it doesn’t get much of a second chance before it’s put down to give space to others that don’t have a black mark.
I’m not talking about adopting a pet and then returning it; instead you explicitly ask them “would you like me to look after one of your pets for [time interval]?” This temporarily expands their capacity, and you returning it later doesn’t tell them something’s wrong with it. (Well, it does tell them the pet wasn’t so awesome as to overcome your defenses and make you adopt it, but I think most people who do this really can’t adopt.)
Fair. I’ve just heard horror stories, and I wanted to make sure those reading weren’t inadvertently adding to them.
I had a couple friends who would foster kittens from the shelter and house-train and socialize them for a few months, and then either the shelter or some other agency would find a more permanent home for them. I don’t know the details but this is a thing you can do.
It’s still one of the best ways to improve your happiness.
Hell, I’m getting a lot of the same effect from pet fish.