When looking for a furever friend to add to your household, the searching process can be long and tedious. Often, people forget to look at their local shelters. However, when people do remember to check their local shelters for animals, they have the "perfect" image of the type of animal that they want already ingrained in their brain.

My sorority sisters and I volunteer weekly at the animal shelter near our college, SUNY Delhi. Each week that we go in and volunteer, I can honestly say that my heart is broken to see the high number of feline and canine companions that call this shelter their "home". Even more heartbreaking is seeing the same animals there each week. Some have been shelter animals for years, some were born in shelters, and some will ultimately live out their final days in a shelter. It is rather unusual to find non-kill shelters for various reasons such as funding, space, and high animal intake. The shelter that I volunteer at is thankfully, a non-kill shelter. Animal shelters are typically non-profit establishments that survive solely on the generosity of those who donate their time and money to the animals in need.

Typically, anyone who is searching for a companion is looking for a young kitten or puppy in good health, sometimes even having a particular breed in mind. As I mentioned before, most shelters are kill shelter—this means that any animal that enters through those doors only has a limited stay at the shelter, whether they are adopted or not. It is the sad truth that adult and senior animals who need a little extra care are typically the first to be euthanized in a shelter. With little funding, it is often hard for a shelter to care for animals with special needs because more money needs to be invested into that animal when the same amount of money could be used to help multiple healthy animals. I am not justifying the actions of these shelters—I think it is awful that an animals life is cut short due to lack of funding and space.

For this reason I am urging EVERYONE to add another member of their family to go into the shelter with an open mind. Give the adult and senior animals a chance. A common reason that people don't adopt older animals is due to life expectancy. Well, I'm sorry to say this, but you never know how long any animal will live. I personally have a cat who is 17 years old and still going strong. Age should not be a factor, so don't just push aside an animal because it has an upper respiratory infection, a neurological disease and walks a little tipsy, or is on the shy side. My 17-year-old cat also walks a little funny due to health reasons, but this doesn't make me love her any less than my 2-year-old cat or my dogs. She can do everything a "normal" cat can do—she's just a little wobbly doing so. Yes, these animals do need a little extra patience and help, but if you are financially and emotionally equipped, please give these furry friends a chance.