You’ve set your heart on adopting a cat or a dog and are about to set out on your quest to find your perfect match. If you have not done this before, here are some tips to set you on the right track.

Young, adult or old?

Young animals may be cuter and more adaptable but are also very needy and require the right training to adapt the way you want. The adult pet is set in its ways and you might just find one that’s toilet trained, used to spending time alone and is a lot less needy.

The older pets may be an acquired taste but don’t dismiss them yet. They could become your best couch buddy and be the only being that slows down the hectic life you have.

Small, medium or large?

Small is not equal to easy or low-maintenance. Likewise, large does not mean hyperactive. All individuals are different and we recommend you meet the animal before deciding. You might be surprised to find a dog that is big enough to hug but is laid-back and lives life in slow motion.

What are your expectations?

Often your idea of having a pet and the animal’s idea of life do not quite tally. Animals are not humans and as such do not behave like we do. Dogs need to bark, dig, run, chase, fetch and all the things dogs do because that’s what they are, just like humans talk, watch TV, socialise and eat pizza. Cats need to scratch, rub their faces against their family, groom and chase things too. In other words, find out what it is like living with an animal.

Local or foreign?

Here’s the thing. All animals deserve a chance whether they are local or foreign. We would very much prefer our animals to be your first choice because we do invest a lot of time in nursing them back to health, gaining their trust and training them for you to like. We would much rather see them being adopted by you, because we want more for our animals. Also, SPCA Malta and other shelters can only make room for more unwanted pets when people adopt their animals, which is not happening often enough.

SPCA Malta receives dozens of calls from people wishing to surrender an animal for adoption but being full to capacity it is impossible to accept every case. Our concerns with importing dogs is that although the pet travel scheme limits the risk of some diseases crossing the border, other infectious diseases that are rare or non-existent in Malta such as rickettsia (which had a seroprevalence of 53.43 per cent in 2006 in Sicily and is a zoonotic disease), are not part of the routine.

For these reasons SPCA Malta strongly urges people to choose local shelters as their preferred place to adopt a dog.

Those wishing to adopt a dog can visit SPCA every weekday from 10am to 2pm and Saturdays from 9am to noon. Call 2123 0468 or visit www.spcamalta.org for more information.

Christina Pace is an education officer at SPCA.