Animal Services Officer Jerred Ellenburg shows a German Shepard sibling duo some love at the shelter. Norishka Pachot/The Wylie News 

Last month, Wylie Animal Services sweetened the deal for residents searching for a four-legged companion by offering free adult pet adoptions. 

Presently, the shelter has 14 adult pets —over the age of one year— in need of a home. However, the number changes daily with intake and adoptions. 

According to Animal Services manager Shelia Patton, senior pets are often passed over for puppies or kittens but are usually ready for adoption much faster than young animals. 

“Ideally, adults should move through the process of being misplaced from their original home and into a new one as quickly as possible,” Patton said. “They are often confused, stressed and anxious due to their ability as adults to understand they are not where they have grown up.”

Patton said most animals that are at the shelter are stray, abandoned animals and that there isn’t an exact reason as to why someone chooses not to pick up their pet. Instead, they prefer to shift their focus to the animal’s needs rather than “the “whys.”  

“They need a second chance,” Patton said. “A new name and the secure feeling a loving home and family will provide them with.”

According to the Animal Services Adopt-a-Pet website, all pets are over the age of one are considered “adults.”

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