this is a promotional piece the humane society(HSUS) put out a while back to help explain the onslaught of questions that adopters face in shelters.no one is immune. everyone gets interviewed at shelters




So you want to adopt a pet.
Congratulations! We can’t tell you how much we
appreciate you giving one of our beloved critters a
second chance.
Here’s the thing: We’re going to ask you a lot of
questions. You may feel like you’re getting the third
degree. We’ll probably ask things like: Does your
house have a fenced yard? Do you have school-age
children? Who’s going to be your pet’s primary
caregiver? Do you have a veterinarian? Why do
fools fall in love?
OK, we’ll probably skip that last one. But we may ask
others. We may even want to come check out your
house. (We promise not to mess with your stuff.)
Don’t take it personally!
It’s not about you. We’re sure you’re great—after
all, you’re here!
We take good care of our animals, and we want
to make sure they’ll go to good homes. So when
we ask you questions, please don’t hold it against
us! You’re probably going to give your new pet the
best home ever—but not everyone is as awesome
as you are.
Really. See all the animals here? They didn’t appear
out of nowhere. Some of them were neglected.
Some of them were abused. But most of them just
didn’t quite fit in their old homes—at least not well
enough to ensure they’d stay there forever.
We want to make sure Spot and Patches and Tiger
and Muffin find homes that last forever this time.
So if we ask you a lot of questions, try to remember:
We’re asking because we care, about the pet
and about you. We’re trying to make matches that
last a lifetime.
So if we ask you some personal stuff, just think of
the furry tail and the big eyes of the animal you’ve
fallen for, and be patient with us!
It’s totally worth the trouble.
What’s With All the Questions?