Why Adopt?

As you probably know there are a lot of pets in the pound just waiting for an owner. Some of them might have been there for years or months or just a few days. But still they are there taking up space in the pound when they could be sitting on someone's account at least being owned.

This is why I've decided to write this article. To help you start fostering to help out pets in need. Some of my very first pets were originally fosters and with love and care they have become awesome pets.

If you adopt a pet and it's a basic color chances are after fostering it won't be. This is why I think it's important to go to that pound and help out a friend in need. Who knows? Someone might even end up with a new permanent pet.

Here are the reasons you should foster.

#1 To help out stuck pets

Countless people search through the pound for pets. But every now and then due to getting stuck some pets will never be found through searching. There are often people posting topics on the Pound Chat board with "pets stuck in the pound" I like to adopt these pets because at least unstuck pets can be found. These pets need other people to find them so that they can head out on their way into the world.

#2 To zap a dream pet

Truthfully there are some problems with this method as there's no guarantee that a pet will stay a certain species/color after being zapped frequently. But still at least with zapping there's a chance that a basic pet will get zapped to a nice color eventually and will be more likely to stay with you or find a new home with someone else.

#3 To find a home for a badly named pet

Badly named pets are those with underscores or numbers or words that look like keyboard spasms. Not many people are going to want to adopt a basic pet called something like afddvfs00 or 9009888. A lot of these pets get stuck in the pound and have to wait for a foster parent. And as there's a decent or well-named craze going on (and probably always will be) these pets need someone else's help to get them out of the pound. The only exception to this is people who don't care about names or want to morph the pet.

#4 To GUP a pet

GUP? You might be asking. What is that? Well, GUP refers to the Green Uni Project in which people adopt pets from the pound and morph them into green unis. The theory behind this is to show people that a pet doesn't have to be painted or well-named to have an interesting story or be loved. Lately there has also been the evolution of the BOP Project, which is similar only pets are morphed into blue Ogrins. It may seem a little strange but at least the thought is there: that pets don't HAVE to be painted to be loved.

#5 To get a new permanent pet

Sometimes when surfing the pound you'll find a pet with the most awesome name. The only problem might be that the pet isn't painted. Well, I hate to tell you this, but sometimes there's more to pets than their color. It's just as easy to zap or paint a pet rather than adopting a specific painted pet from the pound. So if you see a pet with a name you like then adopt it. Chances are you'll end up with a fantastic new pet to add to your Neopet family.

#6 To foster a pet

In case you're wondering, 'fostering' refers to adopting a basic pet from the pound and zapping or pounding in the hopes of finding that pet a new home. There is a large number of Neopian fosterers around and even guilds dedicated to helping out Neopets in need. So if you want to give it a try, then adopt a pet, zap it to a nice color or paint it and adopt it out to someone. You might even find you're gifting a dream pet!

#7 To zap for an avatar or avatar/item

This seems to be a common theme in Neopia. People adopt certain species in order to get an avatar. Unfortunately these unfortunate souls usually end up right back in the pound, but I thought I'd add this reason anyway as it is a reason people adopt from the pound.

#8 To give a basic pet a home

This might sound odd. Like who would want a basic pet who is going to stay basic? Well, the answer is me. Only with me it happened purely by accident. I was in the pound and came across a pet called armani_miller. Not a brilliant name and his color? Blue. But I found that he suited being blue. And he customised well in all the latest gnorbu styles so he was destined to be a blue gnorbu forever. Sometimes a basic pet can be better than a painted pet. It all depends on you. So if you find a basic pet and start fostering but find your pet suits being the basic color and you want to keep them, don't worry. After all, basic pets need homes too.

#9 To adopt as a lab rat

This is probably the most common reason people adopt from the pound. After all, hardly anyone wants to zap their expensive permanent pets into different species. This is similar to fostering but it's also kind of fun to see the different stats increase or decrease. It's also fun for getting different colors and different species. Sometimes a lab rat will change into an expensive color, which is good if you want to keep the pet or find a lab rat a new home.

From reading this article I hope it encourages you to adopt. After all it's just as easy to surf through the pound as it is to click "create a neopet."