Best In Show

 After digging though every country shelter in Utah, I've found what I want in a pet. Now the trick is to sneak it into my dorm...

Polite Cat | Know Your Meme
See?! He's polite!

Anyways... here's what would make me want to adopt an animal, which is what I'll be including in my representation. 


1) BIG EYES!!!

The dogs that really made my heart melt had big ole eyes. Bonus points if they added in a cute head tilt. Apparently dogs evolved to have expressive eyebrows, which made it easier to communicate with humans (source) and also made them unbelievably cute.

Dogs developed puppy dog eyes through evolution
Literally tearing up at this image

2) A silly name 

Dogs at shelters seem to be named stuff like Max and Bella, which is cute, but can't compare to a cat named Samsung Galaxy. A unique name gives the animal a lot of personality and makes it memorable. 

Hilarious monikers found by Twitter page 'Petfinder Names' include a cat called Times New Roman | Daily Mail Online
The one time I accept Constructive Criticism

Because I think it's funny, here are some highlights from Petfinder: Heavy Machinery, Business Frog, Neuroscientist, French Fry Freddy, Steve Buscemi, Polly Pissy Pants, This Guy, Cockadoodle Dude, and Nandor the Relentless. 

3) A really unique description

For dogs, the most common adjectives I saw were friendly, happy, cuddly, quiet, energetic, and adventurous. Also, describing the energy level of the dog is important. Will it be a good running buddy or will it snuggle with you all day? 

 Cats were described as friendly, outgoing, shy, playful, and sweet. They also all indicated the amount of human interaction and touch they were okay with, such as "loves being pet" and "wants kisses". 

But the pets that stuck in my mind the most were the ones that had something really interesting and unique to them. For instance, Raider, a cat from Cache Humane "seems to be more bowling ball than cat". Acai, from the same shelter, "has full class clown vibes". By describing the pet as a potential friend rather than just a housebroken, 4 year old, German Shepherd mix, I get a better sense from the emotional benefits of this pet rather than just the practical tradeoffs. 

Anyways, this activity was extremely dangerous, as I now need a dog. 

ALSO: If you or a loved one are in the market for a dog, my roommate is giving away adorable border collie mix puppies to good homes. Please comment below and I will get you in touch. 


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