You have to walk through the kennel and check out the older animals before you can get to the puppies and kittens - and let me tell you, sometimes the adopters never make it to the puppies and kittens.

I like to call myself an equal opportunist, as I love both dogs and cats, but over the last couple years, both Howard and I have become champions for cats. They are so independent and loving and playful and bring such happiness to our lives.

Older animals are the best because, number one, a majority of the time, they are already house-trained number two, you know exactly what kind of personality you are going to be getting with that animal and number three, they are already full size, so no need to wonder how big they are going to get.

There are so many great animals in our local shelters that people don't really know about. Annually, two to four million animals are euthanized, and we can bring that number down significantly by going to our local shelter and adopting and also by spaying and neutering your pets.

Special-needs rescues and older rescues have always had a close place in my heart, because those are the ones that tend to get looked over. That is why I love how North Shore Animal League America has their shelter set up.