Are You Ready To Adopt?

Step 1 - Questions To Ask Yourself

If you are thinking of adopting a pet there are several things you need to ask yourself before even starting your search for that perfect pet to add to your family.

Can you afford to care for another pet?

Caring for a pet can be quite expensive. It takes neopoints to buy them food, toys, training suppies, books, etc. On top of all of those expenses, it can be costly traveling around Neopia and doing some of the activities. Can you afford the 50np per pet to ride the Merry-Go-Round on Roo Island or take a Tiki Tour on Mystery Island? What about a stay at the Neolodge? That can be costly since I'm sure you wouldn't want your pets to stay at Cockroach Towers. If you decide to go with a Neohome instead, then can you afford to build a room onto your home and furnish it with their own stuff? That includes a bed, wardrobe, lamps, a ceiling fan is also a nice touch for the warmer summers, and anything else you pet may need. So, can you afford to care for another pet? If yes, then continue through this page. If no, then you should come back once you have been able to save up some np to care for your pets.

Do you have time for another pet?

It takes time to care for each and every pet you own. Buying the food and toys isn't enough. You need to feed them the food and help them play with their toys. I'm sure they would really enjoy spending some time in the Games Room with you also. Each pet may end up wanting to play a different game with you and the time it takes with them can really add up. Do you have the time to care for another pet? If yes, then continue through this page. If no, then you should wait until you can manage more time for your pets.

Do you have your current pets the way you want them?

Take a look at each of your pets. Are they all the right color and species that you want them to be? Are their stats high enough for you? What about their intelligence? You really need to sit down and consider all of those things before adding another pet to your family. Do you have your current pets the way you want them? If yes, then continue through this page. If no, then you should come back once you have been able get your current pets where you want them to be.

Step 2 - Account Preparation

There are quite a few things that a foster will look at to determine what kind of owner you will be. Here are a few of the things you can do to prepare your account for inspection.

User Lookups

All of your accounts (main and sides) should have lookups of some type other than the default. This gives your accounts a more lived-in look. If you have a plain default lookup, then the foster may assume you do not spend much time on them. If you plan on adopting onto one of your sides, then you definitely want to have lookups for your side accounts also. There are many premade lookups that you can use. Some will even allow you to change their graphics and just keep the coding. You just need to make sure to keep the credits on the lookup.

Next, take a look at the number of pets you have on your account. Do you have 4 pets? 3 pets? If you have 4 pets already, then you won't be able to adopt the foster's pet. Many fosters will automatically disqualify you if they see that you already have 4 pets on your account. The reason behind this is simple, many fosters adopt pets from the pound, lab them to beautiful colors, and then find them a new home. They do this to get one more pet out of the pound. If you pound one of your pets in order to adopt their's then you completely defeat the purpose of them trying to decrease the number of pound pets.

Next, take a look at your account's age. Is your account under or over 4 months of age? If you are under 4 months, then this will limit your adoption abilities. Your account must be at least 4 months old in order to adopt a pet above level 2, a limited edition and/or a painted pet other than blue, brown, checkered, glowing, green, invisible, orange, pink, purple, red, shadow, silver, skunk, speckled, split, white, or yellow. Limited edition pets include Cybunny, Chomby, Draik, Hissi, Jetsam, Kiko, Koi, Krawk, Tonu, and Poogle.

Now onto your statistics to determine how active your account may seem. Do you have under 100 avatars? Do you have a decent amount of game high scores? Are you in a guild? Do you have a gallery and shop? Do you have any trophies? Why all of these questions? Simple, you need your account to look like you actually spend more than 2 minutes a day on it. There are around 100 avatars that you can get just by clicking on a pet's lookup.If you don't even have these basic avatars, then it may seem as though you don't spend much time on your account since you haven't even bothered to get the easy avvies. The number of high scores on your account lets the foster see how much time you have spent playing games. If you are in a guild, then most likely you have friends in that guild. Being friends with people online means that you will probably continue to get onto neopets even if it is just to check in with your friends. Having a gallery lets the foster know that you do have a goal set while having a shop with items in it means that you spent some time earning neopoints. Trophies let others see the achievements you have made on neopets. Some trophies are quite simple to get while others take a lot more work. Whichever kinds you have, it's good to have a few decorating your lookup.

Now that we have covered what to check your account for, it's time to delve a bit deeper and take a look at your pets.

Pet Lookups

Take a glance at your pets. Are they all delighted, bloated, and well? If not, then you should definitely work on getting that way before going any further. You should also make sure they all have their own lookups (either custom or premade) and petpets. It is also nice to have a little bit of a story or personality profile of the pet on their lookup. Creativity in this are is a big plus. If you cannot provide for the pets you have already then a foster isn't likely to let you adopt their pet.

Where and What To Look For?

Step 3 - Pick A Pet

Since you have made it this far, then you already have the time and the np for a new pet and your current pets are all taken care of. The next step in the process is one that takes a bit more consideration. What kind of pet are you looking to adopt? Since you should really only apply for one pet at a time, this question may be a little harder to answer. Create a list of your dream pets and what you expect from them. Do not just consider the species and color of the pet you want, but also consider their stats, intelligence, and even their name. You do not want to spend all your time on an application for a pet and get them only to be unhappy with him or her later on. Figure out exactly what you want before going to the next step.

Step 4 - Find The Pet

This is one of the toughest parts since finding exactly what you want in a pet actually up for adoption. Since you know what you are looking for, then go to Cieque's Directory of Adoption Agencies to start your search. There are over 200 agencies listed there ranging from basic colored pets to painted, limited edition, and even high stat pets. Start looking through each and every agency until you find the pet you want. Don't stop once you find a pet that matches your basic criteria though. Keep looking to find every available pet that fits into what you are looking for.

Once you have found the pets that fit what you want, it would be a good idea to check out each the rules that the pet's owner has set up. If you don't fit their criteria then there isn't any point in wasting both your time and their's by applying. Now that your list contains only the pets that meet your criteria and you meet the owner's criteria, you can then choose the one you would like the most to apply for. Now you know exactly which pet you are applying for, it's time to start your application.

The Application

Application Dos

There are a few things you should always do when writing your application.

Be sure you know everything you can about the pet you are applying for. Be sure you know the name, gender, species, and color of the pet and never get them mixed up. If you put in the application that you are applying for their Red Cybunny and they have a Halloween Cybunny instead, then you will most likely be rejected first thing. Calling the pet a she when the pet is really a male doesn't look very good either. If you do not do this then most fosters will reject your application no matter how well thought out it is. If you cannot spell the pet's name correctly or do not know the pet's gender, then you obviously do not care for the pet enough to actually take the time to learn those things. Double and triple check these so that you do not miss out on your dream pet by doing something like this.

Be sure to read any rules that the foster may have. It's not enough to just read them, you must follow them also. Some fosters have little keywords hidden within the rules that you must use in your application. It is their way of testing you to see if you've read the rules thoroughly or not.

This should be obvious, but you would be suprised at how many applicants do not bother reading them. It's not enough to just read them, you must follow them also. Some fosters have little keywords hidden within the rules that you must use in your application. It is their way of testing you to see if you've read the rules thoroughly or not. You can be sure that the owner will know if you didn't bother reading the rules. If you don't understand something, see if a friend can help. If not, then neomail the owner and see if they can explain it to you a bit better. Be sure you are polite in your neomail and that you neomail the correct account. The rules will let you know the requirements for the pet and will usually let you know when the deadline is. Also be sure that you meet the basic requirements. If you do not, then there's a good chance that your application will automatically be rejected. Do not put all the time and hard work in on an application just for it to be ignored because you do not fit the requirements.

Always be truthful in your application. If you do not plan on putting the pet in the BC, then don't say it. It's a lot easier to write when you don't have to think up lies, just be honest. More times than not, you will be caught in the lie. Also, if you lie in your application and do not follow through, then you will end up being known as someone that cannot be trusted to adopt any pets in the future. For example, if you say that you enjoy collecting avatars and you only have 100 avatars, then it's easy to assume that you aren't being honest about it. If you aren't being honest about something as small as that, then the assumpltion can be made that the rest of your application isn't completely truthful. You'd be suprised how quickly things like that can get around between the fosters.

If you do not plan on putting the pet in the BC, then don't say it. It's a lot easier to write when you don't have to think up lies, just be honest. You may end up being caught in your lies. For example, if you say that you enjoy collecting avatars and you only have 100 avatars, then it's easy to assume that you aren't being honest about it. If you aren't being honest about something as small as that, then the assumpltion can be made that the rest of your application isn't completely truthful. Last, but not least, use some common sense when applying for a pet. You do not want to look like a complete moron when applying for a pet because then you will definitely not get chosen.

Application Don'ts

There are a few things you should never do when writing your application.

First of all, do not use chatspeak. It makes you look more immature or just too lazy to type out words with proper grammar and punctuation. Plus it takes time for those of us that try to always use proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling longer to decipher the message. If English isn't your first language, then it would be nice to include that since the foster will allow a little leeway when it comes to some of the basic grammar.

Next, never beg a foster for their pet. You shouldn't threaten them either. Being nice and courteous will get you a lot farther. Also remember that you should never try to bribe the owner in order to get the pet. If they ask for donations or items/neopoints then they should be reported right away since it is against the rules to sell a pet. The only fee you should have to pay is the pound fee itself.

Do not reuse your old applications or use someone else's application. Each pet is different and should have a unique application of his/her own. It's fine to use one of your old general layouts such as what headings and information you want to include in the application, but to copy them word for word and just changing names is not good to do.

What To Include In Your Application

Whether the foster has a large list of requirements or doesn't ask for any application at all, there is a few things you should include when applying for a pet. Depending on what type of application you choose to do, there are certain things you should always include. This includes why you want the pet, your plans for the pet, and what makes you a good owner.

Why do you want the pet? Don't just say that you want the pet because it's a certain color and/or species. What makes their pet different from any other that is paint just like him/her? Does the name, stats, etc of the pet make a difference?

What are your plans for the pet? Do you plan on buying him/her a petpet? If so, what kind? What will the petpet's name be? Do you plan on entering the pet into the beauty contest? or battling the pet? All of these things can make a difference. Mentioning that you will feed and play with the pet doesn't make much of a difference with most fosters since you shouldn't even be applying for the pet if you do not plan on doing that anyway. Please note, if you plan on labbing, morphing, or repainting the pet you should always let the current owner know of your plans.

What makes you a good owner? Since there is usually more than one person applying for the same pet you should include why you would be the best owner. This does not mean you should bad mouth anyone else that applies for the pet. You should just let the foster know why you should be chosen over the other person or persons.

Last, but not least, put some effort into your application. Do not just send a neomail saying 'Can I have you pet?' Try to think out your application and be sure to proofread it also. This will help you catch any errors that you may have made.

If you decide to go with a petpage application, then you will go into more details about everything above, along with putting in a bit more information. TNT has made the rule that no owner can require extreme petpage appliations. This doesn't mean you cannot still do them though. I personally prefer petpage over neomail when doing my own applications just because I can never stick to the character limits on anything, including neomails. A petpage allows you to write more details in. I have included a guide to petpage applications at the bottom of this page. It is just a guide to give you ideas for your own application. You do not have to include everything about all of the categories listed. Everything listed below are only suggestions and/or broad ideas for you to develop more ideas. They are things I have seen in past applications that I thought was a nice addition.

The Waiting Game

This to me is one of the hardest parts of the application process. It's the time you have to wait between when you turn your application in and when the new owner will be chosen. Some owners make their decision rather quickly while others can take quite a while. I once had to wait two months in order to find out who the owner would be. I've also been notified within a few minutes with the decision. It's all up to the individual and the number if applications received. The more applications, the longer it will take to go through them.

Come What May

There's only two main outcomes at this point. One is that you are not chosen as the new owner or two that you are chosen as the new owner. There are some exceptions to this though. If you get a neomail from the owner and do not respond in a timely manner, then they may reconsider. If you put into your application that you are online every single day and it takes you three days to get back to the owner, then they may want a bit of an explanation. If youu don't have a valid reason, they may just change their mind about you. It could be assumed that since you weren't truthful about how often you are on neopets, then maybe there are other things you wrote in the application that isn't quite truthful either. The second exception is if you are chosen as the owner and the transfer will occur through the pound rather than a safe transfer. If it is a pound transfer, then it's possible that someone may intercept the pet. If someone does happen to adopt the pet before you get a chance, then you can write them a nice neomail and explain the situation. It's possible that they will give you the pet, but it's not required of them. Do not harass the new owner. It states on the pound page itself that once a pet is in the pound anyone may adopt.

If you are not chosen as the new owner you should never harrass the owner. In some cases, you can politly neomail the owner and see what it was you either did or did not do that made them choose someone else over you. Maybe next time you try for a pet you can take their advice and improve upon future applications.


















A Guide To Your Petpage Application

I hope through this guide you will be able to get your very own dream pet. I have been a foster for 3 years now and have adopted out over 200 pets to new owners. Some are in loving homes while some have been abandoned, frozen, or left to rot on an unused account. This happens to many fosters at one time or another.

Organize Your Plans

Shopping

It might be a good idea to buy a few homecoming gifts for the pet to display in your gallery. These can be anything from a petpet for them, to books to build their intelligence, or codestones to further the pet's training. They don't have to be super expensive gifts, but it would be good to have something to show that you will follow through with your plans for the pet.

Layout, Design, Colors, Coding

Be sure the colors for your background and text allow for things to remain easy to read. Who wants to be blinded while trying to read an application?

The Application Itself

Welcome

One of the first things you should do in your application is welcome the owner to your application. It would be good to include the owner's name or nickname. You should then state which pet you are applying for. If you need to specify whether you application looks best in IE or FF, then this is the time to do that also. If you make any changes once the page has been snedt to the owner then you should include what updates you made. This will let the owner know what areas they may need to revisit. This part can be straight forward, or you can make it a bit more interesting by adding a story or description. In this part you might want to try to bring interest to the pet owner. Be creative. If you bore the owner within the first few sentences, then they may not concentrate on the rest of your application.

Table Of Contents

Depending upon what type of layout you choose, you may need to add a navigation are on your petpage somewhere. You can put it underneath your welcome, or you could be on the side of the page. Which ever way you do it, it's best to have some type of navigation on the page.

Application Layout

Design

Why or how did you choose the layout you used?

Colors

Why or how did you choose the color scheme?

Other

Include anything else pertaining to the layout that you would like to let the owner know about.

Story Of Finding The Pet

Write a story about how you happen to come across the pet. You can either put it into a roleplay scenario, or just tell them about how you found out about their pet being up for adoption.

About You In Real Life (The Applicant)

Tell about your real life such as your name (or nickname), age, hobbies, likes, dislikes, other interesting information about you.

About You On Neopets

Becoming A Member

This is where you would talk about how you found out about Neopets in the beginning.

Newbie Ahead

This is about your first days on the site such as learning your way around.

Money, Money, Money

This is where you can talk about how you make your np whether it be through restocking, jobs, games, snipings, etc. You have to have some type of income if you expect to be able to care for a pet.

Account Information

This is where you talk about the accounts you have. You should include both main and side accounts along with your activeness on each. You can also talk about past accounts that you have had in the past that were frozen or deleted. You can also talk about the account themselves such as the ones used for labbing purposes, galleries, etc.

Achievements and Goals

What are your current short-term and long-term goals. You can talk about collections you are working to complete, avatars that you are trying for, etc.

Galleries

If you have several galleries you can talk about each of them here, or of the ones you planning on starting in the near future.

Socialization

Here you can talk about your Neopet hangouts such as your guild or certain public boards that you are a regular on.

Online Status

This is where you talk about your time on neopets. You can talk about the amount of time you spend online or about the things you do while on neopets.

Pounding and Adopting Background

In some cases a pound transfer may be the only way to get the pet. In mosts cases, if you are willing to wait a safe transfer can be done. This area is where you can tell about your previous experience with pounding and adopting.

Links

Here you can put in links to things you have done such as lookups, petpages, etc.

Self Summary

Summarize the information about you including both your strong and weak points. You can also summarize a typical neoday for you.

Why You Want The Pet

How did you find out about the pet being up for adoption? Why are you applying for the pet? What do you like about the pet? What sets their pet apart from any other pet of the same species and color?

Taking Care Of Your Pets

Here you can tell about what you do special for your pets. It can be anything from taking them for a ride on the Merry-Go-Round on Roo Island to creating custom lookups and petpages for them all.

The Pet's Future Siblings

This is where you tell about your current pet family. You can consider the pets on the account that you plan to adopt the pet onto as the immediate family and the ones on your sides as the extended family. You can include a bit about how you got each of them, a bit of their personality, likes/dislikes, favorite games, toys, and food, lookups, petpages, petpets, etc. You can also include what nice things you do for the pets such as the neolodge, buying them toys or their favorite food. You could also have your pets speak to the pet you are applying for. You can have them have a conversation, or have your pet write a letter to the pet.

Why Choose You

Why should the owner choose you? Are you online a lot? Do you like to RP, BC, draw, train your pets? Have you worked hard to get your account to what it is today? Do you like doing lookups and petpages for your pets? Why are you the best choice? What sets you apart from the other candidates? What makes you stand out in a crowd? What makes you a good owner? Do you have any downsides?

Your Plans For The Pet

What would you do if you got the pet? What account will s/he live on?

Petpet And Petpetpet

  • Which have you chosen? Why?
  • Price?
  • Already purchased?
  • Personality
  • Did the pet just stumble upon it? How did they meet?

Competitions

If possible, show (or tell about) some of your previous wins.
  • Spotlights - Pet Spotlight, Petpet Spotlight, Site Spotlight
  • Drawing - Beauty Contest, Art Gallery
  • Writing - Roleplaying, Storytelling
  • Battling/Training - What stats you would like to train the pet to be?
  • Book Awards
  • Customization

Lookup

Do you already have a lookup designed for the pet?

Petpage

Activities

Training - What stats you would like to train the pet to be?
Reading
etc.

Items bought for the pet

Repainting/labbing/converting

Other

All About The Pet

Statistics

Name, Age, Markings, etc.

Personality

Are they nice, sweet, evil, etc.

Likes and Dislikes

Favorite games, toys, food, etc. Most disliked games, toys, food, etc.

Friends and Enemies

You can link to them, write a sentence or two about them such as how they met or why they are friends or enemies.

Design

Such as when roleplaying or drawing.
  • What would the pet be like and why?
  • Was it born like that? How did it get to be like that?
  • Markings/Clothing
  • Quad/Anthro
  • Hair
  • Facial features
  • Special features (scars, wings, etc.)
  • Cuts
  • Anything else

References For You

Either include screenies or links to friends (telling of good points or confirming being the great owner)

Dedications To The Pet

Take screenies of the dedications along with linking to them if you'd like.
  • Lookup - Dedicate your user lookup to the pet you are applying for. If possible create a custom lookup featuring the pet. If it is not possible then you can try to find a premade lookup somewhere that will work. There are also some people that will create custom lookups for you, but they can be harder to find.
  • Gallery - Dedicate a gallery to the pet by first getting a layout that is a good representation of the pet. Then you can put items into it that you plan on giving the pet. This can include petpet, petpetpet, toys, food, dubloons, codestones, etc.
  • Shop - Fix up your shop layout to dedicate to the pet. You can also considering putting in a few items for 99,999 that oyu will be giving the pet. Make sure the items you are putting into the shop Dedicate the layout of your shop to the pet. You can also put a few of the items in your shop priced at 99,999 for the pet such as codestons or dubloons if you plan on training the pet.
  • Neodeck - Put a few cards that relate to the pet you are applying for into your neodeck.
  • Trades - Some people put items up in their trades to show what they will give to the pet. Personally I would rather use my shop or gallery since putting trades on the TP that are not for actual trade is against the TP rules.
  • Auctions
  • Folder on computer - Create a folder on your computer to hold all of the art, writings, etc. that you have done for the pet. Take a screenie of this to show.
  • Siggy - Change your Neopets' signature to show that you are applying for the pet and will take care of it.
  • Avvie - Change your avatar to go along with the pet species or color of the pet. There is an avatar for every species on Neopets. Many of the colors have an avatar to represent them also.
  • Font - Since you are changing your avatar than it would be a good idea ot change the font to go with your new avatar.
  • Desktop - Change your computer's desktop theme to feature the pet.
  • Petpet and/or Items - Choose and purchase the pet a petpet, buy dubloons or codestones if you plan on trading, purchase food and/or toys for the pet. Place them all in your gallery or shop.
  • Room in neohome/garden - Dedication a room of your neohome or garden for the pet. Spell the pet's name or nickname out with ferns, fix up a playroom or bedroom for the pet.
  • Music - Find a song lyrics that you want to dedicate to the pet, or create your own
  • etc.

Creative Writings

This is one of the biggest things that many fosters look for.

Poetry

Story

About their background/history, how they got adopted, how the pet obtained their petpet

Roleplay

Diary or Blogs

Inbox

have your pet write a letter to the pet your applying for, make the letter in paint program to look like an actual piece of paper

Comic

Creative Art

This is one of the biggest things that many fosters look for.

Past Art To Show Skills

Graphics And Drawings Of The Pet

Adoptables That You Made Yourself

The Pet's Species Adoptables Or Fan Art

Summary Of Information

This is where you can give a quick summmary of your application. You can include s/he being your dream pet, how you have been honest throughout the application, promise to stick to the plans, online often, have transfer experience, etc.

Main Board Application Ratings

Closing

Thanks

This is where you will thank the owner for taking the time to read your application along with being given the opportunity to apply and being considered as a new owner.

Contact Information

Here you include which account you'd like to be neomailed on. If you are premium you can also let them know that you can be webmailed.

Other

You can put in the conclusion to the story you wrote in the beginning. Tell about obstacles that you encountered while doing the application.

Once You Are Finished

Rules Checklist

Q & A

Checklist:

  • Find Your Dream Pet For Adoption
  • Read The Rules
  • Read The Rules (yes, again)
  • Make sure your account is up to par
  • Ask friends to do some fanart
  • Ask friends about being a reference for you
  • Find Adoptables and/or Makeables
  • Begin your layout
  • Decide the pet's personality
  • Begin the creative writings
  • Begin graphics and drawings
  • Start on the about you and your pets sections of the application
  • Buy items for the pet (put them in your neohome or gallery if that where you intend to put them, or put them into your SDB if you plan on putting them on the TP once you send your application).
  • Finish all of your art and writings
  • Run all of your writings through a grammar/spelling checker
  • Put everything together on your petpage and see how it looks
  • Make sure all of the links work correctly
  • Have friends read over it to proofread and/or make suggestions for changes or additions
  • Make any necessary changes.
  • Go to the pound board to get the application judged
  • Make any necessary changes
  • Run everything through a grammar/spelling checker
  • Send the Owner a polite neomail letting them know where to see your application. Include your name, where the application is located, and something like 'I hope you enjoy reading my application.' or even a little roleplay sample of you handing over the application.



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