From local shelters to carefully selected breeders, families in Eldersburg and Sykesville discovered their furry friends at an array of places and all for different reasons. 

Eldersburg resident Mort Shuman went the shelter route to find his cat, Zoe, who is now 14. He adopted her from a shelter in Florida when he was living there. But when it came to his cat, Chloe, she decided to find them.

“When the second of our original two cats passed, I was done with pets. I couldn't take the heartbreak,” said Shuman.

Then on one cold November night in Columbia, Mort said his wife, Pam, and some of their friends were going to a movie with pre-purchased tickets  when they decided to kill some time at Home Depot.

“As we're getting ready to walk into Home Depot, this cat appears out of nowhere and follows us into the store,” said Shuman, who added that the employees made them put her outside thinking she was theirs.

“We walk out to go to the movie, and there is the cat, waiting for us. So we all skipped the movie and took her to the shelter,” said Shuman. 

“It was the weekend, so they were closed, but someone came to open up the shelter and take her in,” he said.

They wrote down their information in case no one adopted her and when no one did, they picked her up and took her home. 

“I always looked at her as my angel cat, as she came literally weeks after our original cat had passed away and really came out of nowhere,” said Shuman.

These types of adoption stories are everywhere, with several local residents saying they either found a pet on the street that needed a home or rescued a pet from a shelter or took in a pet that a family was giving up.

“I adopted my dog thru a friend of a friend,” said Eldersburg resident Valerie Streissguth. “He didn't have time for the dog. He worked a lot and the dog was in the crate for nine hours a day.”

Streissguth gave the dog a new home. “I’m glad the person admitted the dog needed a better home. I couldn't imagine life without him!”

Local resident Faith Nissel found her dog at Frederick Animal Control after visiting several shelters to find the “right” dog to fit in with her family. 

“Mixed breeds and rescue dogs rock, but it's important to spend some time with the dog before you adopt,” said Nissel.