Great answers are anything that has to do with love or companionship. If someone wants a companion for his or her other animal, that can be fine, but ask follow-up questions to make sure that if your pet doesn’t become best playmates with the existing pet, your pet won’t be given away or relinquished to an animal shelter.

If the answer is “I want my children to learn responsibility”, or “I’m adopting a pet for my child”, please ask questions about the parents’ intention to take responsibility for your pet’s care when their child loses interest or becomes too busy to handle daily walks/feeding/litter box cleaning, etc. Many pets are relinquished to shelters for just this reason.

“As a gift” is another answer that requires further questioning. Is the gift for someone in the same household, like a spouse or a child? In that case, make sure that the recipient is aware of the gift, and that the person who filled out the application is willing to take responsibility for the pet’s care. If they’re not, the gift recipient should be the one to fill out the application. If the gift is for someone outside of the household, the recipient should absolutely be the person to fill out the application. After all, your pet will potentially be living in their home, so you’ll want to know all you can about them!

If the answer is “to mate with my other dog”, “as a guard dog”, or anything else that makes you uncomfortable, go no further.