We're kicking off a new series of Q&As about pet adoption! Once a month we'll select a reader question and answer it here. Have a question you'd like us to answer? Email us.

Q: I'm looking to adopt my next dog in order to save a life and help. It's very sad to see the outrageous adoption fees so many shelters are asking for these unwanted animals. I understand many shelters are giving them their shots, etc., but many vets will work with new owners on lower-cost care for pets -- so why don't the shelters? -- Stephanie D.

A: Hi Stephanie. Thank you so much for looking into adoption for your next dog! While searching Petfinder, you will find pets from more than 13,600 shelters and rescue groups -- each with its own adoption procedure and fees. Depending on the type of organization and type of pet, adoption fees can range from no fee up to several hundred dollars.

After the jump, some information on what helps determine an adoption fee amount, what that fee covers and how you can get a reduced adoption fee on a great pet.

Adopt-A-Senior-Pet Month is winding down, but many older adoptable pets still have so much love to give and certainly don't deserve to spend their remaining years without homes. So here's another sweet senior-pet adoption story:

The Housers of State College, PA, don't let a pet's advanced age worry them. In fact, they have sought out older cats to adopt.

"It was autumn of 2006, and one of our two cats had died," Ellen Houser says. "Our surviving kitty, Murphy, then 10 or 11 years old, seemed lonesome. As we considered adopting a buddy for him, we looked for a mature but still active feline that would match Murphy's age and energy level. But local shelters didn't have any cats that fit all of the necessary criteria."

Today we're kicking off our Foster a Lonely Pet for the Holidays program. Each year, we encourage you to help pets in need by taking in a foster pet during the holiday season. (Find out how the program started here.)

Why is fostering so important -- especially during the holidays?

By taking in a foster pet, you'll be:

1. Giving shelters and rescue groups extra help during a time of year when they are usually short-staffed.


2. Giving other foster parents a chance to travel or just take a break.


3. Freeing up a spot so the shelter or rescue group can take in another pet.


4. Giving your foster pet the time he or she needs to be ready for adoption. (Learn common reasons pets need foster homes.)
   

Charlotte Venable of Springdale, AR, is one of the thousands of volunteers across the country who help at their local animal welfare facilities. In 2008, her volunteer job was taking photos of the adoptable pets at City of Springdale Animal Services so they could be posted on Petfinder.

While taking pictures, "I came across this tiny, emaciated, nearly bald neutered male Chihuahua," she says. "They had him listed as being about 10 years old, but he looked far older than that."

He was snuggled up in a blanket but still looked cold, so Charlotte gave him another blanket and moved on to take more photos. A few minutes later she heard pitiful howling and crying and went to see what was going on.  

Steve Dale is the host of the nationally syndicated radio shows Steve Dale's Pet World and The Pet Minute with Steve Dale. His column, My Pet World (of which this post is an excerpt -- read the full post here), is carried in more than 100 newspapers nationwide and his new column, The CATalyst, just debuted. Steve also serves on the board of directors for the American Humane Association.

According to a survey conducted by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, approximately 53% of cats and 55% of dogs in the U.S are overweight or obese. Data released from a nationwide collaboration with Banfield Pet Hospital reveals pet obesity continues to be a serious problem. [A 2004 study by Nestle Purina Pet Care found dogs with a healthy body weight had a median lifespan of 15% longer than overweight dogs. Read more about the dangers of pet obesity.]

So, how and why are our pets growing wider and wider? I talk about this to veterinary professionals around the world at veterinary conferences. Here, in a random order, are some reasons why there are so many overweight pets.

1) Some pet parents believe overweight is "normal." People may not recognize their pets as overweight since the pets didn't grow wider overnight. The trend of overweight pets has been happening for decades. So, while 20 years ago, those same pet parents might have been shocked, today the view of what is a normal is skewed.

This Wednesday was the fourth annual Petside Pet 'Net event, in which pet bloggers around the world wrote about pet adoption to raise awareness of homeless pets. (Read our entry here.)

To celebrate, Petside invited pet parents to post their adoption stories on Petside.com's Facebook wall for a chance to be featured here on the Petfinder blog. Here are a few of our favorites:

Prince Poodle
Prince is a 5-year-old apricot Miniature Poodle. In January, he was spotted as a stray running in traffic by animal rescuer Brenda (our hero!), who works at Fuzzy Friends Rescue in Waco, TX.

She saw him on the road and hoped that he would go into a house. When a vehicle almost hit him, she called him over and he jumped into her car. He was matted and had sticks and leaves in his hair, and although he was wearing a little jacket, he had clearly been out for a while. Fuzzy Friends shaved his hair and looked for his owner, but no one ever appeared.

We adopted Prince Poodle (Fuzzy Friends had named him Brando) on March 14 after spotting him on Petfinder. He is a wonderful dog and I can't imagine why he sat at the rescue for weeks.

Prince loves wearing clothes and playing with stuffed animals. He also loves children and people -- he has visited the hospital (to see a sick friend) and the elementary school (to be part of a talk on rescue dogs) and won the adoration of all. Since we adopted Prince, I have started volunteering at our local animal rescue, Humane Society of West Texas in Lubbock, and have found it very rewarding to help people adopt their next family member!
-- Jackie B.

After the jump: Two more great adoption stories from Petside.com's Facebook fans!

Q: Two weeks ago I adopted a 10-year-old Torti-Siamese cat. She will lie beside me in bed, come to me if I call her and let me pet her but she will not let me pick her up. And every time I move my hands around her she runs and hides under the bed (she seems afraid that I will hit her or something). Do you think it is just because she is so new?

Also, I was going to take her to the vet for a wellness visit, but I'm thinking I should wait. I don't want her to become even more afraid of me if the vet needs to draw blood or do something invasive like that. -- Nancy T.

Michelle Blake, CDBC, pet trainer and deputy director at the Association of Pet Dog Trainers in Las Vegas, writes: It sounds like your cat is having some stress and anxiety acclimating to her new home, which is not unusual.

Cats have a difficult time with change, and you should move slowly with the cat to allow her to come to her own comfort zone with you. After the jump: a few things you can try.

Today is Petside.com's fourth annual Pet 'Net event, when many pet websites all agree to write about a specific theme. And this year, that theme is our favorite: pet adoption!

Since we pretty much always write about pet adoption, and since November is Adopt-A-Senior-Pet Month, our Pet 'Net blog post is about what you can do to get senior pets adopted.

Here are some easy ways you can help:

1. Tell a friend! Take our Stand Up for Senior Pets Pledge and make a commitment to tell one person why senior pets rule. Bonus: You'll be entered for a chance to win a BISSELL Lift-Off® Deep Cleaning System for yourself and one for the Petfinder shelter or rescue group of your choice (official rules).
   
   
2. Donate your Facebook status. Find an adoptable senior on Petfinder and share him or her with this message: "November is Adopt-A-Senior-Pet Month. Save a life: Adopt a senior pet!"
   

Jeanette Matlock's two West Highland Terriers had passed away, and she missed them, so she'd been looking on Petfinder for one to adopt. One day she was driving home from work and saw a sign in front of a church that read, "When one door closes, another opens." Thinking about her dogs, she asked, "When?"

"When" turned out to be the very next morning. The Tampa Bay woman saw a sickly 9-year-old Westie listed on Petfinder by Tampa's Hillsborough County Animal Services, an open-admission facility that takes in all the strays brought to its doors. She knew that Teddy might face euthanasia given his age, his poor health, and the fact that the shelter might be overcrowded.

"I had to save him," Jeanette says.

Here's another great lost-dog reunion story from our partner, HomeAgain. You can help lost pets get home again: Sign up to receive lost pet alerts when a dog or cat goes missing in your area.