Once a month we select a reader question and answer it here. Have a question you'd like us to answer? Email us.

Q: I have been trying to adopt a dog from a specific rescue for a month now. They are yet to even call my vet for a reference or do the home inspection, which they say is required to adopt. When I call, the "person in charge" says it's all up to the foster parent to follow through. Is that "normal" for rescue groups? It's very disappointing. I hoped to pick up the dog the same week. --Barbara F.

A: Petfinder is a community and, like all communities, each individual or organization is a little bit different. Ideally, when you visit an animal shelter someone will greet you when you walk through the door, escort you in to meet the pets and answer your questions. Sometimes though, the person at the desk is on a tough phone call, everyone in the reception office is tied up with two boxes of kittens that just arrived, and the volunteer in the dog kennels just started and has as many questions as you do.

With rescue groups, you can find the same variety. One group operates so efficiently it makes your head spin. They have concise, clear forms, a person who answers or returns your call in short order, and a group of experienced foster homes who work so well together that each step is quick and clear. In short order you know if that dog you fell in love with online is a good match for you. Another group may be made up of a network of loving, but busy, foster families who volunteered to foster a dog because they heard the need was great. Their lives are hectic with jobs and kids. They may even be shy about talking with strangers, even though they know that's the only way to find that forever home for their rescued dog!

There are a wide range of people in rescue who have skills that range from "perfectionist" to "procrastinator." We know the majority of our members want to get back in touch with you as soon as possible!

After the jump: Tips for making sure you hear back and how we're working to improve customer service for adopters.

Here's our next post in our new Q&A series about pet adoption! Once a month we select a reader question and answer it here. Have a question you'd like us to answer? Email us.

Q: I love the site and all the information available but my first experience trying to adopt a dog gave me the creeps. The group had no phone number and wouldn't even answer my basic questions without a full application containing very personal information. I met them halfway and filled out all the information that wasn't personal but was essentially denied for a non-issue because I didn't send them all my info. -- Sid L.

A: Each year, millions of animals lose their lives to homelessness. Animal shelters and rescue groups are their lifeline to safety. But, with over 13,600 adoption organizations on Petfinder, adoption procedures can vary widely. You may need to reach out to a few organizations to find one that is a match for you.

Learn more about the different types of groups that post on Petfinder after the jump and decide which type is easiest for you to work with.

The weekend of Petfinder's Big Birthday Adopt Event arrived at a busy time for our little Spencer, NY, volunteer-run rescue, Wildrun. As a Petfinder staffer, I planned to spend Sunday supporting our shelter and rescue-group members, but as Wildrun's founder, I wanted to take advantage of the extra buzz and easy publicity tools for the big adoption event.

At the last minute, we decided to go for it and hold an adoption event on Saturday. Our local paper squeaked our press release in at the last moment. We printed  the Petfinder-provided flyers and cards, and I posted Petfinder's ready-made graphics and volunteer appeal on Wildrun's blog. Friends responded with promises to help out -- and we were ready to go!

When adopters arrive at a shelter or rescue, their heart is often snagged by the charming cat who reaches out a friendly
paw to say, "Take me home!" Or visitors may feel drawn to a shy cat with scared eyes who just needs some love and security to bring out her brave side.

But Tiger Tom, a handsome cat abandoned here in 2005, was passed over year after year. He was shy with strangers and could look positively grumpy despite his sweet disposition.

Because he was a familiar-looking brown tiger short hair, he faded into the background compared to flashier-looking cats and cute bouncy kittens. At off-site events, he stubbornly hid under a towel.

Of course, as soon as the strangers left, he would hop down from his cubby, headbutt his fellow cats affectionately and roll over for a belly rub. He looked like a little stuffed cat with his short legs and plush fur.

Tiger Tom was a highly adoptable cat. He just refused to show it to visitors!

When the blog post about our Petfinder Big Birthday Adoption Event went public, longtime reader Georg left the comment: "Jazz and I will be there, with an empty cat carrier." Georg, along with several friends, regularly crocheted kitty blankets for shelters, including Wildrun. She and Jazz had recently had two beloved pets pass on from old age, and they wanted to adopt a cat who had been homeless a long time.

And Saturday was Tiger Tom's lucky day: Even though he put on his "grumpy face," Georg and Jazz chose him! That night I emailed them a video of Tom being cute, so they could see how he would blossom once he settled in. After a pre-adoption check-up and a dental, he went to his new home on Sunday.

Two other adult cats -- Tyler, who had been with Wildrun for a year, and Portia, a five-month resident, were also adopted at our birthday event. For a tiny rescue at a short-notice event, three adult-cat adoptions is huge!

Sometimes it takes just a little bit more to find those special adopters who see beyond a grumpy face. Thank you to Petfinder for making it easy to hold our Big Birthday Adoption Event. It was the best party ever for Tiger Tom!

Cats require plenty of fresh, clean water to maintain urinary health and prevent kidney disease. Senior cats especially need to drink generously to pamper their aging kidneys. So in honor of Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month, I'm covering the art of getting your cat to drink more water.

When my cat Ivan began to have issues with feline lower urinary tract disease, everyone had ideas to encourage him to drink just a little more.

My veterinarian suggested adding clam juice to his water. Ivan stuck his nose up. A friend gifted him with a kitty water fountain. My inquisitive young cat Longfellow (pictured) found it fascinating, but Ivan regarded it with disdain. I let the tub faucet drip to draw his attention, but the sound drove me crazy.

Keeping Ivan hydrated was becoming a bigger chore than he or I wanted it to be.

I finally decided that simplicity was best. Why stop at one or two water bowls? I went to my cupboard for unused crockery and made water available at a generous number of locations throughout the house. I wanted Ivan and the rest of my cat clan to encounter water bowls throughout the day and be enticed to take a drink.

It worked. I was amazed to see how often I found a cat lapping from a bowl just because it happened to be on his way from point A to point B. Here are some tips for fine-tuning the strategy:

• Put water bowls in places your cat likes to spend time. Cats are usually given two small bowls for food and water, placed where humans aren't likely to trip over them -- often in a busy kitchen where a cat has to dodge feet to get a drink. Give your cat additional options near his favorite lounging spots.
  
  
• Change the water often. A tiny bowl quickly becomes unappealing if it isn't refreshed once or twice a day.
  


• Use bowls you'll like to look at. Additional water bowls don't need to be bland. I have a beautiful pottery bowl from an artists' sale by the door to my living room. A tall handsome crock in the bathroom helps my arthritic senior cat lap without bending her stiff shoulders. How about that old set of china, or the serving bowl you were given that doesn't match a thing? Might they brighten up a corner or a hallway?


• Offer some additional incentives. By placing a sturdy water dish inside your bathtub, you can encourage your four-footed tub-surfer to take another drink, or provide a playful cat with a place to splash to her heart's content without soaking the floor. Toss a ping pong ball in there for some added activity!


• Prevent messes. Outside of the tub, you can help tame a feline water-paddler by placing one bowl inside another. The water your cat splashes out of the first bowl will simply spill into the second. Beautifully glazed plant saucers work well for this, and give you yet another reason to visit your local garden center this spring.

Ivan doesn't have a favorite bowl. He drinks from each and every one. He knows they all were placed there just for him!

However, my senior cat, Cricket (pictured), is three-legged and full of attitude. Her favorite bowl is ceramic, square, painted with lemons and leaves, and sits on a cabinet between two windows in my den. I'm not certain why water tastes better from her special bowl, or why she chooses to climb to drink when there are more convenient bowls all around her. I don't question her royal judgment. If it keeps her drinking, and helps keep her healthy in her senior years, I'm happy!

Tell us: Does your cat have a favorite place to drink water?

The results are in, and I'm proud to announce that Molly is a great American mini-mutt!

I would have bet a bag of dog treats that Chihuahua would show up in Molly's heritage. However, there were no results for her primary and secondary breeds, which means her parents were mutts as well.

Still, Canine Heritage found a real surprise "in the mix": Molly's one discernible line was ...

Everyone stops to ask "What is she?" when Molly goes for a romp in the dog park. She is an 11-lb. bouncy blonde with pantaloons, a fluff of a tail she holds high, and crooked, wispy ears.

Since Molly is a determined little digger, her pregnant owner worried she would get loose and get hurt once the owner was unable to keep a constant eye on her. The owner didn't want to burden the local shelter, so went looking for a new home for Molly. That's when Molly came to me.

A daily click of the mouse, now through May 3, could help a staunch foe of animal abuse win a prestigious honor.

Sheriff John Montgomery of Baxter County, AR, is one of eight finalists for America's Most Wanted's All-Star Award. He's nominated because he guided the creation of a state-of-the-art website to help fight crime (learn more about it here), but we admire him for an additional reason.

Sheriff Montgomery relentlessly pursues justice in cases of animal abuse, and had a pivotal role in bringing a felony animal cruelty statute to Arkansas, Desiree Bender, Arkansas Director of the Humane Society of the United States, tells us.

For National Volunteer Week, we are saluting just a handful of the many thousands of volunteers who dedicate themselves to homeless animals.

Organizations that embrace volunteers benefit from the creativity and energy of new minds. Volunteers can think big -- in some cases REALLY big!

Sweet Onion Animal Protection Society (SOAPS) in Vidalia, GA, sent us photographic evidence of a truly big idea their volunteer Marla Jernigan brought to their local landscape -- a billboard!

When volunteers come in twos, even more animals can be helped! We continue National Volunteer Week with a salute to couples who volunteer together to aid homeless pets.

Dianne Heim of the New Rochelle (NY) Humane Society shares her appreciation for Karen and Joe Roman. Karen has been a volunteer since 2002. She estimates she has fostered about 150 kittens and cats, many of whose pictures are in an album she keeps. Karen says, "These little creatures confirm one of my reasons for being. They fill my heart with joy and my soul with an inner peace."

"Karen helps at all our event tables," Dianne tells us, "spending hours signing people in as they arrive to have their dogs washed, their pictures taken with Santa during our holiday photo day or to participate in our annual dog walk, Hounds on the Sound."

Karen's husband, Joe, is also an active volunteer. "He tends to the shelter's grounds, sweeping leaves, picking up fallen branches, cutting back bushes or anything else to make the shelter's area beautiful," Dianne says. "Joe is our 'Who can fix it when no one else can?' guy. The dogs know Joe too. They often go up to him during walks for a pet and to exchange hellos."

This week, April 18-24, is National Volunteer Week. Volunteers are the lifeline of animal adoption, providing shelters with extra-special care and support. Some adoption groups are composed entirely of volunteers, with no paid staff at all.

Petfinder recently asked our member shelters and adoption groups to send us stories of some of their most valued volunteers.

We were overwhelmed with their incredible tales of volunteer dedication and creativity. We will be sharing a number of these with you throughout this week.

Some volunteers first come to a shelter to adopt a pet and are so impressed by the mission, they return to offer assistance to the pets they could not take home.

Clatsop County Animal Control and Shelter in Warrenton, OR, told us of Linda Dygert, who began her relationship with the shelter about 10 years ago when she adopted a deaf Aussie/Samoyed Mix.