Now that you’ve decided to adopt a new pet, you may turn your attention to finding a rescue organization and the right pet for your family. Whether you plan to visit a shelter, attend an adoption fair or contact a rescue coordinator in your area, there is some jargon you need to know. These are commonly used terms and phrases by animal rescue groups. Here are a few to get you started.

Open Admission

This is a shelter that takes any animal left by an owner regardless of the animal’s history or behavioral. For the most part, very few of the places that accept open admission are no-kill shelters.

Managed Admission

Managed admission shelters can limit the hours of intake, the types of pets that they accept or even judge how adoptable an animal is before accepting it.

No-Kill

This is a term used to describe a shelter or an organization that doesn’t euthanize an animal. Also, the goal of a no-kill organization is to have a 90 percent or higher adoption rate for their animals.

Foster Care

An animal waiting for adoption receives foster care from a family willing to take pets on a temporary basis to free up space at the shelter. One of the most important jobs of the foster family is to socialize the animal, making it easier to find it a forever home.