Adopting pets can be a lot of fun, but it can also be really stressful! How about we make it fun? In this guide, you will find out how to earn your favorite neopet through an application, and have a ton of fun with it, too!
What is your dream pet?
Let's start out at the very, very beginning. What's your dream pet? If you don't have one in mind, try looking at different colors at the Rainbow Pool. If you have a favorite species or color, you can look those up at the link that I gave you. There are so many options! You may find a few that you like, and that's perfectly fine. This will come in handy, actually. Just, don't get the wrong pet! We'll get to that later.
Finding Your Pet
Now, you found your dream pet(s), right? Great! This is a very fun step. What you can now do is go to either NeoPound.com or go to the help boards. There are always a lot of pets UFA (Up For Adoption) on the help boards.
..At The Boards
Stop at the help boards! We'll get back to NeoPound in a second. There are a variety of pounding boards. Many will say something like, "Just show me your personality! Stay to chat, and NO NEOMAILS!" When they say no neomails, they mean it. This will ruin your chances completely, no matter who you are! I recommend, no matter how big the board is, to just post. Don't be pushy, or obnoxious. If you feel like you're getting on their nerves, do the opposite. Apologize, (Even though you know you're right!) and continue to talk around all the others.
Do Not – Chat alone. This makes you look obnoxious when you repeatedly say things like "This board is going fast; Sooo…; How is everyone?; Why won't anyone talk to meeee???" All those things are totally 'n00bish'.
Do Not – Pick somebody out and start making fun of them. Unless it seems like the owner dislikes them too, (and this sounds totally mean but,) you can probably earn brownie points by saying things like, "Whoa, want to be a little nicer?; How about not sounding so desperate!" Make sure to stay witty though.
Wait! There's more! You'll notice that all of the pounding boards are just chat pound boards. Some will require applications! I recommend pet page applications. Although, sometimes the owners will want neomail applications. If they say neomail or pet page applications, a pet page will win over neomail.
Before I go any further, we need another list of do nots for the pet page apps!
Do Not – Act like this application is in a neomail. There's a reason why it's on a petpage- Art should be included! Also, neomails have a limited amount of space. These should go on for a while. These should also be interesting, don't make them boring!
Pet pages aren't annoying or boring, at all, though! These are some of the most fun things to do. Why? You get to make tons of cool pictures for your pet! Art is a major plus, to everyone; especially if you take your time. Another thing that you want to put in is something that has to do with writing that you enjoy doing. If you like poetry, make a poem about your dream pet. If you like roleplaying, make a roleplay. The longer, and the more thought-out, the better. Don't rush through this all in one night. I have been in the position of adopting out pets before, and nothing makes you yawn more than an empty pet page app!
Do Not - List too much of that boring "I will take care of him. I will feed him. I will play with him." Ya… No thanks." This makes them fall asleep, and they have more pet pages to read! They prefer the stuff that will make them want to read again. Roleplays, art, future with the pet… That kind of thing!
...At Adoption Agencies
Now – Neopound.com. This place is no piece of cake! You need to work your hardest to get a pet that you want from NeoPound. Although, this site is very convenient for searching for your dream pets. The pets also have great names, and some very rare pets that you'd never find on a pounding board. I do, somewhat, recommend viewing this site.
Contacting The Current Owner
There are many guidelines to get the pet, though. What I always do is neomail the owner. Try to be really sweet. Put together something like this -
Hey! I'm Ary. I think your ((pet)) is so cute! I looked around, and saw that she was up for adoption. I was so happy! Well, I'd like to apply. I have so many good ideas, and I just thought that I'd tell you before I started. Is it okay with you if I apply for ((pet's name))?
So, I know it's kind of cheesy, but they like to know that you're really interested in the pet. It gets you more brownie points. But, if you want to continue a conversation, be careful. Sometimes, the owners will not want too many neomails! On their rules page (most of the pets UFA have a rule page either right on their pet lookup, or on their pet page) it may say to send less than three neomails, or so. Otherwise, you will be disqualified. Although, if you send your first neomail, there's no rule like that on the pet page, and they seem eager to chat, continue to draw out conversations. They may want to see who you are, or how you act. Maybe talking to them will show you are the perfect owner! But, again, you have to be careful. If they are starting to act bored, and like they're trying to get off this neomail, wrap up the conversation! Hey, if they don't want to chat, you can always add extra info about yourself on the pet page!
Fast forward! Your pet page is done, and you think it is perfect, right? Proofread it! Done? Proofread it again! This has to be perfect. It could decide if you're the owner, or if someone other that you gets it! Also, if you know a lot of html, use it! This is really important to show that you are worthy of this pet. If it's just a bunch of words going across the page, they aren't going to be too interested! Interesting pet pages, will make you get this pet. Too much creativity is never a bad thing, too! You don't want it to look the same as everyone else, right? …Right.
Fast forward (again)! Hypothetically, they picked you as the owner. Yay! Good job! Well, remember when you had multiple dream pets? Now, you want to apply for another one. That's perfectly fine, but don't let all this get to your head. If you do… you may want to pound one! This isn't too big of a deal, but after all of that hard work, and after the owner specifically chose you after a long process of eliminations, she may feel pretty angry with you. So, you're sure this is the pet for you? Just remember – you aren't doing all of that hard work for nothing!
Make sure that this pet is your dream pet, and when you're sure, go for it! I hope this guide helped you a lot! Thanks for reading, and good luck!
- Ary