I've been volunteering at a local shelter for years, and I'm starting to wonder if our adoption policies are actually helping the animals or just making us feel good. We require potential owners to fill out lengthy applications, have home visits, and pay high fees, but the shelter is still overcrowded and we euthanize more animals than I'd like to admit. Could stricter screening be scaring away good homes, or are these measures necessary to prevent neglect and abandonment? I'm genuinely torn because I've seen both wonderful adoptions and terrible outcomes, and I'm not sure where the balance lies.