Lydia, It sounds like you already have a good idea of what to do. If you have to adopt from that shelter because there are no others around you, then you must adhere to their guidelines. But before you do that, talk to your vet and find out what they recommend. My Bailey is 5 to 6 years old (we aren't sure, she was full grown when we got her) but my vet still insists on both her shots yearly. We do not know her history for shots, but we stick by it. She had a bad reaction, but next time she will be medicated before hand and have a different brand of shot. There are just two choices: get her shots or adopt from somewhere else. You can't expect them to change their policy, but you also don't have to do anything you don't want. Julie [Posted in FML issue 2589]