In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: Animal shelters often have tons of great dogs available for adoption. As long as you know what you're looking for in your new pet, you will probably be able to find a suitable dog at a shelter near you. Shelters also have many different breeds of dog available, so if you aren't set on a particular breed, this can be a good way to get acquainted with several different ones before deciding. The staff at animal shelters are often familiar with many different breeds of dog so they can probably help you decide which might be the best fit for you. Don't get discouraged if you don't find your new companion right away. You may have to look at a lot of shelters, and a lot of dogs, before you find the one that is the right fit for you. There are also rescues for just about every breed of dog. If you have a specific breed in mind, this may be a good option since all of their dogs will be the type of breed you're looking for. If you know what breed of dog you want, contacting local breeders may be a good option as well. As long as the breeder is responsible, you can likely find a puppy that is healthy and well cared for from a breeder. Keep in mind that this will probably be a much more expensive option than adopting from a shelter or rescue. On average, puppies obtained from a breeder cost anywhere from several hundred dollars up to several thousand. In addition, most breeders only sell puppies. If you're looking for an older dog, a breeder probably won't be the right option for you. Always ask to take a look around your breeder's premises before buying from them. You want to make sure your puppy was treated well and raised under good conditions before deciding to buy. Pet stores may also have a variety of dogs to choose from. While many will be puppies, they may have some older dogs as well. Pet stores, however, are becoming a less popular place to get a dog, with many people preferring to adopt from shelters or buy from a breeder. Many people believe most pet stores get their puppies from puppy mills where there is abuse and ill-treatment of dogs. Puppy mill dogs can also suffer from a number of health problems. Do your research and trust your gut. If you get a bad feeling from a pet store, it is best to keep looking. No matter where you get your dog, the staff or breeder should be able to give you some insight into its personality and temperament. Ask them things like how it gets along with the other dogs, with new people, and with children. For example, if your new dog will be around new people often, a shy dog may not be the right choice for you. A dog that is outgoing and friendly towards new people might be a better choice.
Summary: Look at shelters. Contact breeders. Visit pet stores. Ask about the dog's personality/temperament.

Problem: Article: Get help with a qualified mental health professional who can help you to work through your problems. People with hypochondria sometimes have underlying anxiety issues or depression that, if treated, might help the individual overcome their fears of illness. A therapist can also help you to determine the cause of your fears and work through them in a safe environment. To find a qualified psychologist, try this site: http://locator.apa.org/ A therapist can help you by using different therapy styles, such as cognitive behavioral therapy. One cause of hypochondria is a misunderstanding about how bodily sensations work and/or how pain signals work. This misunderstanding, or lack of knowledge, can lead people to misinterpret bodily signals and view them as more serious than they actually are. So, ask yourself how much you have learned about the body and brain in your education. If you haven't learned much as part of your education so far, one way to help you overcome hypochondria may be to learn about basic bodily sensations. Learn about normally occurring bodily sensations so you don't become scared that you are seriously sick when you experience them. It can be helpful to ask friends and loved ones what types of experiences they feel sometimes. For example, you might ask whether your friends have ever felt a heart palpitation (e.g., a fluttering of the heart of a feeling of the heart skipping a beat). You will likely find that many of your friends and loved ones have experienced this before, because heart palpitations are common. In addition, you could use this resource, which shows the kinds of sensations people typically feel when they experience different emotions: http://www.pnas.org/content/111/2/646.full You may find yourself thinking a lot about your bodily sensations in order to detect illness. Make a week long plan to reduce the number of checks you allow yourself gradually so that by the end of the week you are only checking your sensations a couple times a day or less. For example, on the first day, you might allow yourself to check your sensations 30 times, on the second day you might reduce this to 22 times, on the third day 14 times, and continue to reduce that number over the rest of the week. If you ask your friends and family to reassure you that you are not sick and this doesn't alleviate your worry, it may be best to stop engaging in this behavior. This is because it can backfire and cause you to actually worry even more. This is because you may ask for reassurance more and more often in an attempt to get some benefit from it in the form of reduced anxiety, which just keeps your worries front and center in your mind. If your loved ones are constantly asking you how you are doing and their checking in on you is disrupting your attempts to get your illness anxiety out of your mind, kindly let them know this. You might say "I truly appreciate that you are concerned about me and that you care but I'm trying to think less about my concerns about illness, so it would be really helpful for me if you checked in on me only one day per week." An effective way to reduce stress and increase well-being is a technique called progressive muscle relaxation. This may help you reduce your levels of anxiety more broadly, and your illness anxieties in particular. To perform progressive muscle relaxation: Set aside 15 quiet minutes for yourself. Close your eyes and relax your body. Apply tension to a specific muscle group by flexing/squeezing it for five or so seconds. Be careful not to squeeze too tight and hurt yourself. Quickly relax the tensed muscle group while exhaling your breath. It is very important to focus intently on the difference in feeling between the tensed muscles and the relaxed muscles. After staying in this relaxed state for around 15 seconds, repeat the whole process with other muscle groups. Although medications are not typically prescribed directly for hypochondriasis, hypochondria tends to be associated with depression and/or anxiety disorders, which there are medications for. These medications may then indirectly improve symptoms of hypochondria. If you think you may benefit from treating depression and/or anxiety, explain the situation to your doctor. Your doctor may decide to prescribe a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) to help you. Be sure to always consult with your doctor before starting, stopping, or changing how you take a medication.
Summary:
Seek therapy. Check your beliefs. Educate yourself about normal bodily sensations. Reduce sensation checking. Stop looking for reassurance. Try progressive muscle relaxation. Consider medication.