You must agree to abide by the animal ordinances where you live.

All dogs and cats are required to be spayed or neutered before adoption. If the attending veterinarian chooses to postpone the spay/neuter surgery due to medical concerns, you must return the animal to the veterinarian at the specified time for surgery.

Very young children and small puppies and kittens do not always mix. Children are often bitten or scratched because they hold or pick up a young animal in the wrong way. If you have a young child or children, our adoption volunteer will talk with you and your children about the children’s previous experience with other animals and will ensure that your children and the animal are compatible.

Puppies (dogs aged five months and younger) are generally not adopted into a home where there is no one home during the daytime for more than five consecutive hours. A puppy needs to be socialized with people on a consistent basis in order to become a good companion. A puppy cannot learn to be housetrained if there is no one home to take him/her outside for training. If you cannot be home to train a puppy, we will encourage you to consider adopting an older animal.

If you rent your home/apartment, you must show us written permission from the landlord or owner of the residence that you can have a pet and whether there are weight/size restrictions on the pet.

If for any reason the adoption is not successful or you cannot keep the pet, we welcome you and your pet back. We recognize that not every pet adoption will be successful through no fault of the person or the pet. We would rather you return the pet to us than give it to someone who may not care for it properly.

Dogs are placed as companion animals, not as guard dogs or fighting dogs.

If you are considering de-clawing* your adopted cat, please ask our volunteers about alternatives to this surgical procedure. De-clawing often leaves cats in pain, and a cat without claws is completely defenseless should it escape your care. *De-clawing is the amputation of half of each toe.

If you already have animals, we will ask you about their health status. We may require you to provide proof of vaccinations, heartworm tests, or other medical care. Please understand that if your animals are not vaccinated or may be ill, we cannot place a new animal with you.

If you have a history of violating the law or losing, giving away, or selling animals, or having your animals injured or killed by moving vehicles, we may not give you an animal depending on the specific circumstances.

We will not give you an animal as a gift for another person, unless that person has gone through our adoption process. Please understand the ‘gift’ animals are very often returned to the shelter because the new ‘owner’ is not prepared to care for them.

We will implant a microchip in all our adopted animals with the name and contact information of the owner.  If your pet is lost, anyone with a chip reader will be able to identify and contact you.  If you give away your pet for any reason, it is important to update the microchip registration.

If we learn that you have put false information on your adoption application, we will nullify the adoption approval - and we may take back an animal that has already been adopted to you.

We reserve the right to deny adoption if an adoption is not in the best interests of the animal.