We appreciate you wanting to bring a animal into your home. In order for us to determine the best fit for you and the pet here, we need you to submit an adoption application.
We will review your application upon receipt. If we have any questions or concerns, we will contact you for clarity.
Once your application is approved, a Pets and Pals Animal Shelter adoption coordinator will contact you to schedule a visit to our shelter to meet in the pet. It is highly recommended that all household members be present for the shelter visit. If applying for a dog and you have another dog(s), you will be asked for them to come along too.
If you decide to adopt, we will have you fill out your adoption paperwork. This typically takes about 10 to 15 minutes. You will make payment for the adoption and if pet is already spayed or neutered, take them home. If the pet is not spayed or neutered, we will make a pick up appointment for you the day after their surgery.
We typically receive multiple applications for the same pet. The applications are reviewed in the order in which they are received, but we don't have a "first-come, first-served" policy. We do our best to match up the personality/temperament of each pet to the needs of the potential adopters. We take the history of each pet into consideration before sending them into new homes, with the hopes that each adoption will be successful for the pet and the person taking them home. If the information provided on the application looks like it would be a successful match, we will notify you either by phone or email of the next steps.
Occasionally an application may come in that seems to be a perfect match for another pet we have at the shelter. A staff member may ask if you are open to meet that pet instead. If for some reason your application does not seem like it would be a good fit, you will be notified that we will not be approving your application. The adoption of each pet at the shelter is at the discretion of the staff based on our assessment of the information provided. We will notify each applicant who sends in an adoption application of their approval status as soon as possible.
Do you hold dogs/cats for people?
If you have been notified that your application has been approved and you let us know you are on your way to meet a pet, we will hold it until you arrive to give you the opportunity meet the animal and decide if you want to finalize the adoption. If your application is approved, but you are unable to come to meet the pet until a later date, you should call before coming to make sure the pet is still available. We do not hold pets until we are informed that you are on the way to the shelter.
Other important information:
We operate on an appointment basis. Once the application is processed and approved, we will schedule a 30-minute appointment to come meet the animal(s) applied for.
It is important that all members of your household come out to meet a the pet you apply for. It is very important that everyone sees the personality/energy level of each pet and makes sure the pet is comfortable with those in the home. Once we approve an application, if you have other dogs in the home, we will ask you to bring them out for a meet and greet to make sure the dogs have positive interactions.
You must be 18 or older to fill out any paperwork.
Out of state adoptions
Please contact us before completing the application so we can discuss the specifics of the adoption. We do not have a system in place for shipping dogs/cats, so we will need to speak to you and see if arrangements will work out.
Have another question not addressed here?
Please contact us at (209) 982-5073 during office hours or you can go to our contact page and send us a message.
