Adoption Process

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Si desea nuestra solicitud de adopción en español, envíenos un correo electrónico a info@petsinneed.org.

Thank you for your interest in adopting an animal from Pets In Need! 

We are currently offering adoptions virtually and in-person by appointment. This means that you can still welcome a new pet into your family while maintaining minimal contact with people outside of your household.

Process Overview

1. Meet our Pets. Get to know our available animals. Once you find an animal you are interested in, complete an online application. You will find the application within each pets’ profile. 

2. Keep in Mind. There may be special requirements or restrictions with certain pets, and we cannot guarantee that the animal(s) you are interested in will be available at the time of your appointment.

   While we make every effort to accommodate our wonderful adopters, our first priority is to move animals out of the shelter and into loving homes as quickly as possible. Therefore, adoptions are conducted on a first come first served basis for qualified adopters.

   If the animal you are interested in is adopted by another family before your appointment occurs and if we do not have another potential match for your family at the time, we may have to cancel your appointment. You will be notified about the cancellation prior to the appointment.

3. Application Review. Our adoption team will review your application and contact you via email or phone. We respond to inquiries as quickly as possible and usually get back to prospective adopters within a day. In rare cases, it may take up to 48 hours to respond. Thank you in advance for your patience. 

4. Schedule an Appointment. Our adoption staff will work with you to schedule an appointment so that you may meet up to meet animals in person. Once your appointment is scheduled, you will receive a confirmation email. Be sure to confirm the location where you are scheduled, either Palo Alto or Redwood City. Please check our website prior to your appointment for the most up-to-date registry of available animals.

   Virtual meet-and-greets over videoconference may be available for some animals in our care at the discretion of our shelter operations managers. Please let our staff know if you prefer a virtual meet-and-greet.

5. Visit. Please arrive at the shelter at your allotted appointment time, and bring all members of your household with you. If you are interested in adopting a dog and currently have a resident dog, please bring him or her as well. Please do not bring anyone who does not live in your house. All visitors ages 2 and above will be asked to wear a mask at all times.

   You will have up to 45 minutes to view adoptable pets. In an effort to prevent unnecessary contact, to ensure that post-appointment cleaning is manageable for our staff and to promote physical distancing, we are limiting meet-and-greets to no more than three animals per visit. 

6. Make it Official. Met your perfect match? You can adopt on-site or participate in our foster-to-adopt program (if eligible), which allows you to bring a pet home and get to know it before finalizing the adoption.

Adoption Requirements

• All information provided on your application must be up-to-date and accurate.

• If you rent your home, you must provide the property owner's contact information and a copy of the lease agreement to verify that pets are allowed in the home.  

• Everyone living in the household must agree to have a new pet and be present at the meet-and-greet appointment.

• For in-person dog meet-and-greet appointments, adopters must bring resident dogs to the shelter.

• There may be extra requirements or restrictions with certain animals. For example, some animals must be indoor only, others may require a backyard. Some animals may not be a good fit for a family with young children or in a home where there is another pet. Restrictions are put into place simply to ensure the safety of you and your family and the pet. Talk with our adoption specialists to see if any restrictions apply to the animal you are interested in.

Policies

• If multiple applications are submitted for one animal, we will adopt out on a first-come-first-served basis to qualified applicants.

• As long as our adoption process is handled virtually, we will not place any animals on hold.