Check out our sister brand, Kinship, for vet chat, a nutrition calculator, basic obedience training, and (much) more. So you're never flying solo in this pet parenting thing.
If you have a question about Adopt a Pet or a pet ad you see on the site, you may find the answer you're looking for in the list of "Frequently Asked Questions" below. For any other questions or feedback, please submit a request.
While we would love to help everybody personally, our small staff cannot possibly respond to the large volume of emails and phone calls we receive on a daily basis. So before you attempt to contact us, please check the "Frequently Asked Questions" listed below to see they provide the answers you need. Thank you!
If you have a question about Adopt a Pet or a pet ad you see on the site, you may find the answer you're looking for in the list of "Frequently Asked Questions" below. For any other questions or feedback, please submit a request.
While we would love to help everybody personally, our small staff cannot possibly respond to the large volume of emails and phone calls we receive on a daily basis. So before you attempt to contact us, please check the "Frequently Asked Questions" listed below to see they provide the answers you need. Thank you!
The personal data submitted via this form will be retained only for the purpose of responding to your question or concern and will not be used for marketing purposes. You must be the age of majority in your country to submit a form.
How can I find a new home for a pet I already have?
We know rehoming your pet is a difficult decision. The good news is that we can help. Check out
Rehome
by Adopt a Pet - the safe and reliable way to find a great new home for your pet.
We'd rather help you keep your pet, though, so please take a look at
these resources,
designed to help you and your best pal stay together.
How can I get specific information about a pet I've seen on this site?
If you have questions about a specific pet you saw (whether he or she is still available, personality characteristics, etc.) or about the adoption policies of a particular shelter or group (whether they allow adoptions out of state, how much adoption fees are, etc.), you will need to contact the shelter or rescue group directly.
Adopt a Pet is an adoption referral/listing service for thousands of shelters and rescue groups around the country. We are unable to answer your questions about a specific pet, or about a shelter or rescue group's adoption policies.
To contact a shelter or rescue group directly, go back to our home page and do a search for the pet you are looking for. Once you find him/her, click on the photo and scroll down to see the shelter or rescue group's contact info and give them a call or send them an email! And thanks for adopting!
We do not have information on individual pets shown on the site. All of the information available will be shown in the pet's profile. Please contact the shelter or rescue group directly if you have a question.
I couldn't find the specific pet I was looking for on this site. What should I do?
Thank you for your interest in adopting a pet! By visiting our site you have started on the path that will lead you to a wonderful new family member.
If you have not already done so, we recommend that you go to our home page and start by searching our site for the type of pet you want. Be sure to add your e-mail address to the "New Pet Alerts" feature. New Pet Alerts lets us remember the search you run for a pet. We'll continue to run that search for you in the future and we'll send you a quick e-mail when we find a dog or cat that matches what you were looking for. So, if you want that "perfecto poodle" today, and next week one appears on our site, quicker than you can say "poodle presto", you'll be the first to know!
Sometimes pets come and go from shelters so quickly they are not even listed with us, so you should also visit your local animal shelters in person. To find a shelter or rescue group near you, click
here.
Thank you again for your interest in adopting!
How can I find a home for a pet that I've rescued?
Thank you for helping this pet and trying to find him/her a home. We also have a program called
Rehome,
the peer-to-peer pet adoption service that helps pet owners who can no longer care for their pets to post them for millions of potential adopters to see. Rehome is a safe and reliable way to find your pet a great new home.
It is greatly preferable to find the pet a home yourself rather than taking him/her to a shelter. Even the best shelter is stressful for the animal, and you have only one animal to focus on while a shelter may have hundreds. Publicly run animal shelters are already overcrowded and, in many cities, a majority of the pets are not adopted, but instead are euthanized. Even purebred and friendly pets are routinely destroyed at public shelters to make space for new pets coming in. The extent of the overpopulation problem varies from area to area. For a list of shelters and rescues in your area, click
here.
There are privately-run shelters and rescue organizations that do not kill pets. But because they keep the pets for as long as it takes to find a new home, they are usually filled to capacity, so it can take weeks to get an appointment. If you do find a "no-kill" organization than might take the pet you rescued, offering as big a tax-deductible donation as possible will help. Remember, in the case of private shelters and rescue groups, they are just people who are doing their best because they care about pets, most are volunteers spending significant amounts of their own money to cover vet bills, and they all get far more legitimate hard luck cases than they can possibly handle each day. For a list of shelters and rescues in your area, click
here.
More than likely, you will need to do the work yourself to find the pet a good home. If you cannot keep the pet in your home, ask friends and family to help, or look for a boarding facility or veterinary office where you can pay to house the pet. Don't house the pet too far away or it will be hard to show him/her to potential adopters.
friends, family, coworkers and neighbors are valuable adoption resources. Not only are they potential adopters, but they can help spread the word to others as well
have the pet spayed or neutered-you'll have better luck adopting him or her out!
take a photo of the pet and make a flyer to post at your work, veterinary offices, pet supply stores, grocery stores, libraries, cafes, or anywhere around town. Be sure to talk to people about the pet whenever you can. Email all your contacts - include the pet's photo and info, and attach the flyer.
place ads in local newspapers and neighborhood newsletters—be sure to make it catchy and mention a particularly cute or interesting quality the pet has.
post a photo album of the pet on Facebook, include "needs a home" in the title, and ask your friends to share. Add a new photo every day so it will show up daily in your friends News Feed.
If you are considering giving the pet to someone you don't know, you will want to screen them to ensure the match is a good one. Let your pet's personality be a guide for what questions to ask. Is your pet good with cats, dogs, and kids? Does she have any characteristics that warrant a more experienced pet owner?
Other questions you should ask are: Will the pet be allowed inside the house? Have they had pets before? Did their pets die of natural causes or for reasons that make you suspect they were not properly cared for? Ask local shelters and rescue groups for copies of their screening forms and adoption agreements for more ideas.
After you've done some initial screening and have a good candidate, bring the pet and person together to meet. Visit the person's home, and trust your intuition—you want to be sure that the adopter has your pet's interests at heart. You may want to check identification and ask for references. Let the new adopter know they can call you for questions or advice. After a week or so, give them a call to find out how things are going.
Free pets are much more likely to be abandoned, and in some cases, someone might be seeking to obtain a pet for free to use for an illegal purpose such as dog fighting. You should charge an adoption fee that is equal to or greater than the adoption fee charged by your local animal shelter for that type of pet. Don't be shy to charge money for your pet! Having someone pay money for a pet is one of the most important ways to be assured that the person who is taking the pet is serious about wanting them, and can afford to pay for the food and veterinary care the pet will need throughout his/her life. If you do not want to keep the money you receive for the pet, you can donate it to your local shelter or rescue. You can also offer to hold it as a veterinary fund for the pet. That is a great way to ensure that the adopter is serious about wanting the pet, the pet has a small fund for veterinary care, and you will continue to be able to monitor the health of your pet.
Remember, this pet has NO ONE but YOU—The loyalty you show and effort you put forth to find this pet a new loving home, even if it causes inconvenience for you now, will be well worth it when you know that this pet is living out a healthy and happy life!
Thanks again for helping to find a rescued pet a new loving home!
How can I get my shelter / rescue's animals listed on Adopt a Pet?
We are here to help you!
Adopt a Pet
lets people search for your pets for adoption by breed, age, size, color and gender. Our database of photos can be searched by people on the internet. Our service is free to you and to the public.
While you may have your own website, our extensive advertising and internet presence can bring much more attention and exposure for your adoptable pets. Millions of people will hit our site this year and we want them to see your pets! The more pets you list on our site, the more visibility you will have.
Again, there is no cost to you. Every penny and every ounce of energy we have is devoted to increasing your adoption rate! All we ask is that you agree to abide by our Rules, which you can find along with our Sign Up form
here
.
Once you send us the information we need, we will get you signed up in the system and let you know how to access the site and post your animals!
We look forward to working together to save more lives. Thank you for all you do for homeless pets!
