Steps to Adopting an Animal from Solano County SPCA
- Come down to the shelter and fill out an adoption personality profile or feline questionnaire. One of our trained adoption counselors will give you a list of dogs or cats that might be a good match for your family. Walk through the kennels and cat enclosure and look at the dogs and cats ; remember the list of dogs or cats that the adoption counselor provided you with are usually going to be the best fit for your family.
- DOGS: Once you find a pet that looks like a good match we will pull him/her out of the kennel and let you and your family meet with him/her in one of our welcoming runs. We will also have you fill out an adoption interview questionnaire. This questionnaire will help our adoption counselors to determine whether this dog will be a good match for you and your family.
If there are young children in the family we recommend that you leave them at home when you visit the shelter. Wait to bring the children until you have found a dog that you are interested in and have filled out the adoption application. Children often fall in love with the first dog that they meet regardless of whether the dog is a good match or not. We also require all dogs that currently live in the home come and meet the potential adoptee. We also recommend that if you are looking at the cats that if you have children under 5 that you look at cats that are 6 months or older. Kittens are not a good match for young children, and an adoption counselor can explain to you why we support older cats with children.
- DOGS: After you and your family have meet with the dog and filled out the adoption questionnaire we will schedule you for a sit down counseling session. During the interview our adoption counselor will go over the dog’s behavior evaluation, and describe behaviors you are likely to see, discuss what you are looking for in a new dog, and your past experience with dogs. Again, this counseling session will help our team of adoption counselors match dogs and their new families so that everyone is happy.
- Before we can complete the adoption we must have proof that either you own your home, or that you are able to own a pet at your current residence. If you rent and are looking at adopting a dog that is over 15 pounds, you must also show proof that the breed is not restricted by your landlord or property management company.
Good luck and remember it may take several weeks or even months before you find the perfect dog to fit you and your family. In the long run it is well worth the wait; any dog that you adopt will likely be your companion for the next ten years or longer so take your time when making decisions. Also keep in mind that older dogs are often already housetrained, past the puppy chewing stage and adapt quickly to new home environments thus they often make better pets for first time dog owners.
* Adoption Coordinators, the Behavior and Training Department, and shelter manager reserve the right to refuse any adoption for any reason. The Shelter Manager may waive certain adoption requirements under special circumstances. We make our decisions based on the best interest of both the dog and your family; if our adoption counselor do not feel that the dogs will be a good match with your family they will not approve the adoption. Adoptions are not a first come first served basis. Foster homes, shelter staff, and Veterinarians are given first priority if they wish to adopt a dog they have been working with.
