We appreciate your commitment to adoption. We hope this page will describe the adoption process so you will have a good understanding of how it works. After you’ve read the contents of this page thoroughly, you can proceed to the adoption application form.

The heart of the adoption process is the application you fill out. We are advocates and protectors of every dog and cat at our shelter, so our adoption application is very thorough. This is because successful applications are based on “best fit” for a particular animal, never based on “first submitted.”  Even if your application is NOT the best fit for a particular animal, we will let you know if your application meets our general criteria, and we will encourage you to apply for another dog or cat. You may find another animal perfectly suited to your lifestyle!

Starting the Process

The best way for you and your family to get to know our animals is to contact us to arrange a meeting and/or attend off-site adoption events. Doing so also gives you the opportunity to talk with our staff and volunteers to get details. (See below for important information about adoption events.)

Things to Consider:

You must be at least 23 years of age to Adopt (or act as a Foster) with Almost Home.  Out of State Adoptions and Fosters are not allowed.

• Anyone in your family allergic? The web has a list of dogs considered non-allergic. (These are usually dogs with “hair” – poodles, etc.- rather than with “fur.”)
• Do you have young children? Find out which dogs may be uncomfortable around young children.
• Like to keep your home pristine? Some dogs shed; some cats scratch furniture. Some pets have accidents. If you cannot live with this, you are better off not adopting a forever animal.
• Work long hours? Do you have time for an animal? We do not adopt when a dog or cat will be crated for many hours.
• Trying to save money? Expect yearly costs for vet visits, shots, flea and tick preventative, heartworm preventative, food, toys, pet sitters, etc. Think ahead and make sure you have funds set aside for this member of your family.
• Are you adopting an animal that will need grooming every month? Are your aware of those costs? Have you planned for them?
• Some dogs/cats need training to help them become the best they can be. Are you willing to expend the time and money if your animal needs training?
• Live in a small place but want a big dog? If you don’t have a large, fenced yard, you must be prepared to walk your dog several times a day and visit dog parks for exercise.
• Travel a lot? What will happen to your pet while you are away? Have you planned for that?
• Thinking about having a baby soon? Other changes in your life coming up? We expect your animal to be a “forever” animal. If you don’t think you can continue to make that commitment when there are changes in your lifestyle, you may want to re-consider adopting.
• Renting? Will your lease be up for renewal soon? Will having a pet make a difference to your landlord? Does your landlord allow pets? Does he restrict certain sizes? Certain breeds? Number of animals?
• Moving? What would happen to your animal if your new community or rental doesn’t allow him?
• Does your community have any breed or number-of-animals restrictions?
• Is everyone in your household happy to have a new pet? Are they willing to participate in caring, feeding, walking the animal?
  Many of our dogs are not good with young children. As a requirement we only adopt to households with children aged 5+ (exception: puppies 8 – 12 weeks).

Once you are sure that you can feel confident you really want to adopt, then submit an application.

You can submit an adoption application by one of the following ways:

1. Completing the online adoption application form, or
2. Completing an application at an adoption event.

A Note About Our Adoption Events—
Our adoption events are always busy, and our adoption volunteers spend a lot of time with each applicant, as they will with you. Please be patient as they attend to everyone in order.

Our FACEBOOK PAGE page is a great place to find out which animals will be at our events (if we know ahead of time). Since all our animals now are in foster care, meetings with animals must be arranged in advance. If you are interested in an animal being fostered and your online application is accepted, we will contact you and arrange for you to meet the animal.

Click here to review our Adoption Fee Schedule.

REVIEW OF YOUR APPLICATION BY ALMOST HOME

Because we review applications very carefully, it is in your best interests to fill out your application as completely as possible. This gives us an opportunity to review it carefully and talk with qualified applicants about the animal in more detail.

Please give us some time to review your application. We only email qualified applicants (please be sure to check your “junk” mail). If you are not selected after applying for one of our dogs or cats, there could be any number of reasons.

For example:

• The animal you applied for has already been adopted (you may consider another animal).
• Your application is not well-suited to this particular animal. Remember… this does not reflect on you!
• Some of our animals do better in homes with large back yards, or without young children.
• Some cannot be in a home with other dogs, or cats.

There are many reasons why an animal may not be right for your application.

Your application may be one of dozens! Although every email and phone call is important to us (and to the animals,) we might not be able to get back to you.

With many animals in our care at any time, and our organization being supported entirely by volunteers, the process to adopt can sometimes take time. We appreciate your understanding and patience and are very grateful to you for your decision to adopt.

We cannot guarantee that the animal you are applying for will be at the adoption event you attend. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.