Our adoption policies are designed to ensure a happy successful placement.

Residency | You must provide identification showing your current physical address. You do not need to be a resident of Washoe County to adopt.

Mandatory Spaying/Neutering | All of our pets are surgically altered before they go home. We have an early-age sterilization program for our puppies and kittens as well! Now no animal adopted from our shelter will contribute to the pet overpopulation problem.

Animals may not be adopted as gifts | The animal must be chosen and adopted by the person/family who will be responsible for the pet. But a gift certificate for a pet adoption is a great way to give the love of a pet!

We discourage the adoption of kittens and small-boned puppies under 12 weeks of age to families with children under 5 years of age | Infant animals are very fragile and can be injured, even through the best of intentions.

Want a “mouser” or “barn cat”? | We have a special program that can help match you up with feral cats in need of homes.

Dogs should be accepted in your home as part of the family | If you want to adopt a dog that will spend most of its time outside, we ask that you look for an animal that is at least 1 year old and can acclimate to Nevada weather. All dogs left outside for any period of time require direct access to shelter — dog house, dog door into garage, etc. For further information, please check with adoption staff.

If you rent, we need to check with your landlord | Many of our pets are brought in because a landlord won’t allow them on the property. We want to ensure that once you take a pet home, you won’t have to bring it right back — it’s very traumatic for the animal!