LCHS Adoption Process
Thank You For Choosing To Adopt!
Congratulations on your decision to adopt a shelter dog or cat. Every year, ten million healthy animals in the United States -three thousand in Licking County alone will be euthanized due to a lack of good homes. Your decision to adopt a shelter pet makes you part of the solution to this tragedy, sets an ex-ample for others, and saves an animal from uncertain fate. Be proud of your decision—we are!
Are You Ready?
Animals are not disposable and require a lifetime commitment. Please give careful consideration to the following:
Dogs and Cats can live to age 15 or older. Are you prepared to keep and care for an animal for the reminder of it’s life?
Pets require food, water, shelter, vaccines, yearly exams, monthly preventatives, and other veterinary care. Proper care can add up. Are you ready for the additional expenses of caring for a pet?
Pets require time, training, patience and adjustments to your lifestyle. Are you ready for the additional responsibility of caring for a pet?
Are your other pets current on vaccines and health care? Do all your dogs have a current license?
Choosing a Pet
It’s important to think carefully about your lifestyle and choose a pet that’s a good match for you and your family. Too often, we ‘fall in love with a cute face’, only to be disappointed when we realize the animal we have selected is too active, sedate or challenging for our household. To learn about an animal, speak with shelter staff, ask to review the pet’s assessment form or speak with their Foster Caretaker. (To speak with a foster caretaker, we ask that you complete a Contact Request Form and a caretaker will respond to you promptly.)
How Does the Adoption Process Work?
1.) Complete and submit an application. It’s important you fill out the application completely—incomplete apps are the number one reason for delays in the process. Applications are available at the shelter or online: Adoption Application.
2.) Once you’ve submitted your application, we will contact the references you’ve listed. Please be sure this information is accurate and that you included the correct phone number.
3.) If an Adoption Coordinator is available, you will be interviewed when you submit your application, at other times, an Adoption Coordinator will follow up to conduct the interview. The interview helps us match pets to new families.
4.) In some cases, LCHS may request to accomplish the interview during a home visit to your house. There are many reasons why this may happen and should not be cause for concern on the part of the adopter. LCHS will make every effort to accommodate these requests. LCHS requires that if you have another dog at you home, then you will need to bring it to the shelter to see if they will get along on the day of the adoption.
5.) Once the approval process is complete, you may pick up your animal at the shelter or from the foster program. Adopters are expected to take custody within 48 hours. Requests for delayed custody will be approved on a case by case basis.
Some adoption approvals are conditional, meaning that you can pick up your new pet after certain conditions have been met. The most common of these are ensuring pets already in residence are current on vaccines or waiting for your chosen pet to fully recuperate following spay or neuter. In other cases, we may approve you to adopt, but may ask that you consider a different pet.
The approval process can take place in a day, or may take longer, depending on availability of your references. If you have not received a response on your application within 48 hours, contact the Shelter at (740) 323-2100 or email homewardbound@windstream.net to report the problem.
