Adoption FAQs
If you are interested in adopting an animal, please have all family members visit the shelter to meet the desired animal(s). An adoption application must completed, there is a non-refundable application fee of $10. An Adoption Counselor will look over the application and verify any information with landlords, past/present veterinarians, and also do a background check. Adoptions generally take approximately 3-5 business days. We do not allow an animal to go home the same day. It is important to remember that we may have multiple applications for one animal, and our goal is to match the animal with the best fit for them.
If an application is approved, we can place an animal on a temporary hold. This will give potential adopters the opportunity to think about the big decision to adopt an animal and/or purchase supplies. While on hold, the animal is “reserved” for the approved adopters. We may continue to accept applications for an animal that is on hold, but he/she cannot be adopted by another family until the hold has expired. An animal can only be placed on hold after an application is approved. Generally, an animal is placed on hold for 48 hours.
Q. What does it mean to put an animal on hold?
A.
The Humane Society of Sandusky County is NOT a pound. We are a non-profit, privately funded, no-kill animal shelter. Our animals stay with us until they get adopted. The adoption fee we charge offsets the services we provide for the animal. Animals adopted from us are spayed or neutered, tested for heartworm disease or FELV/FIV, vaccinated, dewormed, treated monthly with flea prevention, microchipped and seen by a veterinarian regularly. In most cases, we spend hundreds of dollars on each animal that stays with us. We do not make money from adoptions.
Q. Why do you charge so much for animals from the “pound”?
A.
The country is facing a severe animal over-population problem, and spaying or neutering the pets that leave our facility ensures we do not contribute to that epidemic. Millions of healthy dogs and cats are being euthanized in the United States each year simply because there aren’t enough homes to go around. There are also medical and behavioral benefits to spaying (female pets) and neutering (male pets) your animals.
Q. Why are all your animals spayed or neutered?
A.
When adopting you want to be sure that the pet can remain with you for the entirety of its life. It can be very stressful for pets to lose their loved ones that they have bonded with and be relocated to new homes or returned back to the shelter. You also want to consider the needs of that pet, such as activity level, size, age, etc. For the comfort and happiness of the pet we always try to match them with the best home to fit their needs and yours.
Q. Why we recommend adopting an “age appropriate pet?”
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At this time, there is no official waiting list for certain breeds. However, the variety of dogs we have available for adoption changes regularly and often includes many purebred dogs. We recommend checking our “Available Pets” page regularly to see what we have available each day. We encourage all individuals and families to adopt… not shop! If you are ready and anxious to invite your new furry friend into your home, websites like Pet Finder are a great tool to help you locate that particular breed that you are looking for.
Q. Is there a waiting list for a particular breed?
A.
Our adoption application can be found on our website under Available Animals, it must be downloaded and printed. Once completed, an application can be submitted for review once you have visited the shelter to meet the desired pet. You and your family must be able to visit the desired pet to be eligible to submit an adoption application for review. All cat & dog adoption applications have a non-refundable $10 application fee. Once you've submitted your application it will be reviewed by our Adoption Committee. Please make sure it is filled out completely and legibly in order for us to process it. Please note, we do not offer same day adoptions so multiple trips to the shelter will be required if approved.
Q. Can I fill out an application online?
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Q. Why are your adoption fees different for each animal?
A.
At the Humane Society of Sandusky County, we love all of our animals. However, we know that some animals are more desirable to the public: small breed dogs, puppies, and some popular breeds. Having a higher adoption fee for animals we know will go home quickly, enables us to care for the animals that become long-term residents.
We do not ship animals. If you live out of town, we are more than willing to allow you to adopt if you can make the trip to Fremont to meet the animal with an approved application and the home is the best match for the needs of the animal. In some cases, you may email your adoption application to us and we can complete an interview over the phone so we may place an animal on hold to give you time to travel. In most cases, we will require any potential adopters to meet and interact with the animal before putting it on hold.
Q. I live out of town. Can you ship an animal to me?
A.