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Take time to thoughfully examine your needs and lifestyle when deciding on a pet to adopt. Adopting a pet is a lifetime commitment to be carefully considered.

Discuss your lifestyle and needs with an adoption counselor.

Attend a 101 Workshop for the type of pet you are considering for adoption and the $5 workshop charge will be deducted from your adoption fee.

Adopters are required to complete an application and sign an adoption agreement as part of the adoption process.

Adopters must be able to verify home ownership or have the approval of a landlord to have a pet. Your landlord will be called during the adoption process to verify that pets are allowed in your rental home.

If you are approved, there is an adoption fee of $55.00 for any dog or cat that has been spayed or neutered. For any dog or cat that has not been spayed or neutered, there is a $35.00 adoption fee and a spay or neuter deposit. The spay/neuter deposit is $65.00 for dogs of either gender, $35.00 for a male cat and $50.00 for a female cat. This deposit is forwarded to the veterinarian who performs the surgery when the neutering certificate is returned to the SPCA.

There is an adoption fee of $5.00 for any small animal pet. Spay/neuter may not be required, however, depending upon the type of pet, the benefits of the surgery may be discussed and the procedure may be recommended.

All pets must be examined by a licensed veterinarian within 7 days of adoption.

If you cannot keep your pet, you must return it to the SPCA.

Spay/Neuter Requirements

Every dog or cat adopted from the SPCA must be spayed or neutered as required by Virginia State law. This is the only effective way to control the pet overpopulation problem and eliminate the need to euthanize the majority of the 2200 dogs and 3600 cats brought into the shelter every year.

If you have questions about any of these policies, please refer to the FAQ section of this website.