Adopt

What is Adoption?

Adoption is a heartwarming journey of welcoming a new pet into your family. It involves choosing a dog or cat from our rescue, completing the adoption process, and committing to providing a forever loving home for your new furry friend.

Adoption Process

Application: Interested adopters should fill out an application for the cat(s) or dog(s) you are interested in. Only one application is required, and it applies for all cats or dogs listed on your application. If you are interested in adopting both a cat and a dog, you must complete an application for each type of animal.
Important Note Regarding Timing: We screen all applications to find what we believe will be the best environment for each particular cat or dog. If we believe that we currently have a potential match for you, our typical response time is within a week. If you do not receive a response within two weeks, please assume that we have not been able to find a good match. Please do not interpret a lack of response as a belief by City Dogs & City Kitties Rescue that you would not be able to provide a loving home for a cat or dog.
Applications Counselor: Applicants who pass initial screening will be assigned a volunteer applications counselor to work with you throughout the process.
Reference Checks: If applicable, CDCK will call the applicant’s veterinarian to ensure that previous pets have been spayed/neutered, vaccinated and well cared for. CDR&CK will also call personal references listed on the application.
Renters/Condo Owners: For renters, CDCK will check with an applicant’s landlord to ensure that cats and/or dogs are permitted and that the cat or dog of interest wouldn’t violate any size or breed restrictions. We also review condo association rules regarding pets.
Home Visit: CDCK will virtually visit each applicant’s home to see the environment where the cat or dog will live and answer any questions the applicant might have.
Adoption Contract: If the applicant is approved for adoption and decides to adopt the cat or dog, CDCK and the prospective adopter will enter into an adoption contract. The applicant will be required to pay an adoption fee, which helps cover our costs from spay/neutering (if age appropriate), microchipping, vaccinations and any other veterinary attention needed while in our care.

DOG ADOPTION APPLICATION FORM CAT ADOPTION APPLICATION FORM

City Dogs & City Kitties Rescue (CDCK) Overview:

Founded in 2011 to rescue pets from overcrowded, high-kill shelters.
We intervene just in time to save pets close to being euthanized.
Instead of a shelter, we rely on foster homes until adoption.
Our goal is to find these pets loving homes in the DC area, benefiting both animals and people.
Foster parents help us understand the pets better, ensuring a good match with permanent homes.
Our work depends heavily on our dedicated foster families.

If you are looking for a resource to rehome your pet and you did not adopt them from City Dogs & City Kitties Rescue, visit rehome.adoptapet.com to learn more and create their profile.

*If you need to return your CDCK cat or dog, please contact info@citydogsrescuedc.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

Adoption FAQs

All available dogs can be viewed on our Adoptable Dogs or Adoptable Cats pages on our website. If individuals would like an appointment to see any dogs and cats, the first step is to fill out our online adoption application. Aside from CDCK Adoption Events, we do not show dogs to applicants until their adoption application is fully approved. Most of our animals are in foster homes throughout the DC area, so please do not stop by our administrative offices or by City Dogs Daycare.

No. CDCK carefully screens its applicants by calling references, veterinarians, and landlords. CDCK also conducts home visits of potential adoption homes. CDCK has no obligation to adopt to any particular applicant and will refuse adoption if it believes that a particular applicant or their home would not be a suitable environment for a dog or cat. Anyone with any history of abuse, neglect, abandonment, or surrendering of pets without a valid reason is disqualified from adopting from CDCK. Our goal is to avoid the return of pets to shelters by finding forever homes for them with adopters who are capable of providing the level of care necessary to support the dogs and cats through their entire natural lives. We typically have multiple applications on each dog and cat and must determine the best choice for each of the individual needs of our dogs an cats. Unfortunately, there may be multiple suitable adopters for a dog or cat, and some will be declined if another applicant had a stronger application and background.

Please let your assigned Adoption Counselor know about your preference. You do not have to fill out another application.

Dogs: CDCK charges an adoption fee of $450 ($225 for seniors). This fee typically includes health care provided when the dog leaves the municipal shelter to join City Dogs & City Kitties Rescue and before adoption: initial limited veterinarian exam and pre-adoption health care for dogs over the age of 1 year as needed. We require all adopters to make their own vet appointment within 3 weeks of adoption.

For reference, here is the list of our post-shelter veterinary requirements for dogs. All dogs receive this care upon leaving the shelter and prior to transport to DC:

Limited Initial Exam
Spay/Neuter
*Thoroughly check any adult female dogs for mammary tumors and remove and biopsy if required.
Rabies vaccination
DHPP vaccination
Bordetella vaccination
Snap 4DX test for Heartworm, Lyme, Anaplasma, and Ehrlichia and provide a 30 day supply of Doxycycline for any dogs testing positive for anything on the Snap test.

Microchip
Fecal flotation
Deworm – Deworm at vet even if fecal is negative. If positive, deworm at vet and second deworming meds and instructions with dog.
Administer Flea/Tick preventative (e.g. Frontline) and Heartworm preventative (e.g. Heartgard) at vet. If flea infestation is evident, Capstar is given.
Treatment of any urgent medical conditions identified by the shelter vet or while in foster care.

Puppies: The fee is $450, but does not include the cost of spaying and neutering. All adopters of puppies are required by contract to have their adopted dog spayed or neutered when age appropriate (typically at 5 months of age). Because of their weak immune systems, puppies must be vetted for a longer period of time and kept away from other animals to ensure that they are healthy. Puppies require vaccines starting at approximately 6 weeks of age and must continue with boosters no less than 2 weeks apart but not more than every 4 weeks apart until the puppy is 16 weeks of age. This adoption fee covers pre-adoption vaccinations and an initial vet checkup, however, the adopter is required to schedule a vet appointment within 3 weeks of adoption.

Cats and Kittens: CDCK charges an adoption fee of $250. This fee typically includes health care provided when the cat or kitten leaves the municipal shelter to join City Dogs & City Kitties Rescue and before adoption: initial limited veterinarian exam, all age-appropriate rabies, distemper, and bordetella vaccinations, flea and heartworm prevention prior to adoption, spay/neuter (if age appropriate) procedure, microchip when available, SNAP test for FIV / FeLV Tests, and pre-adoption health care for cats over the age of 1 year as needed. We expect all adopters to make their own vet appointment within 3 weeks of adoption.

For reference, here is the list of our post-shelter veterinary requirements for cats. All cats receive this care upon leaving the shelter and prior to transport to DC:

Limited Initial Exam
Spay/Neuter (if age appropriate)
Test for BOTH FeLV and FIV; Heartworm test if available
Rabies vaccination
FVRCP vaccination
FeLV vaccination

Microchip
Fecal flotation
Deworm – Deworm at vet even if fecal is negative. If positive, deworm at vet and provide second deworming meds and instructions with cat.
Administer Flea/Tick and Heartworm preventative (e.g. Revolution) at vet. If flea infestation is evident, Capstar is given.
Treatment of any urgent medical conditions identified by the shelter vet or while in foster care.

In order to rescue dogs and cats, CDCK needs to pay shelter, transport, vet, spay/neuter, and microchip fees; costs of medicine; heartworm and flea preventatives, food costs and any extra urgent medical care. We typically spend much more per dog or cat than the amount we charge as our adoption fee. Many of our rescued dogs and cats were not cared for adequately in their previous lives and are in need of significant vet care when they first arrive at CDCK. CDCK is a predominately volunteer-driven organization that relies on donations and adoption fees to cover all operating expenses.

Through a careful screening process, CDCK strives to find permanent homes for each dog an cat. In the hopefully unlikely event that an adopter is no longer able to care for his/her pet, CDCK requires by contract that the dog or cat be returned to CDCK. Please reach out to alumni@citydogsrescuedc.org and someone will follow up with you. Please be sure to keep an eye on your junk folder.

Our Dogs and Cats

CDCK dogs and cats typically come from overcrowded and/or high-kill shelters. Sadly, many of them would have been euthanized due to lack of space. CDCK has established relationships with various shelters and rescues, and primarily rescues from rural communities in VA, NC, and WV. Most dogs and cats are in the shelter through no fault of their own. Many are strays with no identification. Others are the result of amateur breeders who can’t sell all the puppies or kittens. Often times, the former owners couldn’t afford to keep their dog or cat, had a change in their living situation, or had other pets that were not compatible.

All of our available dogs and cats are posted on our website. If a potential adopter would like a specific type of dog or cat that is not listed on our website, he or she should complete an adoption application and note that on his/her application. We may know of an available dog that might be of interest. We are not able to accommodate all requests and your application will be placed on hold until you identify a suitable dog or cat.

Many of our adopters have full-time jobs but typically provide for a mid-day dog walk through a dog walking service or enroll the dog in doggie daycare. Cats are fairly resilient to long hours alone. Kittens under 12 weeks of age need to be adopted in pairs or to a home with another friendly feline.

We sometimes know about a dog or cat’s tolerance for cats before we receive them based upon shelter records. If we do not know, we can sometimes “cat test” the dog or cat to see how he or she interacts with cats or dogs in a household. Many of our dogs are comfortable with other dogs and, in fact, some are fostered in a cageless daycare environment with many other dogs around them. If we find out that a dog does not interact well with other dogs we will determine if they are dog selective or need to be an only dog. Their profiles will be updated to reflect this information and any pending applicant will be notified.

Adopters should expect that any new dog or cat will need training with respect to house training. Some of our dogs or cats may never have had any formal house training, while others may arrive trained. Even though some of our dogs and cats may be house trained, they will often have accidents in a new environment. All new adopters should be prepared to be patient with respect to any house training issues that may arise.

We disclose all health records and known health conditions to adopters. Upon accepting a new cat or dog into the organization, we provide a basic vet visit that includes necessary vaccinations and health tests, but we do not provide a comprehensive medical exam prior to adoption. As a result, sickness, injury, and disability may exist unbeknownst to CDCK. City Dogs & City Kitties Rescue is not responsible for payment of any vet care, including known and unknown medical conditions once a cat or dog is adopted from us.

Heartworm can be a serious disease, but can easily be prevented through monthly preventative tablets. CDCK dogs are usually tested for heartworm, and we will disclose to adopters if they are heartworm positive. If they are positive, we will discuss the treatment protocol. Thankfully Heartworm is very treatable in dogs.

Help Us Save More Lives

Whether you choose to adopt or foster, you are making a significant difference. Help us save more lives by spreading the word, donating, or volunteering. Together, we can give these dogs the love and care they deserve.

ADOPTable dogs ADOPTable CATs FOSTER A DOG FOSTER A CAT