top of page
Cat Cuddles

Adopt a pet

Introduction  

​

Adopting a pet is a major decision and can be up to a 20-year+ commitment.  Dogs and cats, especially puppies and kittens, require lots of attention, money, and patience.  Pets are life changing, so carefully consider your decision if your life style and home life can accommodate a pet and its needs.  To help you with the adoption process, take a moment to consider these questions: 

Things to Consider When Adopting

  • Why do I/we want a pet?

  • If we adopt a puppy/kitten, are we prepared to care for it when it is a 100+ pound adult dog or 20 pound adult cat?

  • Are we physically able to care for a pet who may trip us or knock us down?

  • Is our home suited for the kind of pet we want? Are my children mature enough to respect and care for a pet?

  • Is the kind of pet we’re considering allowed where we live? Are there breed, weight, or size limit restrictions?

  • What would the plan be for our pet if we vacationed, traveled or moved?

  • Are we prepared to make a lifetime commitment (20+ years) to a pet?

  • Can we afford to care for our pet’s health and safety? (Estimated expenses are about $1,500 per year)

  • Do we have the patience to care for a pet that will damage furniture, pee/poop/vomit in the house, have fleas and ticks, have medical emergencies ($3,000+), and modify our home to accommodate its needs?

  • How will our social life and work obligations affect our ability to care for a pet?

  • Who would be responsible for our pet’s care, feeding, exercise, training, grooming, toys, litter, flea and tick meds, and visits to the veterinarian?

  • How might our other pets be affected by a new pet in the household?

  • Does anyone in our home have allergies to pets, pet hair or pet dander?

  • What else is going on in our home right now? Is now a good time to add a new family member?

  • Does everyone living in our household agree about getting a new pet?

If you adopt,
consider an older pet.

Though puppies and kittens are cute and cuddly, they can also be a handful. An adult or older pet may be a better fit for you. For example, adopting an adult dog who’s already house-trained and knows basic cues is often much easier than adopting a puppy, who must be taught these things.

Image by Michael G

You can’t buy love,
but you can rescue it!

An adopted pet is every bit if not more loving, intelligent, and loyal as a purchased pet from a breeder, even if you get an adult or older animal.  Inbreeding causes many health issues.

After you have carefully considered adopting a pet, see the available pets online via PetFinder.  

 Our adoption process

Is simple. Come to our shelter to interact with the available pets, bring your current pet to see if they get along, take them for a walk, play with them in the off-leash area, or spend some time in the cat adoption room with them. Give them a chance to connect with you too.  

 

Lake Country SPCA is open Monday – Saturday 12 noon till 4:00pm located at 11764 Highway 15 Clarksville, VA 23927.  Our phone number is 434-374-8076.  

 

You can begin the adoption process by taking a moment to review and completing our adoption questionnaire and our adoption contract, so that you are prepared to bring your best friend home!  One of our staff will carefully review your application and decide if our criteria has been met; this process can take up to 24 hours if we need to contact a landlord, veterinarian, or personal reference.  The goal of the SPCA is to find all of our animals their forever home by matching the right animal with the right person.  We reserve the right to refuse any adoption as we see fit. Here are some things to consider before you apply to adopt one of our animals.

  • We do not adopt dogs to those who plan to chain them.  The SPCA is absolutely against the chaining of dogs – it is abusive and cruel to the dog.  

  • If you are a renter, we will contact your landlord to make sure that animals are allowed in the property you are renting.

  • If you have surrendered an animal or have failed in the past to spay/neuter your LCSPCA adopted pet, you are ineligible to adopt from us.

Lifelong friendship

Adoption Fees:

The dog and puppy adoption fees are $200.  This fee covers a range of services:

​

  • Immunizations

  • Spay/Neuter (if older than 6 months). *There will be an additional $100 refundable spay/neuter fee.

  • De-worming

  • Testing for heartworms and tick-borne diseases

  • Microchip

The cat and kitten adoption fees are $100 for a cat and $50 for a kitten.  This fee covers a range of services:

​

  • Immunizations

  • Spay/Neuter (if older than 4 months). *There will be an additional $50 refundable spay/neuter fee.

  • De-worming

  • Testing for FIV/FeLV

  • Microchip

*In order to help adopters comply with VA State Laws regarding spaying and neutering ALL adopted pets, Lake Country SPCA will charge an additional fee that will be refunded to the adopter upon successful proof of spay/neuter certificate from your personal veterinarian. The spay/neuter must be completed within 12 months from adoption date in order to be a valid refund.

bottom of page