# Shelter processing time



## 3furbabies (Dec 7, 2011)

So last night my bf's sisters family adopted their first cat from their local shelter(I get to meet him tonight, so excited lol) and it got me thinking about different shelters. The one I worked for at one point is about 15 minutes away and I can't believe how different it is. So bf's sister went to the shelter Saturday, saw the cat and put in an application. They got a call Sunday afternoon and brought home the cat at 5pm that same day. I was shocked. That shelter has a very low return rate too The shelter I was at was so different. Once you put in an application they review it and call you two days later to book an interview, if that goes well you get a second interview, then once you are accepted you have to wait a week to pick up the cat. They do this to lessen returns but funnily enough it has one of the highest return rates in the area. Also to get to the adoption part for a cat is absurd. If they cat comes in friendly and healthy it could be 1-3 months before it goes for adoption. If it has health/behaviour issues its more like 6 months to over a year before being put up for adoption. 

I was wondering what your shelter is like in your area? I find it fascinating how vastly different shelters are from each other.


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## Nan (Oct 11, 2010)

20 years ago when we adopted from the humane society, we had to fill out an application and be interviewed. (They asked for references on the application; I remember talking to my boss the next day about that lol). Then it was at least a day later before we could go back & pick up out kitty (Sophie). Back then we just had to sign an agreement to get her spayed -she was just maybe 8 weeks old- and I *think* they gave us a certificate to get that done as part of the adoption fee.

2 years ago, at the same humane society, I had to fill out an application and was interviewed by someone who gave the OK to take home my cats. (Harli & Lily) I was able to take them home the same day. They had already been spayed before I adopted them. They had been at the shelter a few months, had come in with a bad flea infestation and both had respitory infections. Those were treated and gone before I adopted them.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

At our city shelter (Animal Control) if a cat comes in as a stray or AC pick up, it is kept 10 days for reclaiming. After that it goes up for adoption. Once in the shelter it is given only distemper and flea control. 

I was at our Animal Control shelter when they opened at 11 AM last Wednesday, visited with Lacey for 20 minutes privately, filled out the paperwork, in the meantime she got her rabies and microchip and city licensing and was checked for spay scar. I was on my way home by 12:30 or so with Lacey. Had she not been spayed I would have had to leave her for surgery.

I have adopted from them twice before so perhaps having my name already on file there made it so easy (?). I really didn't give the adoption process length a second thought. 

Good thread discussion question!!


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## 3furbabies (Dec 7, 2011)

Marcia said:


> At our city shelter (Animal Control) if a cat comes in as a stray or AC pick up, it is kept 10 days for reclaiming. After that it goes up for adoption. Once in the shelter it is given only distemper and flea control.


That was like the one I was at. It was held ten days but if it wasn't claimed they then wait in line for a vet/behaviour check which takes 1-2 weeks. Once check it sits in holding for another few weeks but usually a few months before getting the chance to move to adoptions. Cats arnt allowed time out of the cage until they are in adoptions and don't get much socialization which makes them cranky. If they are cranky they get held even longer which makes no sense at all. The whole process there is unnecessary and was one of the reasons I left. I was tired of good cats being trapped in an In humanely small cage for months, getting agitated, then being labelled as aggressive and sitting there another 6 months. Was very frustrating. 


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## Bonnie037 (Jan 15, 2013)

I adopted a cat as a gift for my mom from the local shelter a few years ago. It took about an hour and a half from the time I got there. 
I went around, found the kitty I wanted, filled out the paperwork, paid for him and took him home.
I think a lot of it has to do with over-crowding. They seem greatful just to have people taking kitties home rather than bringing them in. When I went there every cage had at least two kitties in it. Even the cages that didnt look big enough for more than one. It was really sad actually.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

3furbabies said:


> That was like the one I was at. It was held ten days but if it wasn't claimed they then wait in line for a vet/behaviour check which takes 1-2 weeks. Once check it sits in holding for another few weeks but usually a few months before getting the chance to move to adoptions. Cats arnt allowed time out of the cage until they are in adoptions and don't get much socialization which makes them cranky. If they are cranky they get held even longer which makes no sense at all. The whole process there is unnecessary and was one of the reasons I left. I was tired of good cats being trapped in an In humanely small cage for months, getting agitated, then being labelled as aggressive and sitting there another 6 months. Was very frustrating.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


That is just awful for the poor kitties. Must be an Ontario thing because I've never heard of a US shelter with that amount of waiting time. So difficult for the cats. They must not have any resident vets on staff there. If they are working purely on the kindness of vets volunteering their time, then maybe that accounts for the backlog. Such a shame.

We have some private shelters that take their time with references, home visits, etc. Some of them are a tad over zealous but I understand the concerns. When I adopted Billy, it was so exhaustive, I felt like I was ready to be fingerprinted and a body cavity probe done by the end of it!


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I did adoption counseling for the local shelter....typically the cat went home the same day unless there was something about the application that needed to be verified...like checking with the landlord to ensure pets were allowed. Or checking with the rest of the family members to ensure they were on board. Or of there were children in the house but not with the parent...we made them bring in the kids to see how they interacted with the cat. We also would not allow cats to be adopted as gifts unless we spoke the the recipient and they assured us that they wanted a cat and wanted the other person to pick it out.


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## AaronR1074 (Dec 11, 2012)

Mine was suprisingly fast. I filled out the application, interviewd the guy, he showed me all different cats on the first floot, was ready to show me kittens when I totaly bonded with Pipin. I was alone in the room with him and 5 other cats and he came right up to me after I held my hand out to him..5 mins later he was hopped up in my lap purring and I said.. this one. Today. He already had his vet appointment and was clear of anything, wasn't emotionally damaged, and is just a perfect little house cat. That very day I had him in my bedroom and we were bonding and now he's my little fuzzy buddy.

I think he felt confident that I really wanted/needed a cat, loved the animals, and was ready to commit to him responsibly. He also loved that cat and said he was one of his favorite rescues and really wanted to give him a loving home. I knew Pipin was a special bond. People were looking at me through the windows smiling saying "Aww" because I actualy managed to get a shelter cat in my lap.


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## 3furbabies (Dec 7, 2011)

Marcia said:


> That is just awful for the poor kitties. Must be an Ontario thing because I've never heard of a US shelter with that amount of waiting time. So difficult for the cats. They must not have any resident vets on staff there. If they are working purely on the kindness of vets volunteering their time, then maybe that accounts for the backlog. Such a shame.


Not sure that it's an ontario thing because thats the only shelter I heard of doing that. When I got two of my cats from a rescue here, on both occasions I litterally just walked in, chose one, signed a form and that was it. They didn't even ask me any questions hardly. It's not a volunteered shelter, they have paid staff but they are paid very poorly, and don't have enough staff. Theres no vets on site, only vet techs, who to be honest don't know/care much. There were several occasions that I pointed out cats with weird health/behaviour issues and they basically said "we will get to it when we do" meanwhile they were standing around chatting about personal stuff. Several times staff pointed out the slow processes to the high ups to which they said, "it hasn't been proven that there are long term effects of a cat being stuck in a tiny cage for a long period of time". Nice answer.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

I've never adopted from a shelter so I don't know exactly how it works, but I have been in the city shelter several times, as well as other nearby city shelters when I have accompanied others looking to adopt. The city I live in is no kill, and backs that up with the shelter also running the largest cat sanctuaty in North America (technically it's the other way around; the cat sanctuary won the bid for the city shelter), but I don't know exact details. Animals don't leave until they are neutered, I know that much, as our city also has mandatory spay/neuter bylaws. I'm sure an interview is required. From a few adoptions I recall at the cat sanctuary the wait is about a week or two.

Three years ago a close friend of mine adopted a kitten from a shelter that's a city or two over, can't recall which city (there are several packed together here) ... the kitten was in quarantine for a week, and they were also waiting until they could spay her. Depite the litter not being listed as adoptable yet and that they were not on the main adoption floor room, quite few were already spoken for. They had to do an interview, speaking with everyone in the family, an adoption questionnaire sheet, and a home visit, and agreement the kitten will not go outside. I believe she was adopted from the SPCA.

Meanwhile, the only "adoption" I've had is a TNR lady bring Blaze around to the house as a feral kitten... in which we said yes and gave her 50 dollars as a donation. Standards obviously are quite different depending on who you go through and the way they manage their animals, as often an overcrowded shelter is more likely to try practically giving animals away ASAP.


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## BigDaveyL (Jun 26, 2012)

doodlebug said:


> I did adoption counseling for the local shelter....typically the cat went home the same day unless there was something about the application that needed to be verified...like checking with the landlord to ensure pets were allowed. Or checking with the rest of the family members to ensure they were on board. Or of there were children in the house but not with the parent...we made them bring in the kids to see how they interacted with the cat. We also would not allow cats to be adopted as gifts unless we spoke the the recipient and they assured us that they wanted a cat and wanted the other person to pick it out.


That's how the humane society appears to work in my city. They have a farm, large facility and several small sites around the county.

It was easy for me to adopt from them since I live alone and own my own place.


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## cinderflower (Apr 22, 2012)

Marcia said:


> Must be an Ontario thing because I've never heard of a US shelter with that amount of waiting time.


it was the same way for me here, both in 1992 and 2010. the first time was the cat care society in lakewood and the last was the dumb friends league south quebec facility. although the last one was at a doggie bakery and the owner was a volunteer for the DFL. he had put all the kittens in cages around his shop and someone shoved the kitten in my hands lol. (then i said, "you know i hate you now because i can't leave without this kitten.")

i have no idea if i passed any kind of screening or not. i was just a little annoyed that they waived the $100 adoption fee ten days after i got houdini. i guess they really had a lot of kittens. all shelters except for the DFL one automatically spay/neuter, and even DFL does the kittens because they are determined to get them out the door. no one gets to see them until they're wormed and altered. diotima was a "gift" in 1997 (owner had 19 y.o. cat who vetoed a six-month-old). supposedly she came from the maxfund shelter which is no-kill and wouldn't take her back. (not sure i believe this, don't care, glad i took her) and my six-year-old i bought from a breeder in evergreen. that was the only one who actually came to my house, but i didn't even have to sign a neuter agreement. and come to think of it, i had to have diotima spayed (even though she was already declawed?) so i'm not even positive she came from a shelter at all. she was only six months old and had no scar and went into heat a couple of weeks later even though i was told otherwise. it isn't that hard to adopt from a shelter here. the most rigorous application process i've heard of was a lady in berthoud who breeds norwegian forest cats. she was even willing to sell one to my boyfriend for $700 instead of $1500 (which sort of made me suspicious, in addition to me not wanting to accept that big a gift because i didn't know how much i liked him. )


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## Blakeney Green (Jan 15, 2013)

I'm not sure what the shelters are like in the area I just moved to, since I haven't been looking to adopt a new cat at this time, but I can tell you what it was like where I used to live - although mind you, this was six years ago so it may have changed.

When I adopted Zephyr, I went in and answered a few questions at the front desk, gave my driver's license number, and showed them a copy of my lease that indicated pets were allowed. After that I got to go in the back and see the cats.

I had told them I was interested in either an adult cat or a kitten, but the workers definitely steered me toward the kitten room. As it turned out, they only had three adult cats and forty kittens, so the kittens were at that time more in need of homes.

I played with the kittens for awhile and was having a hard time choosing, but when I held Zephyr he immediately started purring, snuggled against me, and gave me this look like, "Wow, you took your time getting here, and I am ready to go home!" Obviously he had chosen me, so I went back to the desk and told them which cat I wanted to adopt.

Ordinarily the shelter had a 24-hour waiting period before you could bring the cat home to weed out the impulse adopters, and it was a Saturday so I figured I wouldn't have a cat till Monday at the earliest. I was planning to choose my cat, buy supplies over the weekend, then return on Monday. I didn't even have a carrier with me because I thought there was no chance I'd be bringing a pet home that day.

When I told them which kitten I wanted, though, one of the workers took me aside and told me that Zephyr was on the kill list for the close of business, and they didn't have the space to keep him for the weekend. They would waive the waiting period for me, but if I wanted him I needed to take him right away. I said I was fine with taking him immediately but I didn't have a carrier with me, so they lent me one to bring him home in.

I signed a paper listing various things I would do to take care of him (indoor only, take him to the vet, get him neutered - those are the main things I remember) and I got to take him home.

The whole thing took maybe an hour. I would have had to come back the next day if they hadn't been so overcrowded and if I hadn't chosen a cat who had run out of time already. 

Zephyr had been in the shelter for five days, so he didn't have a long stay.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Blakeney Green said:


> I played with the kittens for awhile and was having a hard time choosing, but when I held Zephyr he immediately started purring, snuggled against me, and gave me this look like, "Wow, you took your time getting here, and I am ready to go home!" *Obviously he had chosen me, so I went back to the desk and told them which cat I wanted to adopt.*
> 
> 
> When I told them which kitten I wanted, though, *one of the workers took me aside and told me that Zephyr was on the kill list for the close of business, and they didn't have the space to keep him* for the weekend. They would waive the waiting period for me, but if I wanted him I needed to take him right away. I said I was fine with taking him immediately but I didn't have a carrier with me, so they lent me one to bring him home in.


Zephyr was one lucky kitty! Did you get the impression that Z was the only cat on the kill list or were there many? Poor things. I have heard that our local TV station will do a courtesy plea for adopters if our shelters get over crowded. I'm not a local TV watcher so I've never seen one, but I love the idea.


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

If you are a first time adopter in the Shelter I support, they not only do a home visit but deliver the cats to check that all is really ready for them. Before that you have to meet them and they go around the cats with you having already spoken to you and worked out which ones are most likely to suit you. They don't take that long though in getting things sorted.


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## Blakeney Green (Jan 15, 2013)

Marcia said:


> Zephyr was one lucky kitty! Did you get the impression that Z was the only cat on the kill list or were there many? Poor things. I have heard that our local TV station will do a courtesy plea for adopters if our shelters get over crowded. I'm not a local TV watcher so I've never seen one, but I love the idea.


They didn't say how many (and I didn't ask, because I knew I could only help one no matter how many were on the list,) but I got the impression it was quite a few, because they needed to make space for the ones who would be dropped off over the weekend. I think it was just kittens on the list and not the adult cats, because it was right in the middle of kitten season and there were just too many of the little ones.

It was really sad. There was an article in the paper a month or so later that said it was one of worst kitten seasons ever for the shelter, and one of the shelter workers had an emotional breakdown over it and had to take indefinite leave.

Zephyr was indeed a lucky kitty, and I was lucky too. He's been a great pet.


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## Alex Harris (May 4, 2012)

Unless you are adopting a certain breed of dog that requires a home visit, you can leave in as little as an hour with the adopted animal.


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## CJinCA (Dec 5, 2011)

I've never adopted from a shelter. Got my 2 from a local rescue group. After convincing hubby to get a kitty, I was checking on craigslist. I saw the ad for my girls and just knew they were the ones. I called and left a message. When the rescuer / foster mom called back, I was a little tipsy from Friday night wine, but somehow it worked out. Maybe because she had been trying to find a home for them for over a year, or that it turned out we lived 2 blocks away from her, or somehow we sounded like responsible pet owners..not sure. We didn't even meet her originally as she had to go out of town, so her friend let us in to meet the girls and talk to us. Then 2 days later, it was the same friend that put them in a carrier and brought them over to our house. She did come in and do a quick inspection and made some kitty safety suggestions. Then she put on some flea drops, let them out of the carriers into the 'introduction' room, and left. It was only a week or so later when we noticed the Lickorish had flea tapes, that the foster mom came over and gave her a de-wormer. Thats when we met her for the first time. She's mostly involved with feral colony TNR's. When we went to her house to meet our girls, she had a ferret cage full of kittens right next to the condo where our Squeek was relaxing. We had a hard time with the rambunctious kittens trying to catch onto our clothing!


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## tigre86 (Nov 3, 2012)

I adopted Tucker last year from a local no-kill shelter. All I had to do was talk to a volunteer (they show their cats at Petco every Saturday), fill out an application, and pay for him. I took him home a day later. They also asked what Vet I planned to use to make sure Tucker got the rest of his shots (he had just arrived at the shelter when I adopted him and needed to complete his boosters).


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## Venusworld21 (Oct 23, 2012)

At my local shelter (I volunteer with them and have adopted 4 animals from them), strays are held for 72 hours before being made available for adoption. Owner surrenders are made available sooner (as space permits). 

For cat adoptions, you pick out the cat you like, fill out an application and submit it. They'll review it on the spot. If you rent, they WILL verify that you can have pets, by calling your landlord. If they can't get ahold of the landlord, you can place the cat on "hold" for up to 24 hours until they can verify. If they can't verify, no kitty. If you own, they WILL search the property records to verify that. That whole process only takes 10-15 minutes, if everything goes smoothly.

Once you complete the adoption, it depends on what cat you've picked. If you've picked a kitten under 5 months, you get to take it home asap. You'll take it to one of the local vets they work with before it is 5 months old, and they give you a voucher for the spay/neuter surgery. If it's a cat over 5 months, the adoption is considered "final" that day, but the shelter will then transport it to the vet the next day to be spayed/neutered and you will get to pick the kitty up from the vet. They don't allow unaltered adults to leave the shelter.

For dogs, it's pretty much the same rules except that some dogs require a 5 or 6 foot fence. In that case, the application puts the animal on "hold" until the shelter can send an officer by the property to verify that there is indeed a fence. That can take anywhere from 1-3 days.


I foster for the shelter. I had to have a background check run on me (they are run by the city and deal with law enforcement cases, so that's why that is mandatory), attend a 1 hour orientation, and have an officer come by my house to see where I would be keeping my fosters. I also had to prove that all my current animals were spayed/neutered and licensed.

The animals I've adopted from there were 3 kittens under 3 months old and an 8-week old puppy. All my animals went home with me the same day and the entire adoption took under 30 minutes. Only 1 of them has been adopted since I became a foster home for them.


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

Reading this, it seems that there is a difference for many of you between a shelter and a refuge. Since you write about both kill and no kill shelters, is the difference that one is run by a charity / individual and the other by the local government?


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## Pursestan (Dec 31, 2012)

Around here it seems that if you apply online the private shelters make you jump through all kinds of hoops (references, interviews, the name and number of your vet, home visits, etc). However, if you go to one of their adoption drives you can be in and out with a cat within an hour. 
The humane societies just say "whoever shows up first" to adopt the cat gets it as long as there are no red flags.


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## Venusworld21 (Oct 23, 2012)

The shelter I described above is a city-run kill shelter. However, when I volunteered with another rescue group (a no kill one who had cats at petsmart), the adoption process was almost the same except that we didn't actually verify with landlords/property records and didn't do site checks for dogs.


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## katlover13 (Apr 15, 2008)

Several of my cats were adopted through Caroline's Kids, the no kill shelter where I used to volunteer. The director there normally insists on meeting prospective adopters. Before I was a volunteer I went there looking for a cat and found Orlando in the FeLV room. Judie and I chatted as she showed me through the shelter and apparently I passed because Orlando came home with me that day. Since then she and I have become friends and she is always happy when I come looking for a cat. She has good instincts and has been known to refuse to adopt if the potential adopters don't seem right.


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## rightsaidfed (May 31, 2012)

I was told it would be a few days to look over my application (I met my kitty at an adoption event) but the head lady came in and told me if I went home to get a copy of my lease proving I could have pets that I could take him that day. 

I wasn't prepared that day so I told her I'd bring it the following week when I came to pick him up. I assumed it was going to take some time so I didn't have a carrier or food, litter, etc at home yet and I actually had taken a couple of vacation days the following week to help the new kitty acclimate.

Despite the quick adoption approval, I found them to be very good. One of my kitten's litter-mates came down with some type of parasite days after I took my kitty home, and they called me to let me know and make sure everything was ok and offered to pay for treatment if he was sick too. 


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## Blakeney Green (Jan 15, 2013)

Arianwen said:


> Reading this, it seems that there is a difference for many of you between a shelter and a refuge. Since you write about both kill and no kill shelters, is the difference that one is run by a charity / individual and the other by the local government?


That's part of it, although the differences can be more complicated than that.

For example, the shelter where I got Zephyr _was_ run by a private organization. There was also a city animal control shelter with an even higher kill rate. 

I think a lot of it depends on the opinions of the people setting the policies, how overwhelmed and overcrowded they are, and how highly the area residents value pets to be willing to put in effort to get one.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

MowMow came from the local Humane Society and someone reviewed my application immediately. They invited us to look around while it was reviewed. I opted to wait until it was approved before I met any cats. I didn't want to fall in love and them tell me I couldn't have it. 

Shepherd Book came from a local rescue. I filled out an application online because there was a cat in foster care that I liked online. He was adopted before I could see him and I visited their thrift store/shelter and met Shepherd Book. Since I already had my app approved I was able to take him home right away. It took about 3 days for them to email me that it was approved.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Arianwen said:


> Reading this, it seems that there is a difference for many of you between a shelter and a refuge. Since you write about both kill and no kill shelters, is the difference that one is run by a charity / individual and the other by the local government?


I refer to shelters as shelters whether tax supported or private. In my experience the private shelters are no-kill and city run is not. They take in and place for adoption companion animals. 

I've always thought of a refuge as some place for wildlife (or free roaming places) or as places that will take in the undesirable (pit bulls, nuisance dogs, feral cats, etc.) to live out their lives not necessarily up for adoption.


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## 3furbabies (Dec 7, 2011)

Where I live each city usually has two separate entities... Animal control which is a high kill shelter, and a humane society which is no kill. You don't really adopt from animal control.... Mostly rescue groups take from them and they send some to the humane society when very full. They don't treat animals good there and they usually put them down in a few days if not adopted/rescued (animal control) . It varies by city.


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## jadis (Jul 9, 2011)

All the animals I've gotten from a shelter went home with me the same day. We are talking rural Georgia shelters here though, no applications, you just pay a small fee and say you'll get the animal spay/neutered.

The only time I had to fill out an app was with the Atlanta Humane Society. We had an interview as well but it still only took a couple hours. We shopped at their store while we waited and took the dog home the same day.


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## applesparks (May 5, 2010)

I adopted Lola from an Oklahoma City shelter and Fievel from an Albuquerque shelter. In both cases, I signed a form and paid a nominal fee. No application either time, though I did have to prove residency for the Albuquerque shelter. I took Lola home with me right away. The only reason I didn't take Fievel home same day was because he still needed to be neutered. I went and picked him up after his surgery the next day.


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## violina (Jan 28, 2013)

The shelter I got them from had a same day adoption process and another one that I wasn't familiar with (I think it took a few days). I kind of did things out of the shelter's preferred order because the attendants were a bit busy. I went up to see the cats, got to play with my minions for about 20-25 minutes. Decided I was going to get them, went downstairs, filled out the preliminary paperwork (the stuff I was supposed to fill out before I played with the cats), did the adoption paperwork, provided proof of residence, and paid the fees. 

Even though we filled out the paper work to get them that day, they needed to be neutered (as per the shelter's policy -- they send them to the vet to get the procedure) and since there was a waiting list for the procedure, they didn't get it till 2 days later and we got to bring them home on the third day.


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## Saydee (Nov 9, 2010)

The speed depends on many factors, such as how thorough the shelter wants to be, how big (in terms of organizational structure) the shelter is, and how busy they are.

At one shelter that I volunteered the process took a few days because they wanted to be pretty thorough, but also it was a small shelter and there were only a small handful of volunteers so appointments to meet the animal and do an interview had to be scheduled when a volunteer was available.

Another I volunteered at was very, very thorough and liked to have at least a one day waiting period before adopting. It could also get pretty busy, which pushes things back.

A third shelter that I visited, but didn't volunteer at, was very large and had enough volunteers that they could do vet reference checks and whatnot really fast.

So in my experience things vary from shelter to shelter even within the same city.


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