ADOPTION PROGRAM

By adopting a shelter animal, you will be making a wonderful addition to your family and giving these loving animals a new lease on life. SOAR dogs are friendly, leash trained, and will make terrific pets for the single person, couple, or family. We also have a great selection of beautiful, adorable cats at SOAR. How do you go about adopting a dog or cat from SOAR?

We have a simple checklist of qualifications that you need to meet in order to become a SOAR parent. While most people will make wonderful SOAR parents, we do want to ensure that you are ready and able to adopt one of our animals. We also want you to understand our policies; you must comply with them if you want to adopt. Read on for these qualifications, policies, and procedures for adoption.

ADOPTION QUALIFICATIONS

• Adopters must be 21 years of age or older.

• You must be able to provide adequate shelter for the dog. We prefer that the dog be kept in the house and leashed when taken outside. A fenced-in yard is definitely a plus. Shelter from inclement or extreme weather is mandatory. You must not be planning on letting the dog run free or spend time on a chain.

• Your new cat will have will have a longer and better life if it is strictly an indoor pet.

ADOPTION POLICY

• At time of adoption, all animals will have all age appropriate vaccinations and be spayed or neutered. Dogs will be heartworm free or undergoing treatment. All costs are covered by SOAR.

• A SOAR representative will, in most cases, visit your home to review the living accommodations the animal will have.

• If the adopter, at a later time, decides that they can no longer care for the animal it must be returned to SOAR. It cannot be placed in any other shelter or given to anyone without SOAR's knowledge and consent. We want you to return our friend so that we can find another loving home for him or her. If at all possible we would like three days notice of a return so that we can make adequate preparations.

• You must agree to take your dog or cat in for regular vet visits. We want good lives for our animals and regular checkups and health maintenance are a must.

• If, in SOAR's judgment, the adopted animal is subject to abuse or mistreatment of any kind, SOAR will repossess the animal.

ADOPTION PROCEDURE

• You can visit SOAR to choose a dog or a cat between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Wednesdays and between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturdays. If you would like to visit at another time you can call 910-457-6340 to arrange an appointment. You can look at the animals, play with them, find out about their previous history, and if you want to adopt one of them we will accept your application.

• We frequently hold adoption fairs at Pet Food City on N. College in Wilmington (across from Corning). We will take some of our dogs and cats there and you can see and meet them. We always advertise these fairs on our home page. If you see a picture of one of our animals and want to meet them you can let us know and we'll make every attempt to bring them to our next adoption fair.

• If you express interest in an animal a SOAR representative will interview you to determine if it is a good match.

• A home inspection will be conducted.

• You will be asked to sign a form agreeing to items mentioned in our policy above.

• If everything is in order you will be allowed to adopt the animal. The entire process will take no longer than two or three days.

• We often come to check on the animal and it’s living conditions post-adoption.

ADOPTION FEES

We find it impossible to put a price on any animal. In our estimation, they are all priceless. For that reason, there is no adoption fee; however, a donation to SOAR at the time of adoption is always greatly appreciated. We suggest donations of at least $60 for cats and kittens and $90 dollars for dogs and puppies. These donations help cover veterinary care, vaccinations, and neutering or spaying. Donations will be used to help another deserving animal find a good home!