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Adoption FAQS

Your questions,
our answers

What you might be wondering
about adopting an animal.

Our beautiful SPCA of Texas’ Dallas Animal Care Center is open for adoptions every day from noon to 6 p.m. Animals are ready to find their new forever homes with our walk-in visitors on a first-come, first-served basis. You can also request an appointment to meet select animals on our Find A Pet portal.

You can also check out our upcoming adoption events.

NOTE You must have a valid picture ID to adopt an animal from SPCA of Texas.

The SPCA of Texas has dogs and cats available for adoption and foster. Depending upon community need, we may also have small mammals, such as rabbits, guinea pigs, or hamsters available for adoption and foster.

The SPCA of Texas’ Animal Cruelty Investigations Unit rescues thousands of animals from situations of abuse and neglect each year. We also take in stray animals from certain areas of Dallas and Ellis counties. Therefore, a significant number of our adoptable animals have had a rough start in life. After rehabilitation with our medical and behavioral teams, many of these animals are looking for special homes where they can continue their progress and learn how to be a pet.

The SPCA of Texas does not perform breed testing, so breeds listed on adoption profiles are generally best guesses based on the animal’s appearance. Ages of animals are also estimated by our medical staff, as we typically don’t know exact ages for animals who are not born in our care.

Puppies and kittens (age 0-6 months) are $150 to adopt.

Adult dogs and cats (age 6 months+) are $75 to adopt.

We offer adoption specials throughout the year, and you can subscribe to our email newsletter or follow us on social media to receive updates.

Yes! We ask that you plan on taking the pet home immediately following the meet and greet, as we are not able to place holds on pets should you want to return later. Therefore, we recommend having your home ready beforehand with essential supplies, but we also have a variety of merchandise available for purchase in our retail area.

Sometimes, our adopters are unable to take home their dog or cat the same day. This can be due to factors including any required meet-and-greets between resident dogs and your newly adopted dog, additional training requirements and/or medical reasons. Our adoption team will let you know during the process if an additional meeting is necessary before taking home your new family member.

We have many amazing animals in foster homes who are available for adoption! If any of them interest you, please fill out the application for that animal, and our team will provide you more information. We will then put you in touch with the animal’s foster parent, who can provide greater detail about what the pet is like in a home.

Meet and greets for foster animals may take place in your or the foster’s home, a public location, or at one of our shelters and will depend on the animal’s needs and what each party is comfortable with.

Yes! Once they are available. We have many animals on our adoption page who need foster homes to assist with their medical or behavioral rehabilitation. If any of them interest you, you can even be the one to foster them to help them in their recovery, and then you get dibs on adopting them once they are ready!

We do have many animals available for a trial adoption. Some animals even require one! You’ll be able to see which animals are eligible for a trial adoption on their adoption profiles, but trials will also be considered for some of our other longer stay residents. Trial adoptions typically range from two weeks to two months but may be extended depending on behavioral or medical issues the animal is experiencing. Trial adopters are essentially foster parents and will need to adhere to all policies and protocols of the foster program.

A Shelter Sweetheart is an animal that is being featured by our Adoptions team. Animals with the Shelter Sweetheart designation have a waived adoption fee (no cost). Additionally, adopters will receive their first week of training for FREE and 10% off for life through the GoodPup app.

We always try to set the right expectations and explain everything we know about the animal prior to adoption, but new issues can pop up at any time. We have an extensive online library of pet tips and training videos that may help with your new pet.

We’re here to support you throughout your pet’s lifetime and are happy to assist with any issues you may be experiencing. Please email adoption@spca.org should you ever need help and we’ll be happy assist in any way we can, whether it be advice or referrals.

At SPCA of Texas, we will welcome our animals back at any time, for any reason at no cost to you. We understand that circumstances change and sometimes it may be in your best interest, or the animal’s, to return them to the shelter. Adopters who return their pet within 30 days of adoption will be offered a full refund. Please e-mail intake@spca.org if you need to schedule a return