Our Adoption Process
Summer Update: No Appointments required on Saturdays & Sundays, just an approved adoption application
If you happen to see an adoptable animal you are interested in meeting or would like to come to our facility to see what we have, please read the following regarding our adoption process.
Please read the following before applying to adopt:
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We are appointment based and an approved application is required before visiting our facility to adopt.
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Applicants must live within 5 hours driving distance of Virginia beach and have their own transportation.
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Home ownership is required for certain breed mixes, such as pit bull, husky, and shepherd mixes.
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We do age appropriate adoptions and do not typically adopt puppies or kittens to applicants over the age of 65. This is done for the benefit of both the adopter and the animal.
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Please do not apply on a whim! Out of consideration for the time and energy of our small adoption team, we ask that you apply only when you are certain that you are ready to adopt now or in the near future.
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If you are military, we may require additional information.
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Applicants must be 21+ to adopt.
First Step:
Fill Out An
Adoption Application
The first step to adopt from Hope For Life Rescue is to fill out an adoption application. You can do this in two ways; first is to apply directly for the animal you are interested in adopting by clicking the adopt button on their public profile. Second, is to fill out a general adoption application:
General Dog Application: CLICK HERE
General Cat Application: CLICK HERE
Please keep in mind that submitting an application for a specific animal does not guarantee adoption of that animal; even if your application is approved. We often receive multiple applications on the same animal, so they may not be available by the time your application is approved.
However, all adoption applications are kept on file for 6 months, and can be used toward the adoption of another animal.
Second Step:
Request An Adoption Appointment
Once your application is approved, the next step is to request an appointment to meet our available animals.
The reason an appointment must be requested is so that we can first verify that you have an approved adoption application on file. Please ensure that you request an appointment with the name of the approved applicant; not doing so, may result in your appointment request being denied.
Because we frequently use foster homes for many of our rescues, many of our available animals may not be at our facility at any given day. So if there is a specific animal you are interested in meeting, please specify that in the appointment notes and we will do our best to ensure that they are there at the time of your appointment or set up a meet and greet with their foster family.
Unless otherwise specified, appointments in general are made to see the available animals at our facility at that specific time, in which case it's first come.
Third Step:
Come Meet Our Adoptable Animals
We encourage all family members to come in and meet our adoptable animals if you are ready to adopt the day of your appointment. We ask that you show up no earlier than 5-10 minutes before your appointment, and send us a message if you are going to be late or need to cancel.
Adoption appointments are 30 minutes to an hour in duration, which is usually enough time to meet our adoptable animals and move on to the next step in the process.
Fourth Step:
Adoption or Home Visit
One of the best things about adopting from us, is that we give all of our adopters time to decide if the animal they want to make a part of their family is the right fit! We do this by allowing approved applicants to do what is called a home visit, which means they can take an animal home for up to 2 weeks (extensions may be given) to ensure that the adoption is a good fit for both the family and the pet.
This allows meeting our adoptable animals to be stress-free experience as a decision does not need to be made that day.
However, if you meet a dog or cat and have absolutely fallen in love, you are more than welcome to complete the adoption and take your new family member home that same day!
Once you have decided to adopt, we can then move on to the next step!
Final Step:
Finalize The Adoption
Once you have made the decision to adopt, we will provide you with all of the animal's original paperwork, as well as have you sign the adoption contract and go over any pertinent medical information.
Our adoption fees are as follows:
Adult Dogs: $300
Puppies: $350
Adult Cats: $75
Kittens: $150 for one & $200 for two
Our adoption fees include: Spay/neuter, first year vaccinations, up-to-date flea/tick prevention & deworming, and a microchip with lifetime registration.