Steps to Adopting an Animal

NEW! We are happy to announce our new virtual adoption process, which will allow us to continue our adoption program while keeping the health of staff and the community in mind!

Here's how the new virtual adoption process works:

1. New pets will be made available for adoption between 10-11am each day, if we have new pets to make available. All available pets can be viewed on our Petango page: www.petango.com/FairfaxCountyAnimalShelter

2. Individuals who wish to adopt an available pet should email a completed adoption questionnaire to animalshelter@fairfaxcounty.gov to get in the virtual line for that pet. We are setting up visits in the order that questionnaires are received. Adoption questionnaires for dogs, cats, and small animals are each available on this page, below. Please note that we can only accept questionnaires on pets who are officially available for adoption and on our Petango page; we are not able to hold questionnaires in advance of a pet being ready to adopt. 

3. A completed questionnaire submitted via email is the most convenient way to express your interest in adopting; there is no need to follow up with a call. Once your email has been received, please be patient as we work to reply!

4. Shelter staff will communicate with potential adopters via email or phone call to share all the info we know about the pet and ask some questions about what the adopter is looking for in a new pet. We will share notes from previous owners, staff, and fosters; medical information from previous vets if supplied and from our Shelter vet; any photos and videos of the pet.

5. Shelter staff will work with the potential adopter to determine if the pet is a good fit or not, and give a reasonable timeframe for potential adopters to decide. It is possible that a pet will not be a good fit based on the pet’s individual behaviors and needs, and we appreciate the understanding that our adoption process will need to be a little different than it usually is! We will do our best to suggest potential alternatives in the event the first selection doesn’t work out.

6. For puppies, kittens, and some adult cats and dogs, no in-person visit will be permitted to finalize the adoption. Shelter staff will complete the adoption paperwork and send it via email. No-contact pet pickup will occur at the Shelter.

7. For some adult cats and dogs as determined by Shelter staff, an in-person visit will be needed to finalize the adoption. These will be facilitated by Shelter staff at the shelter with social distancing and no-contact, utilizing our outdoor dog pens (for dogs) or the indoor training room (for cats, or during inclement weather, or as appropriate).

8. If a potential adopter has a dog at home already, please note that some shelter dogs will have a requirement for a dog-to-dog introduction. These will be facilitated by Shelter staff at the shelter with social distancing and no-contact, utilizing our outdoor dog pens (for dogs) or the indoor training room (for inclement weather, or as appropriate).

9. Once adoption paperwork is finalized, Shelter staff will arrange the no-contact pickup to occur within a few days, based on the Shelter’s schedule and the adopter’s schedule.