Thank you for your interest in adopting one of the animals from Chatham Kent Animal Rescue. We are NOT a shelter where you can drive to see the animals. They are all cared for and living with approved foster families throughout Southwestern Ontario. Our rescue is 100% volunteer based, we do NOT receive any government or municipal funding.

Based on past experiences, our adoption process has evolved to what it is now. This process is intended to ensure the safety and well-being of our animals.

Our foster families provide details for the animals in their care to help us write detailed profiles to match them and their needs with potential adopters. Their profiles can change the longer they are with their foster families.

Every potential adopter must submit an adoption application which will help us to match the needs and energy level of dogs and cats in our care with a potential adopter.

Questions asked on our application are to help our adoption team determine compatibility with our dogs and cats, and to ensure the welfare of our animals who have come into our rescue’s care because of many situations.

YOUR APPLICATION MUST BE FILLED OUT COMPLETELY.
IF YOU LEAVE ANY FIELDS BLANK, YOUR APPLICATION MAY NOT BE PROCESSED.

Please do not submit an application unless you are ready to adopt and have a specific dog in mind. Our Adoptions Coordinator will send an email with the status of the dog or cat. We do not remove pets from the Adoptable page until they are adopted. This message will also explain our adoption process in detail along with a copy of our adoption contract which we ask all potential adopters to review. You can change your mind at any time.

To adopt an animal with Chatham Kent Animal Rescue, a person must be:

1. 21 years old with the responsibility for maintaining a household.
2. Willing to allow a Chatham Kent Animal Rescue representative to conduct a home visit.
3. Financially capable to provide for ALL veterinary care of the animal and any training as needed.
4. Able to pay an adoption fee to help cover the costs of rescue care.
5. Children must be 5 years minimum. If the age of a child is listed higher on the profile, it’s because of the specific animal’s needs or past history. Some of our dogs and cats require adult only homes.
6. For adoption of our dogs, homes must have a secure fenced yard (which will be checked during home visit) and agree to provide locks on any gates. Apartments on ground level must have a secure barrier across the patio area; Upper floors, if balconies, must be secured with 3 foot mesh or chicken wire to provide safety for small animals. NOTE: Invisible Fencing will not be accepted as a safe, secure fence
7. Our boundaries for doing adoption meet ‘n greets are listed on every profile. Our volunteers take the drive to bring the dogs and cats to the potential adopter’s home for the meet ‘n greet. Not every meet 'n greet will end in an adoption, the final decision will be left to the volunteer conducting the meet 'n greet based on the comfort of the dog at the meet 'n greet.

We reserve the right to refuse any adoption application.