How to Adopt

Why adopt from the HBSCA?

You save a life. When you adopt from the HBSPCA, you’re giving a home to a homeless animal, rather than creating a market for additional kittens and puppies. Every time an animal is adopted, we can help another animal get a second chance. Adopters are heroes in the battle against pet overpopulation.

You’ve got a lot of choice. We’ve got it all—small animals and birds, purebred dogs and cats, unique crossbreeds…of all ages. Adopting an older animal can help eliminate the guesswork, which can help when you’re looking for a compatible pet.

You get our support and expertise. We know the characteristics, personalities, activity level, needs and care requirements of the different animals we care for. We also use Meet Your Match, the only tool available that evaluates an animal’s behaviour and interests and matches them to an adopter’s preferences. Even after the adoption we’re happy to answer your questions and refer you to other experts. We also offer basic dog training courses.

You get great value. For dogs and cats, your adoption fee includes spaying or neutering, vaccinations, flea treatment, microchipping and more. See our chart below for full details.

In order to adopt, you must:

be at least 18 years old
show identification
confirm your landlord allows animals if you rent your home
bring all family members, including other pets, with you for the adoption process

It’s best to arrive early in the day in order to have the best choice of pets.

When you arrive, you’ll fill out an adoption questionnaire and, if you’d like to adopt a dog or cat, the Meet Your Match questionnaire.

We can’t “hold” animals. If more than one adopter is interested in a particular animal, we’ll accept all applications and our staff will determine who will provide the most appropriate home, using information from the adoption questionnaire.

Payment is required at the time of adoption. We accept cash, Visa, Mastercard and American Express.

Adoption Prices:

Adult dogs:	$325	Chinchillas:	$78
Puppies:	$375	Ferrets:	$170
Adult cats:	$175	Guinea Pigs:	$21
Kittens:	$195	Rodents:	$11
Rabbits: (unaltered)	$35	Large birds:	Prices vary

Your adoption price includes:

Dogs

1st Vaccination	Adult Dogs: Heartworm test
Flea Treatment	Hamilton/Burlington License
Microchip	25% off obedience classes
Spay/Neuter	6 weeks pet insurance
Rabies Vaccination	Bordatella Vaccination