Adopting a friend

An adoption application and home visit are required for Animal Welfare Foster Program pet adoptions. Some animals on our website are described as "courtesy listings" - they are other animals seeking homes not yet in our program. Please contact us (or in some cases the pet's caretaker's contact info may be listed) prior to filling out an application for these animals.

Pets adopted from the Animal Welfare Foster Program are current on all of their preventative healthcare. They have been vaccinated, spayed or neutered, tested for heartworms, treated for fleas, and dewormed. Cats have tested negative for FIV and FeLV. Any other medical conditions are also treated.

We ask that if you are interested in adopting one of our animals, you first fill out an ADOPTION APPLICATION, and email the completed application to Maura at mcaulif@vt.edu. Because our animals are in foster homes, we regret that we cannot allow interested parties to visit with them before putting in an application. However, we are happy to answer your questions about the animal's personality prior to having you complete the application. Once an application has been approved (this usually takes a few days), we will schedule a meeting with one of our animals. A donation to cover the cost of spay or neuter and vaccinations is requested for each adoption. For dogs/puppies this is $150; while the fee for cats/kittens is $65. We have a one week trial period for our adoptions, during which time we will hold your adoption donation fee while you determine if the animal will fit in well with your family. Your adoption coordinator will review your pet's healthcare and behavior information at the adoption meeting, and will provide you with the medical paperwork.

Check out FREE online training videos at the following link!

How You Can Help!

Monetary and Pet Supply Donations

We are an all-volunteer run organization. Money is our biggest need. All of our money comes from donations and adoption donation fees. We use this money to pay the sizable vet bills we run up each month at Town and Country Veterinary Clinic. Donations can be made to our general fund or you can sponsor a specific animal. We are also happy to accept donations of pet supplies. Some examples are collars, leashes, toys, pet food, and crates. Because we are a 501(c)3 non-profit group, all donations are tax deductible! Please email Anna S. at amsims@vt.edu for information on how to donate.

Sponsor an animal

Rescuing dogs and cats is an expensive undertaking, and our food and vet bills can add up quickly. You can help us out by sponsoring one of our animals. By donating in the amounts listed below, you will provide funds for us to do the following:

We are also in need of sponsors for our special needs animals. This can range from a cat with a respiratory infection to a dog that needs its leg amputated. We are happy to accept donations in any amount you wish to give and will send you pictures and updates of your sponsored pet!

Foster an animal

One our biggest needs is a place to keep our dogs and cats until we can find them a permanent home. Since we don't have a shelter, we depend on foster homes. If you have room for a dog or cat in your home, it's one of the best ways that you can volunteer. Foster homes usually keep their animals for a period of a couple of weeks to a couple of months, until they are adopted. It's easy - we pay for all of the animal's healthcare, food, and supplies, and can provide a crate. All you have to do is provide a loving temporary home! Fostering is a very fulfilling way to help out. If you've thought about adopting a pet, but aren't quite sure what breed is best for you, fostering is a wonderful way to try out different types of animals and determine whether they are suitable for your lifestyle. You are still helping to save the animals that you don't decide to keep as your own pet! It's a win/win situation. If you think you'd be interested in fostering one of our homeless animals, please fill out our FOSTER APPLICATION and email it to Shannon at sthorell@vt.edu.

Volunteer your time

We rely entirely upon volunteers to help as many animals as possible! We need reliable volunteers for a variety of tasks including: driving adoptable animals to and from adoption events and veterinary appointments, distributing flyers with photographs and descriptions of adoptable pets, working fundraising bake sales, and staffing our booth at adoption/community events to introduce our animals to potential adopters. If you would like to be informed when volunteer opportunities arise, please contact Debbie at dahill10@vt.edu to be added to our e-mail list.

Our sponsors and supporters - THANK YOU!