Adopters must be at least 18 years old (or have a parent or guardian present who is supportive of the adoption), have a valid photo ID, be allowed to have a pet where they live, and be willing and able to spend the time and money necessary to provide training, medical attention, and proper care for their new pet. If you live in student housing, you must have proof of permission to have a pet from Residential life.

Please come prepared to take your new pet home. Cats and small animals must leave in a carrier. Dogs must leave with a collar and leash. All of these items are available for purchase at HSCC.

Please click here to view a detailed list of HSCC's adoption policies.

Our adoption fees vary depending on the type of animal, their age, and whether they have any special needs. Click here to view our Adoption Fees and what they cover. Please note that adoption fees are non-refundable. 

All adoptions are "first come, first served". In order to be considered first for an animal, you must be present in person, have a completed adopter profile, and alert a staff member that you are interested in adopting. Holds cannot be placed until a prospective adopter has completed the full counseling process. Once the full counseling process has been completed, you can place a hold on an animal for up to 24 hours with a Hold Fee equal to half of the adoption fee (or $50 if the animal doesn't have an adoption fee). Should you change your mind and decide not to go through with the adoption, the Hold Fee will be considered a donation.

A: As much as we’d like to, we unfortunately don’t have the resources to keep up with potential adopter’s requests. Our animal population changes frequently, so the best thing to do is keep checking our adoptable animals page and if there is one who strikes your fancy, come on down and get acquainted!

Yes! We encourage adopters to come prepared to take their new pet home right away. All HSCC dogs are available to take home Foster-To-Adopt (Vermont residents only) for a 3-day period so you can get to know your new dog at home before committing to adoption. 

From time to time we feel that the likelihood of a particular match succeeding is exceptionally low. When this happens, we work with adopters to find a more suitable match. And while it is uncommon, we reserve the right to refuse an adoption at any time.

A: All of our cats and dogs are spayed or neutered before they are officially adopted (some may be available for Foster-To-Adopt until they are old enough to be spayed/neutered), but it varies by species and gender with our smallies. Every animal will be as up-to-date on their vaccinations as possible. Click here to see our Adoption Fees are and what they cover.

We’re here to help! We can’t emphasize strongly enough that we want to be your go-to resource for questions or concerns.  Please visit our Resources page to find helpful information on common behavioral and medical issues. You can always call or email HSCC's Pet Helpline or stop by to chat during open hours. We’ll do everything we can to help make your adoption a success!

Our adoption center is open Tuesday-Friday from 1PM-5PM and Saturday from 10AM-4PM.

We're often asked why our adoption center is closed for the first half of the day - with an average of 100 animals in our care on any given day, we use the first half of each day to clean, feed, and care for the animals in our shelter. We devote Sundays and Mondays to full facility cleanings, special projects, and additional efforts to work with our residents.

A: Though we operate much like a “no-kill” shelter we choose intentionally not to use that term as we feel it falsely represents the reality of responsible and realistic animal sheltering. "No-Kill" is a term commonly used for shelters that guarantee adoption for all healthy and adoptable animals. We treat all animals as individuals and do our best to find placement based on each animal’s needs. However, if we cannot prevent the suffering of an animal or if we cannot responsibly place an animal back out into the community (due to behavioral reasons), we may choose to humanely euthanize an animal. So long as an animal can be medically treated and doesn’t pose any danger to the community, each animal can stay at HSCC until they find a new home.

A: We kindly suggest a minimum donation of $50 for each animal brought to us. This is because HSCC receives no public funding and relies solely on private donations in order to provide care to the roughly 1,000 animals that come to our shelter each year. On average, each animal costs $300-$700 to treat, care for, and place in a new home. No animal is ever turned away because of an inability to make a donation.

No, there is no fee required to bring us a stray animal or relinquish an owned pet. We do appreciate donations to help us afford the care of the animal being surrendered (the suggested donation amount is $100, but we welcome any amount you may be able to give).

For HSCC to help rehome a pet, they need to be relinquished into our care. To relinquish your pet to our care, you would bring them directly to our facility, where we can get to know them, ensure they're ready for adoption, and match them with an adopter. Having pets directly in our care is the most effective way for us to provide them with the best medical and behavior/training support, as well as to meet potential new adopters. At this time, HSCC is not able to rehome pets without having them in our care.

Please click here to learn more about the rehoming process and request an appointment to relinquish a pet.

Though we operate much like a “no-kill” shelter we choose intentionally not to use that term as we feel it falsely represents the reality of responsible and realistic animal sheltering. "No-Kill" is a term commonly used for shelters that guarantee adoption for all healthy and adoptable animals. We treat all animals as individuals and do our best to find placement based on each animal’s needs. However, if we cannot prevent the suffering of an animal or if we cannot responsibly place an animal back out into the community (due to behavioral reasons), we may choose to humanely euthanize an animal. So long as an animal can be medically treated and doesn’t pose any danger to the community, each animal can stay at HSCC until they find a new home.

A: We understand that people’s lives change and that sometimes, due to a variety of circumstances, people are unable to keep, maintain, and care for their pets. Years later, under different circumstances, that same person may be ready and interested in adopting a new pet. Assuming that you meet all of our general adoption requirements, we are happy to discuss the possibility of you adopting a pet from us.

Supplies for our resident cats, dogs and smallies cost us about $20,000 a year, so donated items are a big help! Click here to see our wishlist.

Donations can be dropped off in our lobby anytime during our open hours of operation, or just outside the front doors when we're closed (we'll see them!). Please note that we will not be able to provide you with a receipt for your items if you drop them off when we're closed.

Yes! We can use open bags of food. Please mark what type of food it is (if it isn’t in the original container).