How to adopt a rescue pet

There are six steps in our adoption journey:

1. Apply

We’d encourage you to start by visiting our adopt a pet page to see which animals are currently looking for new homes. Once you’ve found a pet you’re interested in, complete the form on their profile page to register your interest and we’ll be in touch if you’re a match for them. Please check the pet’s criteria carefully before applying to determine whether they could be the right pet for you.

2. Matching

Once you’ve registered your interest in a pet, we’ll assess if you’re a match for them. While we would like to get in touch with everyone who applies, it’s not possible for us to reply to everyone. We aim to contact the first applicant who is a successful match within a few days but if we have received multiple applications, this could take up to a week. If you are not initially contacted, we may get in touch at a later stage if the animal becomes available again.

If you are a match, there are some checks we need to do with you to ensure your home and lifestyle are compatible with the pet you’ve chosen. This includes a virtual or physical home visit which is at the discretion of the Bristol A.R.C. rehoming team. We’ll talk you through this when you get to this stage.

3. Meet and greet

If you are a match for the animal you have registered an interest in, we will invite you to come down to meet the animal and their carers. This is a very important part of the process.

If you’re adopting a cat or a small animal, one visit may be enough to ensure you’re a good match. Some of our animals (particularly dogs) might take a couple of visits for them to warm to you, so more than one visit may be required to gain their trust. We’d encourage you to please be patient with the adoption process – we do this to ensure the best outcomes for you and the animals, and we’ll work closely with you to make sure the animal’s needs are met.

4. Reserve

Depending on the animal you’ve chosen to adopt, once you’ve met them we can place a full reserve on that animal for you.

5. Pre-adoption

We’ll talk you through everything that needs to happen on adoption day so you can get everything ready for your new addition.

6. Adoption

Now comes the exciting part – the day you take your pet home. The adoption fee ensures we are able to continue to help animals who come into our care. The fees are listed below. The adoption fee  contributes to the cost of feeding the animals, maintaining their accommodation and the medical treatment they may require, including neutering (unless advised otherwise by our veterinary surgeon), vaccinations, flea and worm treatment. 

Once you’ve collected your pet, we consider you part of the family! Our team will check in with you post-adoption to make sure your pet is settling and answer any queries you might have. You’re also welcome to call us at any time after adoption for advice or support if needed.

More frequently asked questions about the process are answered below. Please scroll down the page to find out more.

Unfortunately not. As we’re sure you can understand, many of the animals who arrive here come from difficult backgrounds and some find it hard to cope with visitors. Our team spends a lot of time working with them to gain their trust and get them ready for rehoming, and that’s why we try to keep the number of visitors to a minimum and make sure they have a calm environment to live in.

We ask that people view the animals looking for homes online and register their interest first, and then if you’re a match for that pet, we’ll invite you in to meet them as part of the adoption process.

To adopt a dog, we ask for the following conditions to be met: 

• Access to an exercise area and safe walking routes, to fulfil the individual dogs’ needs.

• The dog cannot be left alone for more than four hours a day but consideration of a dog walker or day care set up could be considered on a case by case basis.

• If you live in rented accommodation, you’ll need a letter of permission from your landlord.

• If you have other dogs, you’ll need to bring them into the centre to meet the dog you’ve applied to adopt after your initial meeting.

• Anyone who lives with you will need to come to the centre to meet the dog.

• The RSPCA has great advice on everything ‘dog’ and how to set up your house ready for your new pet, please make sure you do some research before applying.

• Any other pets you have will need to be up to date with their vaccinations.

• If you’re planning to move house or go on holiday soon, you’ll need to have done these things before the adoption takes place. It’s important to be able to bond with your new pet, and ensure they’re settled before leaving them with friends, family or boarding for a period of time.

Our aim is to ensure the dog you are interested in adopting is the right match for you and your home and that you are able to meet the individual needs of the dog you are applying for.

To adopt a cat, we ask for the following conditions to be met: 

• Cat flap fitted (unless someone is home all day).

• Ground floor access to the garden (away from any major roads), unless the cat is an indoor-only cat.

• If you live in rented accommodation, you’ll need a letter of permission from your landlord.

• Anyone who lives with you will also need to come to the centre to meet the cat.

• Any other pets you have will need to be up to date with their vaccinations.

• The RSPCA has great advice on everything ‘cat’ and how to set up your house ready for your new pet, please make sure you do some research before applying.

• If you are interested in adopting a kitten we understand that you may wish to raise the kitten as indoor living only. We can discuss this with you and ensure that you have all the information to ensure this can be successful and meets all the needs of your new cat. Please also view this factsheet.

• We do, at times, have cats who require an indoor only home; perhaps due to a disability or the cat may have always lived inside. This would be specified on their individual profile and we can discuss this with you and ensure that you have all the information to ensure this can be successful and meets all the needs of your new cat. Please also view this factsheet.

• If you’re planning to move house or go on holiday soon, you’ll need to have done these things before the adoption takes place.

Every cat has individual requirements, so there may be other things we’ll ask for depending on what the cat needs. You should be able to find all the relevant details on the cat’s profile page.

To adopt a rabbit,  we ask for the following conditions to be met:

• Accommodation size! The golden rule is that the accommodation can never be too big. There is lots of information available about hutch size but every rabbit (or bonded pair) needs at least three metres of uninterrupted space to allow them to run, hop, move about naturally and express their natural behaviours and curiosity. A garden shed with an outdoor run is a great investment for your rabbit as you can set it up with lots of interesting things for your rabbit to do and sit in with them too! The RSPCA has some great advice on rabbit needs.

• If you are considering keeping the rabbit as a house pet – the home has many hidden dangers. Please ensure that you have familiarised yourself with what these are. The RSPCA offers some great advice on this factsheet. Please discuss this with us if this is your intention as we can help.

• Rabbits should always live in pairs unless they have specific needs that restrict this. However, an indoor rabbit with lots of company, interactions and socialisation could be content as a single rabbit. Please discuss this with us.

• Rabbits should only live with another rabbit in their accommodation and no other species.

• Rabbits love to run loose in a secure garden as long as they are supervised by you. They can be at risk of predators and love to dig. Please speak to us if you intend to encourage loose exercise so we can help ensure your garden is suitable. If access to the garden is not possible from the accommodation, you could consider a larger separate exercise run which can be placed on the grass and big enough to allow the rabbit to run around whilst supervised.

• Please ensure that you have suitable accommodation in place before applying to adopt a rabbit.

• Many hutches and runs sold in pet shops or online do not meet these minimum requirements so please check.

Everyone’s journey will be different depending on the situation and the animal’s needs. Depending on the circumstances, all of these steps can take a few days for small animals and cats and a few weeks or more for dogs who may need more time to bond with you. Every adoption will go through each of the six steps outlined above. We’ll stay in touch with you via email or phone throughout the process.

Before our animals are ready to be adopted, many go through lots of training and behavioural assessments to ensure they are ready to go to a new home. They also receive a health check-up, neutering (if their health allows), vaccinations, flea and worm treatments, microchipping and more from our skilled vet team. The adoption fee is a contribution towards the costs we incur to look after the animals while they are with us.

Our adoption fees are:

• Dogs: £250 (£400 for a pair) (Dogs over ten years of age: £200)
• Cats: £150 (£250 for a pair) (Cats over ten years of age: £100)
• Rabbits: £50 (£80 for a pair)
• Ferrets: £50 (£80 for a pair)
• Guinea pigs: £40 (£60 for a pair)
• Birds: £15 plus depending on the species
• Rodents: £10 plus

*Fees are subject to change

If you’d like to make an additional one-off or regular donation to support our work, we’d be most grateful. Every penny we receive goes directly towards helping, healing and homing the vulnerable animals in our care.

If an animal is suitable to be placed with children then yes, absolutely! In those cases you’ll be encouraged to bring your children in to meet with the pet before the adoption takes place to help everyone bond and make sure they all get along. With any adoption, our aim is to try and find the perfect match. All our animals are assessed before rehoming and we take into consideration any information we have from their previous owners, as well as their behaviour here at the Centre, to determine whether they can live with children. Unfortunately, in some cases the animal may have come from a difficult background and may not be able to go to a home with children. We’ll always display this information on their profile page so please make sure you check this out before registering your interest.

Congratulations! If you’ve got a new baby on the way, we’d usually suggest that it’s best to wait a while before adopting a pet. Much like a new baby, a pet will have a settling in period when they first come to live with you, and it’s best to do this at a time when you can focus on them first.

If you’re moving within the next six months, we recommend you wait until after you have moved and settled in before adopting. It can take several months for a rescue pet (and dogs in particular) to completely settle in their new home. If you’re moving soon, this change in your new pet’s environment can be very stressful for them. Please register with us once you’ve settled into your new home and we’ll be happy to help you find a pet to fill those new rooms with toys, food and fluff!

If you have plans to go on holiday in the next three months (lucky you!), then we’d suggest you hold off applying to adopt a pet until you get back.

Once you’ve adopted with us, we consider you part of the family! We like to stay in touch with people who have adopted with us and we’re always happy to receive your pet pictures and updates. If you need support, for example to manage your pet’s behaviour or settle them in, we’d always encourage you to get in touch. If we can’t help you ourselves, we’ll signpost you to other organisations who can help.

A member of our team will also be in touch with you a few months after adoption to make sure your new pet is settling well and answer any questions you might have.

In very rare circumstances, some owners feel that the pet they’ve adopted isn’t the right match for them. If this is the case, we’d encourage you to get in touch to talk through any issues and we’ll do our best to help resolve them. If after getting help you decide you’d like to return the pet, please reach out to us and we’ll arrange a time for you to bring them back. It doesn’t happen very often, but if it does it’s nothing to feel embarrassed about – we will never judge you for bringing a pet back after trying your best to make it work, and will support you and the animal every step of the way.

We receive hundreds of applications every week, so unfortunately we can’t contact everyone who applies for a pet – rest assured though, if you’re a match for the pet you’ve applied for, we’ll be in touch. If you’re not a match, please do keep looking on our website and apply again if you see another animal you feel could be a match, as new animals arrive all the time.

It depends on the pet you wish to adopt. For many small animals like birds, hamsters and gerbils, a flat is absolutely fine. Some cats are indoor-only pets or you may wish to raise a kitten as indoor-only and in those circumstances you may be eligible to adopt them. Please see our section on ‘How do I know if I am eligible to adopt’ for more information on dogs and most cats. Our aim is to always ensure the pet you are interested in adopting is the right match for you, your family and your home and that you are able to meet the individual needs of the pet you are applying for.

If you’re renting a property, you’ll need a letter of permission from your landlord before you can adopt a pet with us. If you already have a pet living with you, we’ll need to see confirmation that you are allowed multiple pets.

For dogs you will need access to an exercise area and safe walking routes, to fulfil the individual dogs’ needs.You may be able to adopt a small animal, such as a hamster or gerbil, provided you had the right housing for them. Other small animals like guinea pigs and rabbits may need an outdoor area unless you are choosing to house them indoors only. Please see our section on ‘How do I know if I am eligible to adopt’ for more information on dogs, cats and rabbits. Our aim is to always ensure the pet you are interested in adopting is the right match for you, your family and your home and that you are able to meet the individual needs of the pet you are applying for.  Most of our cats require a home with a garden or at least access to places they can go directly for an adventure (like a wood/ field) but we do occasionally have indoor-only cats, and in those cases you may be eligible to adopt them. We’ll always display this information on the animal’s profile page, so please check this out before registering your interest in adopting.

We happily accept applications from people who already have a pet in the house, but not all of our pets like the company of other animals. If there’s a specific pet you’re interested in adopting, please do check their profile page to make sure they are able to live with other animals before registering your interest. You may be asked to provide proof of vaccinations for your existing pets as part of the adoption process, if applicable.

If you already own a dog and are looking to adopt another, the dogs will need to meet each other here at the centre before we can progress with the adoption.

With cats, to avoid causing the unnecessary stress of wrestling them into a carrier, we don’t require introductions to take place before adoption. But you will be given advice on the best way to introduce them to each other at home.

For rabbits, ferrets and other small animals, you may be asked to provide photos or information on how you plan to bond our small animal with your existing pet.