Adoptions

Animal Care & Control of NYC (AC&C) has hundreds of animals available for adoption every day. If you are looking to add an awesome dog, cat or rabbit to your family, AC&C is the right place to find your new furry friend. We have been matching pets with people for over 17 years, and when you visit one of our Care Centers, our staff and volunteers will work with you to try to find your perfect loyal companion.

Before adopting, we suggest you do your research on pet care and the right animal for your family, as this is a long-term decision. AC&C has a wide variety of flyers available for your review and education.

If you are looking for a particular breed, please be sure to fill out a Breed Request Form, Cat or Dog, and we will contact you by e-mail when your requested pure-bred dog or cat comes to one of our Care Centers.

Please note that we cannot guarantee that we will find what you are looking for since special breeds do get adopted very quickly at our Care Centers.

Search Adoptions Now | View This Week's Adoption Flyer

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Where Can I Adopt a Pet?

We encourage you to visit one of our three full service Care Centers when looking to adopt a pet. Our Adoption Hours are 12PM - 7PM, daily. You can also visit our Adoption Search page to find animals ready for adoption with their picture. Additionally, we participate in offsite adoption events throughout the year. Please see our Events Page for more details.

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The Adoption Process

To help ensure successful adoptions, please fill out a pre-adoption questionnaire and bring it with you when you come into our Care Center to adopt a pet.

Dog Adoption Questionnaire

Cat Adoption Questionnaire

Once you arrive at one of our Care Centers, take time to view all of the animals up for adoption. If you find an animal that you are interested in adopting, spend some time getting acquainted with that animal before you make a final adoption decision.

AC&C believes that introducing a new pet to your home should be a decision that involves all members of the family. If you have children living in your home, they should come to the Care Center and be a part of the adoption process. AC&C staff and volunteers can help guide you through the process. Please be sure to set aside 3 to 4 hours to select a pet.

To adopt an animal, you must have valid photo ID, be 18 years of age or older and bring proof of current address. AC&C reserves the right to deny adoptions in order to find the most appropriate home possible for each animal.

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Important Information About Your New Adopted Pet:

Spay & Neuter

To ensure that the dogs, cats and rabbits in our Care Centers do not add to New York City's population of unwanted animals, AC&C requires every healthy animal adopted from our Centers to be surgically sterilized (spayed or neutered). Not only is it required by law, but also it is beneficial to the health and behavior of each animal. For more information on the benefits of spaying/neutering your pet, please visit our Spay & Neuter page.

If the animal you are adopting has already been spayed/neutered, it will be able to go home with you after your adoption is complete. If not, your pet will need to stay and you will pick him or her up after spay/neuter surgery. Please view our Spay/Neuter Release Instructions (Page 6 of the PDF) for cats and dogs.

If the pet you have adopted from AC&C has been waived from surgery due to illness, the animal may leave on a Spay/Neuter Waiver. You will be required to leave a $150 deposit, which will be returned when you bring your pet back for surgery (which must be within 60 days of adoption). Appointments for post-adoption spay/neuter can be made online at our Spay & Neuter Online Appointment page.

Behavior Assessments

All animals for adoption have received a behaviorial evaluation that provides guidance as to the best home for that animal. The designations are Beginner, Average, Experience and Experience No Children. Some animals at our Care Centers need some extra behaviorial modification before being placed in their forever home; these animals are considered New Hope Placement and our staff works to place them with our New Hope Partners.

For more information on AC&C's Behavior Designations, please view our Behavior Designation Flyer. To learn more about our New Hope program, please visit our New Hope Program page.

To determine an animal's behavior designation, AC&C utilizes observations made during medical intake and treatment, behavior assessments, animal behavior logs (completed by both volunteers and staff) and, when possible, information provided from an animal's previous owner.

For all dog behavior evaluations, the AC&C Canine Behavior Assessors and Assistants perform SAFER assessments prior to them becoming available for adoption. For cats, the Feline Behavior Assessor and/or shelter managers and supervisors utilize the cat behavior log to perform assessments.

View AC&C's SAFER Assessments.

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Adoption Prices

General Adoption Prices

AC&C adoption prices usually range from $25.00 to $250.00 (with some exceptions), depending on the animal that is being adopted.

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Post-Adoption Resources

The following are resources for your convenience after adopting your new best friend from AC&C:

• Free Veterinary Exam (See Participating Vets.)
• Microchip Registration: All animals adopted from AC&C leave with a Home Again microchip. While it is registered to AC&C, it is important that the adopter register the animal in their own name so that if the animal is lost, he or she can be reunited with you. You may register your Home Again microchip here.
• PetFirst Health Insurance
• AC&C's Informational Flyers for Your Pet
• Your New Pet Adoption Booklets: » Dog »Cat
• Affordable Pet Services

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Returning an Adopted Pet

If you adopted your pet from AC&C and wish to return him or her due to problems (e.g., behavior, illness, landlord issues), please contact Pets for Life at 917.468.2938 before making any final decisions. Pets for Life may be able to resolve your problems so that your pet can remain with your family. If not, you may return your pet to an AC&C Care Center during normal business hours.

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I want more information on adopting a specific animal I believe to be on AC&C's At-Risk List.