TL;DR: Adopting a pet involves researching shelters, completing an application, meeting the animal, and preparing your home before bringing them home. Before you start, consider your daily schedule, living situation, budget, and experience with animals. Adoption fees typically cover vaccinations and spaying or neutering. After adoption, plan ahead for ongoing care - including what happens when you travel, since newly adopted pets benefit from a stable, consistent routine while they settle in.
Adopting a pet is one of the more significant commitments you can make. The animal depends on you entirely for food, health, socialisation, and stability - often for 10-20 years depending on the species. Done thoughtfully, adoption gives a pet that needed a home a genuinely good life. Done impulsively, it creates problems for both the animal and the adopter.
This guide covers the process from start to finish, what to consider before you begin, and how to set yourself and the animal up for a smooth transition.
Understanding the pet adoption process
Most shelters and rescue organisations follow a broadly similar process, though the details vary.
- Research: Start by identifying shelters and rescue organisations in your area. Look at what animals they have available, their adoption requirements, and their fees. Rescue organisations that specialise in specific breeds or species often have more detailed knowledge of the animals in their care.
- Application: When you find an animal you want to adopt, you will need to complete an application. This typically covers your living situation, daily routine, experience with pets, and how you plan to care for the animal. The shelter uses this to assess whether the match is likely to work well.
- Interview: Many shelters follow up with a conversation - by phone or in person - to get a fuller picture. This is also your opportunity to ask questions about the animal's history, health, and known behaviour patterns.
- Meet-and-greet: If your application is approved, you will spend time with the animal before finalising anything. For dogs in particular, this often includes a walk or play session. For cats, it may be a quieter introduction in a meeting room. Pay attention to how the animal responds to you, not just how appealing they look.
- Home visit: Some organisations, particularly dog rescues, will visit your home before approving an adoption. This is to confirm that your space is safe and appropriate for the animal.
- Adoption: Once everything is approved, you complete the paperwork, pay the adoption fee, and take the animal home.
What to consider before adopting
Your schedule and lifestyle
Think honestly about how much time you have. Dogs need daily exercise, training, and consistent human interaction. Cats are more independent but still require engagement and veterinary care. If you work long hours, travel frequently, or have an unpredictable schedule, that affects which animal and breed is a realistic match.
Active people who walk or hike regularly are often well matched with energetic breeds. People who work from home may find cats or lower-energy dogs a natural fit. The point is not to talk yourself out of adopting - it is to choose an animal whose needs genuinely align with your life rather than the life you intend to have.
Your living situation
Consider the size of your home, whether you have outdoor space, and any restrictions in your building or rental agreement. Many landlords and apartment blocks have pet policies, breed restrictions, or size limits. Check these before you apply for an adoption - finding out afterward that your building does not allow large dogs is a problem for everyone involved.
Your budget
Pet ownership is ongoing. Beyond adoption fees, factor in food, routine veterinary care, vaccinations, flea and parasite prevention, insurance, grooming, and the occasional unexpected vet visit. Larger animals generally cost more. Some breeds have breed-specific health conditions that increase lifetime vet costs. Building a realistic monthly budget before you adopt avoids financial pressure later.
Your experience
First-time pet owners tend to do better with animals whose needs are relatively predictable - adult cats, or dog breeds with lower training demands. An experienced dog owner who understands canine behaviour and training is better positioned to adopt a dog with anxiety or a history of difficult circumstances. Shelters can advise on which animals in their care are better suited to experienced or first-time owners, and it is worth asking directly.
Preparing your home
Before the animal arrives:
- Remove or secure anything that could be chewed, knocked over, or ingested
- Set up a designated sleeping area, feeding station, and litter box (for cats) in advance
- For dogs, identify where walks will happen and decide on house rules before bringing them home
- Have food, bowls, a collar, ID tag, and basic supplies ready
The first few days are a settling-in period. Many animals behave differently once they are home than they did in the shelter - some become more anxious, others more confident. Give them time to adjust to the new environment before drawing conclusions about their personality.
Planning for ongoing care
One aspect of pet ownership that many people do not think through before adopting is what happens when they travel or have commitments that mean the pet cannot be with them.
Newly adopted animals are still adjusting to their environment, routines, and the people in their life. A dog that has been home for two weeks is not yet fully settled - introducing a pet sitter or a dog boarding stay at that point can be more stressful for the animal than it would be for a dog that has been home for six months and knows its routine.
Planning ahead means:
- Establishing a relationship with a vet and registering the pet as soon as possible after adoption
- Identifying trustworthy pet care options - a dog walker, cat sitter, dog boarding facility, or drop-in visit service - before you need them urgently
- Allowing the animal time to settle before introducing new caregivers
- When you do introduce a pet sitter, doing it gradually with a meet-and-greet before the first solo stay
Petme connects pet owners with local sitters, dog walkers, and boarding facilities and is worth setting up before your first trip away, not the week before you need to leave.
FAQs
1. How much does it cost to adopt a pet?
Adoption fees vary by organisation and animal. Most shelter adoptions range from roughly 50 to 300 euros or the local currency equivalent. The fee typically covers spaying or neutering, vaccinations the animal received while in care, microchipping, and a basic health check. Adopting from a shelter is usually significantly less expensive than purchasing from a breeder, and the animal often arrives with more veterinary work already completed.
2. What if I have other pets at home?
Tell the shelter upfront. Many organisations will only place animals with confirmed temperament assessments for compatibility with other animals. A meet-and-greet between your existing pet and the potential new animal is often required and always recommended. Introductions at home should be slow and supervised - separate spaces with shared scent first, then brief controlled meetings, building toward full access over days or weeks depending on how both animals respond.
3. What if I change my mind after adopting?
Most shelters and rescue organisations will take the animal back rather than have it rehomed informally. Contact them directly and honestly. This is not a failure - it is the responsible outcome if the match genuinely is not working after a fair trial period. Rehoming informally, without shelter involvement, often puts the animal in a worse situation than returning them. The settling-in period (typically 2-4 weeks) is worth completing before deciding the match is wrong, as early behaviour does not always represent how an animal will be once adjusted.
4. Can I adopt a pet if I live in an apartment?
Yes, with the right animal and the right building rules. Many cats and smaller dogs do very well in apartments, provided their exercise and enrichment needs are met. Some larger breeds also adapt well to apartment living if they get sufficient daily activity. Check your rental agreement and building rules before applying, and be honest with the shelter about your space - they can advise on which animals in their care are suitable for smaller homes.
5. How long does the adoption process take?
It varies considerably. Some shelters can complete an adoption in a single visit if a match is clear and the paperwork is straightforward. Others have more thorough vetting processes that take a week or more, particularly for rescue organisations that do home visits. Breed-specific rescues sometimes have waiting lists. Contacting the organisation directly and asking about their typical timeline is the most accurate way to plan.
6. How soon after adopting can I leave my pet with a sitter or at boarding?
There is no fixed rule, but most behaviour specialists suggest allowing at least 4-8 weeks of settled home time before introducing new caregivers for the first time. During this period the animal is building its attachment to you and learning the household routine. Introducing a pet sitter or boarding facility too early can disrupt that process. When you are ready, a meet-and-greet visit before the first stay - where the sitter meets the animal with you present - helps the transition go more smoothly and gives the sitter useful context about the animal's behaviour and needs.
