Animal Friends: Animal Friends' Admissions Process

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Pet Owners in Crisis

Homeless animals come to Animal Friends from a variety of backgrounds and in all medical conditions, shapes, sizes, breeds and ages. We never know which homeless animal will be “knocking at our door” next, but it’s our goal to admit and place as many homeless animals as possible while adhering to our no-kill tradition.

In keeping with our no-kill mission, Animal Friends does not euthanize animals in order to provide kennel space. Therefore, all animals are admitted on a scheduled basis. We receive almost 300 requests each week from pet owners who wish to relinquish their pets to us.

If you find that you need to surrender a pet, we ask that you fill out an admissions application. Click the following links to download an admissions form.

Dog Admissions Form | Cat Admissions Form

What Happens Next

After you submit your appliction, our Admissions Team Leader reviews the application and schedules an appointment. During the appointment, we briefly evaluate the animal’s temperament and assess the animal’s reaction to people and to general handling. If we determine that the animal can be safely and appropriately temporarily housed at Animal Friends, we admit the animal.

Once admitted, animals are either housed in our holding kennels or in a foster home. Animal Friends can comfortably house 250 animals on-site at any given time, but we also heavily rely on foster guardians who open up their homes to animals in need of food, shelter, hugs, and kisses while waiting for their adopters.

All of the animals in our care are vaccinated, examined, spayed or neutered, and are behaviorally evaluated to determine the type of home environment that would best suit them. Then, it’s off to the adoption area they go to work with our adoption counselors to find a new family. Regardless of background, medical condition, shape, size, breed or age, there’s no place like home!

Related Reading

Pet Owners in Crisis: When Feel that You Must Surrender a Pet

LifeLine Crisis Relief: When an unexpected personal disaster affects a family, LifeLine Crisis Relief grants can provide financial assistance to help families provide for their pets' immediate needs. Personal disasters may include:

Large-scale disaster, such as a flood, wildfire or hurricane
House fire
Domestic violence situation
Unexpected death of a family member
Foreclosure (click here for more foreclosure resources)

Good care is essential.

Other Options and Home-to-Home Placements

Our admissions team also offers suggestions and referrals to pet owners who are unable to wait for an admissions appointment.

One alternative we offer is our Home to Home (H2H) program, which is for pet owners who want to place an owned animal. To place a pet up for H2H adoption, simply complete an application verifying that the animal is spayed or neutered, has current vaccinations, and has never bitten a person. For cats, we require verification that they’ve tested negative for FIV and feline leukemia. We also request a biography and photo of the animal, which, along with the owner’s contact information, is posted on our website. Anyone interested in adopting an H2H animal works directly with the owner, who is responsible for making the decision about the animal’s placement…from home to home. Click here to learn more about the H2H process.

Admissions Team Leader
412.847.7078
admissionsinfo@thinkingoutsidethecage.org

Pet Adoption & Resource Center | 562 Camp Horne Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15237 | 412.847.7000
Come visit us! Monday - Friday 11am - 7pm | Saturday & Sunday 10 am - 5pm