Adoption
What We Hope to Achieve
Our goal is not to find homes for as many animals as possible in the shortest amount of time, but rather to ensure a lifelong, high-quality adoption for these animals into a new family that offers a warm and loving environment.
Our staff knows each animal—its personality, preferences, and more—so please feel free to ask about its traits and qualities (how well it fits into a family, how it gets along with other animals, obedience, special training needs, etc.).
We’d like to introduce you to our new arrivals as well as others who have been waiting for some time to find new owners. Of course, it may happen that an animal featured here that you like has already found a new family. In that case, we’ll be happy to help you choose another animal that’s right for you.
Adopting a dog from the Déierenasyl
If you’d like to adopt a dog, we invite you to visit our shelter. We show prospective adopters photos of the dogs available for adoption and discuss their motivations and ability to care for a dog. We want to avoid any disappointment, both for the animal and for the prospective adopter.
After an initial in-depth interview, prospective adopters can meet the dog or dogs they are interested in adopting and take them for a walk. We reserve the right to conduct background checks on prospective adopters and to verify the living conditions and housing arrangements for the animals.
If other animals already live in the household, we’ll arrange a meeting to see if the animals get along well.
If everything has gone well so far, the prospective owners can take the dog home for a 14-day trial period. This is important because a dog may behave differently in an unfamiliar or new environment than it does at the shelter.
If the animal feels comfortable and is doing well with the foster family, there’s nothing standing in the way of adoption. Of course, we’ll continue to be available afterward to answer your questions or help you with any initial difficulties.
If you plan to visit us on a Saturday, we recommend that you make an appointment.
Carefully consider the following points before adopting a dog
Anyone wishing to own a dog must be aware that they are taking on the responsibility and care of an animal that is entirely dependent on its owners and requires attention, care, and sometimes sacrifices as well as patience.
With this in mind, every dog lover should ask themselves the following questions:
- What kind of dog best fits my family and professional life?
- Do I have enough space and resources to take the dog out for walks?
- Do I have enough time and patience to devote to my dog?
- Does the property management of the building where I live allow dogs?
- Am I sure my finances will allow me to regularly pay for the dog’s food and vet visits?
- Can I guarantee that, even ten years from now, I’ll be able to provide the same care as I do now?
- Do all members of my family agree to take care of the dog and accept it?
- Will I be able to find a place for the dog to stay during vacations or if I get sick?
If you have to answer NO to even one of these questions, it would be best to reconsider adoption—for the dog’s sake and your own. On the other hand, if you’ve thought these questions through carefully and are ready to adopt a dog, you’ll find great pleasure and joy in this companion.
Adopting a cat from a Shelter
If you’d like to adopt a cat, you’re welcome to stop by the shelter during our hours of operation. One of our staff members will accompany you to the cat house to introduce you to the available cats.
During its stay at the shelter, the cat you’d like to adopt has been regularly examined by a veterinarian.
All adult cats are spayed or neutered. They have all been tested for FIV and FELV, treated for fleas, and dewormed.
All cats are vaccinated against feline leukemia, feline panleukopenia, feline herpesvirus, feline calicivirus, and rabies, unless they are adopted before receiving the vaccination.
A microchip has been implanted to ensure faster identification should the animal go missing. The microchip will be registered in the shelter’s name.
The adoption fee covers only a portion of the costs; the majority of the expenses are covered by donations.
Indoor cats and outdoor cats
Prospective cat owners often wonder whether their cat should stay indoors or if they can let it go outside. Since it’s in a cat’s nature to roam outdoors, we prefer a home where it can go outside.
In general, a cat that has always been able to go outside into the wild will have a hard time adjusting to living exclusively in an apartment.
Things to Consider Before Adopting a cat
- If you’re a renter, please check with the building owner to see if you’re allowed to have a pet.
- Are you ready to care for a cat for the next 15 to 20 years?
- Is anyone in your family allergic to cat dander?
- If you have other pets, do they get along with cats?
- You need to consider how much time you can devote to a cat; even a very independent cat cannot tolerate being left alone for too long.
- The cat must be seen by a veterinarian at least once a year for booster shots and must be treated regularly for parasites.
- Whether a cat is an indoor or outdoor cat depends entirely on its personality and temperament; some cats are perfectly content with an indoor-only life, while others will be unhappy if they can’t go outside. If you’ve adopted an adult cat that’s used to going outside, the cat will be unhappy if it can no longer go outside in the future