Places to Adopt a Dog

If you have decided to bring a dog into your family, you might chose to give a dog or puppy a second chance by adopting--rather than buying--your pet. Around 4 million adoptable dogs and cats are euthanized each year in the U.S. because homes cannot be found for them. But many national, state, local and private organizations are dedicated to lowering that number, so there are a variety of places you can look for a dog to bring into your home.

  1. Local Shelters

    • Many cities, towns or counties have animal shelters. These shelters are where people and animal services employees turn in stray dogs and many people surrender dogs for personal reasons. The staff at the shelter evaluates each dog that comes in to decide if it's healthy and adoptable.

      You can visit the shelter to see the dogs that are available for public adoption. Many shelters have regulations about how long they can keep a dog before it is euthanized, so in adopting a dog from a shelter, you might be saving its life.

    Pet Store Adoption Centers

    • Large pet supply stores such as Petsmart and Petco have recognized the overabundance of homeless animals in the U.S. and have policies against selling dogs and cats. Instead, many stores have pet adoption centers, where local pet rescue organizations can show some of the many animals they have available to adopt.

      Check with local stores to see if they offer an adoption center. Those that do will probably have a limited number of dogs or cats that can be seen at a time, but a few times a year will host an "adopt-a-thon," during which many more animals are brought in.

    Breed Rescue Groups

    • If your heart is set on a particular breed of dog and you have checked local shelters and adoption centers with no luck, try finding a breed-specific rescue group. Many breeds of dogs have loyal followers who don't want to see any adoptable dog of that kind euthanized, and members of these groups often foster dogs in their own homes while they try to match them with new owners.

      Search online for rescue groups of the breeds you're interested in. Depending on the breed and your location, you might have to travel outside your area to reach a group like this.

    Online Resources

    • Animal shelters and other rescue groups have gone online, using websites to show the dogs they have available for adoption. While many of these organizations maintain their own websites, several larger websites dedicated to pet adoption have become popular since the early 2000s.

      Petfinder, Pet Harber and Adopt a Pet are examples of sites where you can search for adoptable animals within a specified distance from your home. You'll get listings of animals that are being housed by a variety of shelters and groups, photos and details about them and contact information for each one. Links to these three sites can be found in the "Resources" section of this article.