Every year 3.3 million dogs enter an animal shelter (aspca.org) and every 13 seconds, a healthy, adoptable dog or cat is euthanized in a U.S. shelter (www.hsus.org). Adopting a shelter pet helps shelters in their mission to address the overpopulation crisis and lovingly rehome relinquished and unwanted pets.

Please review our adoption process page and adoption FAQs before submitting an adoption application.

Our adoption application process is designed to help us determine if a home matches a pet’s needs and to also assist you in finding a pet most compatible with your lifestyle. Every pet deserves a good home: one that will provide stability, comfort, friendship and safety in addition to basic needs such as food, shelter and medical care. It is intentionally thorough to create the best match possible between parent and pet.

1. Visit our adoptable pets page. You can sort the page by newest or oldest additions. We’d love to see our longer term residents go HOME!

2. Complete an adoption application. Fill out every single part as incomplete applications will not be processed.

3. Our adoption coordinators will review the application and will contact all listed references.

4. A meet-n-greet at the shelter can be scheduled after adoption applications are approved.

5. Take your new best friend and family member to their forever home - by far the best part!

Due to ongoing pandemic related issues and a small staff, we are experiencing longer wait time throughout the adoption process. Please expect 5-7 days business days to process applications.

Our process includes an application review, reference checks, a vet check (if applicable), and in certain situations, a home visit.

We appreciate your patience during this part of the process as we work our hardest to process applications in a timely manner.

The shelter environment can be noisy and often unsettling for its residents, especially for those pets who may have spent their entire life in a home with the same family. For these reasons, it is not uncommon for shelter pets to show signs of sensory overload such as anxiousness, over-excitement/energized, aggression, stranger danger, fear based behavior, and alert barking.

When you are visiting one of our pets, please be patient and understanding. Spend some time one-on-one time with them outside or in one of our designated meet-n-greet areas.

Yes, our shelter is currently operating by appointment only.

An approved adoption application is required to schedule an on-site visit/appointment.

Check out our adoptable pets and adoption process to begin your journey to adopting a pet.

All adoptions require an approved application, a photo ID, and payment of the adoption fee before an animal can go home.

Currently, we can only accept cash or check as payment for the adoption fee. Adoption fees listed below.

Our adoption fees cover spaying/neutering, age appropriate vaccinations, and deworming. These fees allow us to offset some of the costs of rescuing and caring for each animal.

All services are completed prior to adoption and copies of the records are included in the adoption packet.

Effective 03/15/2024:

Dog Adoption Fees
Puppies (under 6 months: $275.00
Dogs 6 months - 3 years: $225.00
Dogs 3 - 6 years: $200.00
Seniors (7+ years): $80.00

Cat Adoption Fees
Kittens (under 6 months): $75.00
Cats (6+ months): $60.00
Bonded Pair: $100.00

It is important for your pet’s lifetime health that they receive their annual shots. Additionally, it is a Montana state law that all pets, dogs and cats, receive an annual rabies vaccination.

In addition to requiring a personal reference on the adoption application, we also require a veterinarian reference which we WILL contact to ensure routine preventative care was provided for any current or previously owned pets.

*If you are a first time pet owner, this requirement will be waived however, we highly recommend having a local veterinary clinic in mind at the time of applying.

No. All of our animals will be spayed or neutered prior to adoption. The majority of pets available for adoption have come here as unwanted or stray animals. It is our mission to stop overpopulation.

In most cases, yes. Once you have completed the adoption application and have been approved and you feel a connection with the pet at the meet-n-greet, you can complete the adoption paperwork so you can receive your new pet.

Additionally, pets must be spayed or neutered and current on shots prior to adoption

Each of our residents has a different story to tell.

A majority of our pets arrive abandoned and homeless while others are transfers from overcrowded shelters, surrenders from owners that can no longer care for them, and wrangled strays from the Browning reservation (most of which are pregnant females).

Some pets even end up being returned due to a misunderstanding, lack of patience, or a feeling of being overwhelmed and sometimes, pets and families are not a good match.

In order to prevent these upsetting situations, careful screening is pivotal for success - we cannot emphasize this enough.

Check out our adoption resources page.

We ask for a pre-approved application for the safety of our pets. We do adopt out of state and to Canada, but do not have a transport system in place.

Montana Animal Transport can assist in transporting shelter/rescue animals.

Our adoptable pets page is updated almost daily. Until a pet has received an adoption deposit, they remain listed online.

If you are interested in more than one pet, please include a second choice as we review applications in the order they are received, and your first choice may already have an application pending review.