Adopt a Pet

If you are interested in adopting, please fill out our Adoption Survey online(PDF, 279KB), or in person at DAS; we do require a Photo ID for the person who submits the survey, and you must be over 18 years of age. Once your survey is processed, it's good for 6 months, and you are welcome to meet with any animal that is available for adoption.

As the enforcement agency for Collier County, we do check that any dogs or cats that you currently have at home are current with their Rabies Vaccinations and Collier County Rabies/License Tags; if you've fallen behind and you're not current, don't worry - we'll help you come into compliance!

If you are pre-submitting a survey for a specific animal or animal(s), please make sure that you reference their specific Animal ID(s), a 6-digit number that starts with the letter "A" - in your email.

Once you find an animal that you're interested in adopting, you complete the adoption contract, pay any relevant fees, and are set to go!

Email the completed survey to: DL-DAS-Ops@collier.gov.

All dog and cat adoptions include the following:

• Spay/neuter surgery.
• Age-appropriate vaccinations.
• Flea preventative.
• Heartworm Test and Prevention for dogs.
• Feline Leukemia test for cats.
• Dewormer.
• Radio-Frequency-Identification-Device (RFID, commonly known as a microchip) with registration (if not previously microchipped).
• 1 year Collier County Rabies/License Tag for Collier County residents.
• Other Goodies!

Collier County Domestic Animal Services (DAS) is the only Animal Welfare Agency in Collier County that is legally authorized to accept and hold stray animals. Depending on the species, age, and owner identification status of the animal, we have MINIMUM legally required holds before we are able to place an animal up for adoption; this provides the owner time to identify and claim their lost pet. Sometimes, we may need to treat a specific medical or behavioral condition before they are able to be made available for adoption. Learn more about legally required stray holds(PDF, 777KB).

If you see an animal that you think you may be interested in adopting on our website, we recommend that you pre-submit an Adoption Survey(PDF, 279KB). Once your Survey is processed, we will indicate your interest in that specific animal's record; if the animal remains unclaimed by their owner and becomes an adoption candidate, DAS employees will contact you and provide you with a specific date and time to come in, meet with the animal, and decide if you would like to proceed with adoption.

We will only accept pre-submitted surveys on animals that are not yet our property.

DAS is dedicated to keeping both our animals and our community safe. Sometimes, animals are taken in that are behaviorally unsafe for adoptions or are medically suffering and cannot humanely be treated or rehabilitated. We work closely with many local rescue organizations, humane societies, trainers, behaviorists, and vet clinics, and we do everything we can to find the most positive, responsible, and safe outcome for every animal in our care.

Regular adoption fees are listed just below and are separated by species and age. However, we also have monthly adoption promotions and discounts so be sure to check our Facebook page and Instagram page as well! Cats and Kittens are always BOGO-style (the second one's adoption fee is waived), we love sending home a pair! We also offer discounts for Seniors and Active, Honorably Discharged, or Retired Military.

We do our best to make sure that this is done before dogs and cats are moved into adoptions, but sometimes we just can't get them all done fast enough, and we don't want to hold them back. Dogs or cats that are not yet sterilized remain at DAS and will be scheduled for surgery on the next available date.

Your pet's Rabies Vaccination is still included in your adoption, but sometimes puppies and kittens are just too young to safely have them before they go home.

We will still provide the vaccination free of charge, when performed at DAS, once they reach the age of 12-16 weeks; you will be provided information for how to schedule this appointment at the time of your adoption, and your Collier County Rabies/License Tag will be provided at the time of your appointment.

DAS ensures that all dogs and cats are implanted with an RFID (aka microchip) before they leave, and this is also included in your adoption. The majority of the animals that are at DAS are microchipped here, and their registration is automatically completed at the time of the adoption. Sometimes though, animals come into DAS that were previously microchipped with an RFID from another company.

When this happens, the RFID and its registration may not be automatically compliant with our system, and you may be responsible for registering this RFID; if this is the case, your adoption counselor will provide this information at the time of your adoption.

Absolutely! We understand that we are located in paradise, and because of this, we have lots of people who either only live here part-time or are just visiting. All adoptions are processed the same, regardless of where you permanently reside. The only downside is that we cannot provide a License for any adopters that reside outside of Collier County; you will be responsible for complying with your local Animal Control laws relevant to your specific jurisdiction.

We don't accept holds (or deposits) for any animals that are currently available for adoption. All adoptions are processed on a first-come basis; we do this because we want to get our animals into loving homes as soon as we can and accepting holds can unnecessarily prolong their stay with us.

We're so glad you asked! We often have a variety of other animals, including pocket pets (like rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, ferrets, and others), birds, reptiles, fowl, and even livestock. Keep in mind that we are an Animal Welfare Agency and not a pet store, so we don't keep a running inventory, and we may not have what you're looking for. If you're interested in a specific 'other' animal, make sure you keep an eye on our website and even fill out an interest card on Petharbor.com, where they'll notify you via e-mail when we do get an animal that matches what you're looking for.

Adoption fees for "other" animals are dependent on the species and condition; however, they are always set well below 'market' value.

While we would absolutely love for all of our animals to find the perfect forever home the first time, we also understand that sometimes it just doesn't work out. Sometimes it's just not a good match, and sometimes life just throws us a curveball, and the pet can no longer be kept.

We will always accept our adopted animals back at our shelter, but we do ask that you give us a call first; we would love to see if there's anything that we may be able to help you with to keep the animal with you at home.

Within the first 30 days, we'll accept the animal back without any additional fees. At 31 calendar days and beyond, we do have surrender fees that will need to be paid. We don't refund adoption fees for returned animals, but we do offer an opportunity to adopt a like animal at no additional charge, in most situations - make sure you ask an adoption counselor or employee about this.

You may also want to consider becoming a foster for DAS. This is the best of both worlds! You can provide a temporary home for a shelter animal, and if you fall in love, it's a win-win; if not, then the animal returns to DAS when ready. We are also always looking for foster homes! Our foster families provide love and care for animals before they are able to move into their forever homes (DAS provides everything else!). DAS animals could be in a foster home for a number of different reasons: sometimes they are too young to be adopted yet, have a medical condition that needs to be treated, need some behavioral modification before moving into a home, are too scared in a loud shelter environment, or just need some time (even a weekend) to decompress and take a break.

We provide a list of local Veterinary Clinics(PDF, 102KB) that have offered our adopters a free exam within 10 days of adoption - even if your pet looks great, we always encourage that you establish this relationship before you have a problem.

Without a full-service veterinary clinic that provides services to the public, please understand that our resources at DAS are limited and we have to help and care for thousands of animals every year; because of this, all of our adoptions are considered "as is". However, if you have some concerns soon after your adoption, please don't hesitate to contact us - we will absolutely try to provide as much assistance or information as we can.

Heartworm Disease is unfortunately very prevalent in the south, where we have mosquitoes year-round, and because of this, we often have dogs with heartworm disease available for adoption. If the dog you adopt does have heartworm disease, we provide treatment free of charge here at DAS. Many of the dogs that do have heartworm disease have already started their treatment, so please ask a staff member about a specific dog that you may have questions about.