FAQs

Our adoption fee includes a Veterinary health check, relevant medical tests and vaccinations, microchipping, flea and worm treatments, and neutering for sexually mature animals. Animals from overseas will also have a pet passport. We will review fees individually for older animals, bonded pairs or those with long-term health conditions.

Our standard adoption fees are:

Cats - £250

Dogs - £450

Many rescues have centres where their animals are housed in kennels or catteries. We have decided against this approach for a number of reasons. Firstly, these environments can often be noisy, busy and stressful for animals, especially when they first arrive. Secondly, our experience tells us that animals behave completely differently in these environments compared to a home. This means that any behaviour assessment made in a kennel environment cannot be reliably transferred.

Our animals are housed in environments which reduces stress and enables us to understand them as individuals. Our assessments are more accurate and we are more able to describe their needs to potential adopters.

Many rescues will allow you to apply for a particular animal and then check that your needs match theirs using an application form and homecheck. If the match isn’t right, the animal may have missed out on interest fromothers who were suitable.

To combat this, we find out everything about your family and lifestyle first and then suggest suitable matches to you. This causes less disappointment to our applicants an gives our animals the best chance of finding their perfect homes.

Many animal rescues have age limits because they cannot confidently place their animals into homes with children. This is one reason we prefer our approach - our animals can be assessed with children and we can place age limits of each animal as an individual.

We do not have any age limits of applications, however families with young children may need to wait longer to find their perfect match. Due to insurance agreements, we cannot permit children under 2 to interact with animals and parents/guardians allow this at their own risk and liability.

We believe that all animals deserve compassion, regardless of where they were born. The animal welfare laws in some countries exclude stray animals so they have little to no protection against harm and cruelty. We are committed to neutering as many strays as possible so fewer animals are born into a life of uncertainty.

Not necessarily. Some of our dogs require a garden to be the happiest they can be, but others don’t. As long as you can provide regular toilet breaks on a lead, a garden is not a requirement for adoption.

No, some of our cats can spend time outdoors, however this must be introduced slowly. Cats must be kept inside for at least three months after adoption before being introduced to the outdoors slowly.

Yes, we will not reject an application from someone who lives in a flat. However, dog adopters must be able to provide frequent toilet breaks on a harness and lead.

Yes. As a general rule, cats can be left alone for a full working day provided they have enough food, water and toys, and dogs should not be left alone for more than four hours on a regular basis. We assess each animal’s ability to be left alone and will write in their advert if they cannot be left. We recommend taking time off work to settle your new pet in.

Rescue dogs, especially dogs from overseas may have never lived in a home before their foster home. They may be scared of this new experience and, if spooked, will try to escape. That being said, we assess each application on an individual basis and may make allowances if, for example, you are applying for an older or disabled dog.

P.A.W.S will take care of this for you, the admin fee is included in your adoption fee so there is no additional cost. Shortly after your adoption is complete, you will receive an email from our microchip company, PetTrac so you can make an account to update your details in the future. P.A.W.S also keep our details on the microchip as a back up contact in case you forget to update a new address or telephone number in the future.

RBU stands for Rescue Back Up and means that the rescue organisation will remain responsible for the animal if you can no longer care for them. Each rescue has their own procedure for RBU, but with PAW Society:

We do not allow our pets to be given away or sold after adoption, the MUST come back to us.

We do not allow our animals to be euthanised for non-medical reasons and insist they are returned to us instead.

We support our adopters with training and advice at any time they need it.

A newly rescued dog does not know who you are and that you mean no harm. The stress hormones from moving from their foster home to your home can take up to three days to leave their system. After this they can start to build a bond with you until they feel safe with you attaching a lead to them. Wearing a lead removes their “flight” option if they become scared so it’s important that they trust you to protect them when on a walk. Before you’re able to walk your dog you can do all kinds of brain games and training indoors to tire them out. Some research suggests that mental stimulation is even more important than physical exercise for dogs. Walking a new dog may take weeks or even months. We recommend that you go at your dog’s pace and take each step slowly. The first day you may only reach the other side of the front door before your dog wants to go back indoors. The best thing you can do for your dog is to remove them from a situation they find scary and try again another day.

We recommend using a secure harness to walk your dog. Harnesses with three-straps tend to be the most escape-proof. The front straps should go around the shoulders and not across the front of them to allow full range of movement. There will also be a strap behind the two front legs and another across the belly. For your first few weeks we also advise to use a slip-lead as an extra precaution. Your dog should also wear a flat collar with an I.D tag containing your details as this is required by law. We recommend using a lead made of fabric or rope. Extendable leads are not recommended at all. This is because if you drop the lead, the handle will “chase” the dog as it runs and may cause them to panic and try to run further away. You can buy long fabric training leads which are much safer.

We recommend using the same food as your animal’s foster used for the first few days. After this you can gradually begin to add in your chosen brand and slowly phase out the old food. As a general rule, the more natural ingredients in a food, the better it will be.