FAQs

The other adoption sites show you pets uploaded from shelters and rescues. The shelters are so busy handling the animals they take in that they often can’t find the time to delete from the website the animals that have already been adopted or euthanized. It’s totally understandable. But it’s also a terrible feeling to have your heart set on a dog or cat pet and then find out they can’t be yours. Adopters using Get Your Pet benefit from the confidence gained in viewing up-to-date pet profiles, meeting potential pets in a non-shelter environment and speaking with their actual Guardians. You also have the added security of a pet examination from a Get Your Pet participating veterinarian before adopting, at no extra charge.

Every pet adopted through Get Your Pet is almost surely a pet that will otherwise end up in a shelter. With Get Your Pet, dogs and cats can go directly from one good home to another, without ever entering a shelter or rescue situation. Not only does Get Your Pet spare pets the stress, exposure to illness, and potential of being euthanized, but you’ll be helping shelters and rescue groups, too, by reducing the number of pets which now cost them precious resources. If everyone used Get Your Pet, we could keep 2.5 million pets out of shelters each year. How great would that be?!

Browsing the profiles of dogs and cats on getyourpet.com is free to all. Exchanging messages and meeting up with pet Guardians are also free for members of the Get Your Pet Community. For details, see What Does it Cost?

Pets’ breeds are shown on the search results pages as well as on the pet details page of each pet’s profile listed. Currently, you can filter by location, species, age, gender, compatibility with children or other pets, size, coat length and energy level. Eventually, we expect to expand our search criteria to include breed, also.

Our goal is to ensure that the status of pets profiled is always current. Availability is updated every day. If we can’t verify a pet is still available in a maximum of four days, their profile is suspended.

A suspended profile means that the pet is not available for adoption and that the profile is no longer viewable by people browsing the site. There can be many reasons why a profile is suspended. A Guardian might suspend their pet’s profile because they have changed their mind about rehoming them; they may have found a home for their pet with extended family or a neighbor or on another site; they may have received so many inquiries for their pet that they need to pause receiving more while they winnow through the inquiries they have already received. In some of these cases, suspension may be temporary and in others it is permanent.

GetYourPet.com may also suspend a pet profile. Typically, this happens when a Guardian fails to check in on their account at least every 3 days to confirm their pet is still available for adoption. In such a case, we contact the Guardian and if / when the Guardian checks in, the profile is republished. Also, if we have concerns about the pet profile’s legitimacy or if the Guardian exhibits behavior indicating possible pet selling, we will suspend the profile pending investigation.

Profiles and messaging on GetYourPet.com are monitored by our staff and algorithms. When we identify a pet-seller / potential scam artist, we flag them and remove their account from our site.

When we do this, we strongly urge Adopters, for their safety, not to participate in any meeting up or messaging outside of the site with the flagged Guardian. GetYourPet.com is strictly for rehoming pets responsibly and not for the sale of pets.

New profiles are published every day, within hours of being created.

Yes! You can save your searches and return to them whenever you like.

People feel more comfortable messaging with someone they can visualize. Also, they’ll feel more secure knowing what you look like so they will be able to recognize you at any meet-up that is arranged.

From your dashboard, select Add Adopter Profile or Update Adopter Profile. There is a question there asking, “Do you have a primary veterinarian?” Enter your vet’s information and we’ll invite them to join our Get Your Pet participating veterinarian list.

It does not. There may be other potential Adopters in contact with the Guardian. The pet remains available to all Adopters until a transfer of ownership/adoption occurs.

You must fill out an Adopter profile and join the Get Your Pet Community. By doing so, you agree to our Terms and Conditions, which require you to be 18 years of age (or legal age in your state, whichever is greater) and prepared to handle a pet’s feeding, care, and medical needs. Our complete Terms can be found here.

Wonderful news! You’re ready to begin exchanging messages. Select Connect… on the pet profile page or select New Message on your dashboard. Then follow the instructions to join the Get Your Pet online Community and begin messaging with the Guardian of the pet you’re interested in.

There is no fixed amount of time, but, remember, Guardians are very motivated by their circumstances to find a new, caring home for their pet quickly.

When you are interested in meeting a pet profiled on Get Your Pet, simply select Connect… and join the Get Your Pet Community. Joining is free. Joining gives you free, unlimited ability to securely message with that pet’s (and any other pet’s) Guardian. That’s how you’ll get your questions answered. When you are ready, arrange an actual meet-up by selecting Let’s Meet.

If, after meeting, or at the meet-up itself, you go on to adopt, you will be charged an adoption fee ($199 for a dog, $49 for a cat,) after the Guardian transfers their pet to you. Get Your Pet’s fee is ½ to ⅓ of what a shelter or rescue usually charges. And a portion of the profits will go to benefit local shelters. For details on the adoption package, see What Does it Cost?

Choosing a new home for a pet is a difficult decision, so try to be patient. If a day or so passes without any correspondence, try messaging the Guardian one last time. If you don’t get a response, move on to meeting other potential candidates.

Most people will want to meet at a neutral location, like a local park. The choice is up to you. You might agree to go to the Guardian’s house, but bring along a friend. Use your judgment. It’s your call. Just be sure to let the Adopter know if you are bringing someone along.

We offer a list of helpful Tips for Adopters, including Tips for the Meet-Up and Questions to Ask a Guardian to help you get the full benefit from your meet-ups.

Yes. In fact, we strongly encourage you bring all members of your family (both two-legged and four-legged) to the meet-up. Please make sure to inform the Guardian about who will be coming with you so they will be prepared. Also, be sure to read Introducing Dogs to One Another to safely introduce your dog(s) to your potential new dog.

You should take whatever time you need to make an important decision like adopting. However, there is no way to officially put a pet “on hold”. You can always ask the Guardian to give you some amount of time to make your decision, but remember, the Guardian is usually motivated by their circumstances to find their pet a caring, new home relatively quickly.

Yes, there is an adoption fee — $199 for a dog, $49 for a cat — which is ½ to ⅓ of what a shelter or rescue usually charges. And a portion of the profits will go to benefit local shelters. It is paid to Get Your Pet only after the Guardian transfers their pet to you. This fee entitles you to:

• a legal adoption document;
• a voucher for a pet exam by a participating Get Your Pet Vet;
• a certificate for 30 days’ pet insurance from Trupanion (offer varies in California);
• money-saving in-store coupons valuable for those who live near Pet Valu stores;
• $40 off pet care services with Rover, the nation’s largest network of 5-star pet sitters and dog walkers (new Rover customers only);
• re-list the pet on our site if the adoption doesn’t work out.

For details on the adoption package, see What does it cost?

The system will guide you to pay getyourpet.com online, never the Guardian.

First, be sure you have a meet-up that either you or the Guardian has initiated by selecting the orange “Let’s Meet” button and the other of you has accepted in the system.

On the day of the meet-up, the system will put a “Follow Up” button on your dashboards. Sign in and select it after the meet-up. If there’s no adoption, the system will reset.

If you take possession of the pet, the system will guide you through finalizing the adoption, paying getyourpet.com online, and receiving access to your legal adoption documentation and other benefits.

You can decline an adoption up to the moment possession of the pet is transferred to you. At that moment, you become the pet’s new Guardian and are responsible for them. You do not have the right to return the pet to the Guardian from whom you adopted. (You may send a message to the Guardian to ask if they would be interested in taking back their pet, but be aware that their circumstances almost certainly won’t allow it and they are under no obligation to do so.) If, despite your best efforts, the adoption just isn’t working out, as the pet’s new, legal Guardian, you have the right to re-list the pet on our site for someone else to see and adopt.

You can never be 100% sure of the health of an animal; not from a shelter or a pet store or anywhere else. But Get Your Pet does offer as part of its adoption package a participating veterinarian who will examine the pet at no extra charge and, depending on the veterinarian, may provide a free rabies vaccination, if needed.

Both you and the Guardian want the pet to find the right home. So, if you haven’t yet adopted the pet and the dog or cat has a medical issue, you have a serious choice to make. If you have fallen in love with the pet and are truly prepared to deal with the problem, then go forward with the adoption. If you are not prepared for the added responsibility, let the Guardian know. If you are honest with yourself and the Guardian, you will make the best decision.

Unfortunately, we can’t guarantee that everyone will be 100% honest. But unlike in a shelter adoption, you have the opportunity to directly question the pet’s Guardian, as well as to observe the pet in natural circumstances. We trust your good judgment. If, after the adoption, you feel you were mistaken, you can re-list the pet on our site.

From your dashboard, select Add Adopter Profile or Update Adopter Profile. There is a question there asking, “Do you have a primary veterinarian?” Enter your vet’s information and we’ll invite them to join our Get Your Pet participating veterinarian list.

If you want to take advantage of the free examination that is part of our Adoption Package, you can select from any of the participating veterinarians in our Get Your Pet participating veterinarians list. Otherwise, you may be charged by the veterinarian you select for the examination and any other services performed. We attempt to confirm new veterinarians as soon as possible. When you are filling out the information on the Adopter Profile, it would be helpful if you would list your preferred veterinarian in response to the question, “Do you have a primary veterinarian?” This will give us time to try to add them to our list of participating veterinarians before you get to a decision point in the adoption process.

We recommend using one of the participating Get Your Pet veterinarians. All of them provide a no-charge pet examination and many also offer a free rabies vaccination, if needed. Or, if you are determined to use a non-participating veterinarian, you always have the option of paying his or her fee to do the examination. You still can complete the legal adoption on getyourpet.com and receive the other benefits in the adoption package.

As part of the Adoption Package, you are entitled to a certificate for 30 days’ pet insurance from Trupanion (offer varies in California). To activate your insurance, do this:

1. Go to your Dashboard.
2. Select Details under Your Adoption Benefits.
3. Follow the instructions.

You must activate the certificate within 24 hours after your pet examination.

Give them lots of love and attention of course, and be sure to read Tips for Adopters, especially the sections on Questions to Ask a Guardian and Tips for Making your Home New-Pet Ready. Also, if you already have a resident dog, be sure to read Introducing Your New Dog Into a Home with Dogs.

As the pet’s new, legal Guardian, you have the right to re-list the pet on our site for someone else to see and adopt. You do not have the right to return the pet to the Guardian from whom you adopted. (You may send a message to the Guardian to ask if they would be interested in taking back their pet, but be aware that their circumstances almost certainly won’t allow it and they are under no obligation to do so.)

We believe that the decision about where to rehome a pet is best made by the Guardian. Get Your Pet does not weigh in or make determinations on any particular pet’s adoption. Guardians and Adopters in the home-to-home matching process are in charge.