The Animal Welfare League of Arlington is opening its shelter up to virtual adoptions.
“Although we are closed to the public, we still want to give the animals in our care the opportunity to find their new families while still adhering to social distancing,” the shelter said on its website. “To do that, we’ll be setting our shelter pets up on virtual ‘dates’ with potential adopters!”
To sign up, applicants should submit their paperwork to [email protected] with the name of the pet in the subject line and an attached photo of a driver’s license or valid ID.
Adoptions counselors will contact applicants to discuss the animal’s medical history, personality, etc. to make sure it’s a good match, then set up a virtual meet and greet via Zoom between the applicant, the counselor, and the pet of choice.
If the applicant decides to move forward, the counselor can set up a time to pick up the pet at the shelter with all paperwork and payment handled via email or phone.
The shelter has pages set up for full lists of dogs, cats and other small animals, though at the time of writing only the cats page seems operational.
Adoption fees range from $275 for puppies to $175 for older dogs. Fees for cats range from $300 for a pair of kittens to $100 for a senior cat.
Adoptions include:
- A certificate for a free exam with a participating veterinarian. Fees for other services performed will be paid by the adopter to the veterinary hospital.
- Spay/neuter surgery
- A heartworm test for dogs older than four months
- Age-appropriate vaccinations
- A personalized I.D. tag
- A microchip
- A free phone consultation or $30 off any training service from Fur-Get-Me-Not
- An information packet
The website notes that the spay and neuter surgery may not be available during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Fur-Get-Me-Not page notes that the company has suspended animal training services.
Photo via Animal Welfare League of Arlington