• Select an animal from the adoption center
• Fill out the adoption paperwork
• Spend time with any animal you think would be a good companion
• Ask adoption counselors questions
• Make a final decision about the right pet for your family. Please remember adoption is a decision that should not be taken lightly. Pets deserve a “forever” home and you are making a commitment for the lifetime of the pet you choose.
• Adoption cost is $81.00 for a dog or puppy
• Adoption cost is $29.00 for a cat or kitten.
• Fee includes: spay/neuter; city license/microchip; vaccinations for distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza, parvo virus, rabies; deworming and heartworm testing/feline leukemia testing (if over 4 months of age). If your adopted pet is less than three months old, you will have to return at a scheduled time so that your pet can receive its initial rabies vaccination.

Why does my new pet have to spayed/neutered? OR
Why should I spay/neuter any pets that I currently own?

• State code (Texas Health and Safety code, Animal Sterilization Act, Section 828) requires that all animals be sterilized, if adopting from a shelter.
• Spaying/neutering of all pets is encouraged at an early age for the better health of the pet. It has been documented that early spaying of females alleviates health issues later such as mammary tumors. The early neutering of males will reduce the incidence of prostate problems, testicular cancer and discourage territory marking, running off issues, etc.
• Spaying/neutering, most importantly, helps greatly reduce our current overpopulation problem. Last year, more than 30,000 dogs and cats were euthanized at the Animal Care Facility. Many of these animals were unwanted litters of puppies and kittens.
• Effective January 1, 2009, intact or non-sterilized pets must have an Intact Animal Permit. Permit applications can be found in the Permits section found on the front page of the ACS website.

How do I license my pet and what is the cost?

Cost of licensing Your Pet Annually:

             If Your Pet is Spayed or Neutered

• No Charge
  (Effective January 1, 2008, micro chips will be the primary form of registration used to identify animals in the City of San Antonio. The pet owner must provide proof that the pet is currently vaccinated against rabies and that the pet is micro chipped). For those owners not wishing to micro chip their animals, ACS requires that these owners purchase a license tag at the cost of $5.00 per animal. These tags are available at the ACS shelter.
  
  If Your Pet is Not Spayed or Neutered

• *No Charge
  (Effective January 1, 2008, micro chips will be the primary form of registration used to identify animals in the City of San Antonio. The pet owner must provide proof that the pet is currently vaccinated against rabies and that the pet is micro chipped). For those owners not wishing to micro chip their animals, ACS requires that these owners purchase a license tag at the cost of $5.00 per animal. These tags are available at the ACS shelter.
  
  *Beginning January 1, 2009, if an owner of a dog wishes to keep their dog intact, you must purchase an intact dog permit. The fee will be $50.00, annually.

Why do I need to vaccinate my pets?  

• Laws for the state of Texas and the City of San Antonio require that all pets be vaccinated for rabies
• Vaccinations should be done after the dog/cat is three months and before it becomes 4 months old, with a booster shot given 12 months from the date of the first rabies vaccination. After that it must be vaccinated for rabies every 3 years.
• Your pet must have a current rabies vaccination and microchip id in order to be considered licensed in the City of San Antonio. This is the law. 
• Distemper, parvo and other disease vaccinations are given initially to puppies and kittens between 4 and 6 weeks of age.
• Your veterinarian will give you a proper vaccination schedule to follow for adequate protection for your pet.
• Distemper and parvo are almost always fatal and highly contagious. For the health and well being of your new family member, we highly encourage keeping current with their vaccinations.

Why do I need a heartworm preventative?  

• Heartworms are spread by mosquitoes and develop in a dog’s heart, eventually killing the pet.
• Heartworms are very prevalent in the Southern states.
• A monthly preventative and annual heartworm test will keep your pet healthy from this devastating parasite.
• A monthly flea preventative can help keep your pet and home free of disease bearing fleas. Fleas can carry diseases and parasite eggs. One such parasite which affects dogs and cats is the tapeworm.

Why do I need to restrain my pet on my property?  

• City Code requires that all dogs be confined to their owner’s property.
• Dogs are not allowed to run free of restraint. The city requires that all dogs be on a leash and properly restrained when off your personal property.
• Proper confinement and restraint helps keep the pet, drivers, children and other pedestrians safe.
• Proper confinement and restraint helps prevent overpopulation by insuring your pet is not breeding with another.

How many pets can I have in the city?  

• A maximum number of eight (8) cats or five (5) dogs or an aggregate number of eight (8) may be permitted at a residence within the City limits.

Are the Animals healthy from here?  

• There is always a chance that an animal is incubating a disease or infection. Our animals are checked by our veterinarian before being put into the adoption program for overall health and are monitored until adopted. Animal Care Services receives thousands of animals into the shelter every year. Many of these animals have never been vaccinated against disease and infection. As the City’s only open admissions shelter, we can not and do not guarantee the health of our animals based on this fact. That is why it is vitally important that you take the animal to your own local vet for a physical exam. This is to ensure that the animal is not incubating some sort of medical problem they may have contracted before entering the shelter.
• We do monitor our adoption animals for illness and if we find that an animal is not well, we will put it in our clinic and treat the illness, if possible.