Our Adoption Policy

Adopter’s Options

For those interested in adopting from us we offer 2 options for all animals over 6 months of age

*All puppies and kittens 6 months or younger are required to be adopted immediately, no home trial option available.

Adoption documents

Adoption Fees

Our adoption fee structure is different than most shelters or rescues. Due to our limited resources for spay neuter and the Indiana State Law that all animals must be spayed or neutered we have had to use the refundable deposit method.

Dogs who are NOT already spayed or neutered (fixed) are a $100 deposit

Dogs who are already spayed or neutered (fixed) are FREE

Cats who are NOT already spayed or neutered (fixed) are a $50 deposit

Cats who are already spayed or neutered (fixed) are FREE

If an animal is not already fixed at the time of adoption, the adopter will need to pay the deposit. The adopter will have 90 days to get their animal fixed at any clinic of their choosing. Visit the low cost spay neuter page and full-service vet page for a list of options. The adopter will need to provide the following forms to us and they will receive their deposit back.

  • Spay Neuter Certificate (we will provide a form for the clinic to complete)
  • Receipt showing the cost of the spay-neuter
  • Rabies Certificate (all animals over 4 months are required to be vaccinated by law)

Click here for a easy to follow step by step process for your Spay Neuter Deposit Refund.

If the adopter fails to complete the spay neuter and turn the requested documents in by the expiration date, they will forfeit the deposit paid.

All forfeited deposits after 120 days will be given over to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles for Indiana

If an adopter chooses to donate their deposit to us instead of having their deposit refunded, they need to let us know and tell us which clinic their adopted pet was spayed or neutered at, otherwise, the deposit will be given over to the BMV.

There are NO OTHER FEES required to adopt from us.

Adoption Benefits

Adopters will receive a printout of the animal’s medical history at the time of adoption.

All dogs/puppies will receive the following from us before adoption

  • At least one Distemper/Parvo vaccination
  • Bordatella vaccination
  • Flea Prevention
  • Intestinal Parasite Prevention or Treatment
  • Heartworm Test if over 6 months of age
  • Heartworm Prevention if Heartworm Negative or under 6 months of age
  • Lifetime Registration Microchip (PetLink) if not already microchipped

All cats/kittens will receive the following from us before adoption

  • At least one FVRCP vaccination
  • Flea Prevention
  • At least one dewormer treatment with 2 different dewormers
  • Lifetime Registration Microchip (PetLink) if not already microchipped

Adoption Requirements

  • We do not have an application process; all adoptions are first-come, first-served. We do not offer holds
  • Adopters can be from any county or state
  • You will need a photo ID
  • You will need to be 18 or older
  • All cats MUST leave in a carrier
    • We do sell collapsible fabric cat carriers for $20
  • Cash, Check, and Card are accepted for payment (card has a 3% fee)
  • We do accept and encourage monetary donations above and beyond the adoption fee so that we may afford the cost of the adoption benefits and spay and neuter of animals before adoption

Why are animals not already fixed?

Due to our limited budget and available spay neuter clinic resources within a reasonable distance of our shelter we are unable to have ALL the animals spayed or neutered within a reasonable time frame at this time.

We do want to spay and neuter all the shelter animals before adoption. We are continuing to work with local vets and traveling low-cost clinics to get as many of the shelter animals spayed and neutered as quickly as possible before adoption.

We also do not turn Rush County animals away due to space or euthanize for space. By using a deposit method for adoption, this allows animals to move as quickly as possible out of our shelter, so we always have room for more.

Also, by keeping animals in a shelter environment for a long period of time waiting for an appointment the animals have a much higher risk of being exposed to disease and having a decline in behavior. We do euthanize for behavior and medical reasons. The best treatment for disease and declining behavior in a shelter is to limit the animal’s time in the shelter overall to avoid the risks.

Who is available for adoption?

We encourage anyone looking to adopt to stop by our shelter during our visiting hours. There are many times we have cleared animals for adoption, but have not posted them yet and are adopted within minutes of someone just stopping by.

We post regularly on our Facebook page, Rushville Animal Shelter, about who is available for adoption

We also post regularly and update our page on Petfinder.com