Frequently Asked Questions

Once an animal is moved into one of our adoption rooms, it may take a few days for it to become available for adoption. If you are interested in adopting an animal that is not yet available, you are encouraged to speak to the Front Desk or contact the Adoptions department directly. By doing so, we are able to take your name and email address in order to notify you when the animal you are interested in becomes available for adoption. Once notified, you will be able to meet with the animal you are interested in and may be able to begin the adoption process.

Unfortunately, we are not able to keep waiting lists for specific types of animals or animals with specific personalities due to having limited resources. We recommend instead that you check our website regularly to see what animals we have available at any given time. All of our available animals can be found here.

Our website is updated daily with any new animals that have become available. All available animals can be found here.

Animals come into our care a few different ways, usually via animal surrenders or as strays. It is possible for us to get in any breed of animal, purebred or otherwise.

The adoption fees for each type of animal can be found here with information on what is included with each adoption. The fees associated with each adoption are to help cover some of the costs of having that animal in our care. This includes all medical expenses, food, supplies and housing.

No. It can be extremely stressful for both your pet and the animals in our care to be introduced to each other in this type of environment. Due to this, it is our experience that you may not be able to truly understand the animals’ compatibility should you introduce them to each other at the shelter.

For cats and small animals, if you have further questions, please contact the Adoptions department directly so we can discuss your individual situation in greater detail.

For dogs, a scheduled introduction with your dog would be arranged at a later date during the adoption process.

Our goal is to find the best matched pet for your family and to find the best matched home for the animals in our care. For this reason, we are not always able to do same day adoptions.

The first step in the adoption process is for you and your family to meet with the animal you are interested in adopting. Once you have met the animal, you can fill out the appropriate Adoption Survey found here or at our shelter.

Within 2 days of receiving your Adoption Survey for a cat or small animal, an Adoption Counsellor will contact you. They will discuss the next steps, including going over any important information you may need to know in order to take home your new pet and complete the adoption process during a meeting at the shelter.

All Adoption Surveys that are submitted for a dog in our care will be reviewed by the Adoptions team. The best matched applicant will be selected to meet with an Adoption Counsellor to ensure the dog is the right fit for them and their family. Please note, the Adoptions team will make this decision based on the Adoption Surveys submitted. It is important that it is completed in its entirety as we are not able to meet with all applicants. Everyone is notified either way, whether the dog has been adopted or if we are moving on to the next Adoption Survey.

A dog can come into the care of our shelter in a variety of ways. Depending on how the dog came to us, we are sometimes able to obtain a full history of a dog’s life prior to arriving at OMHS, but other times their history is unknown. For every dog that comes into our care, we have a very comprehensive assessment process to determine what type of home would be the best fit for each animal. Our age limits are in place for the benefit of your family and to ensure that the dog will be comfortable in its new home. Age limits can be placed for a variety of reasons:

• A known history that the dog is not comfortable with children
• The dog has displayed behaviours that would not be safe around children
• The dog has a boisterous personality and may be able to injure a small child

Even if your child has experience with dogs, not every child that will enter your home does and it is not fair for your family or the dog to be in a situation where it will be uncomfortable or feel unsafe.  Please know that when making a decision for any requirements for a dog, we take it’s history, assessment results, and any behaviour demonstrated at the shelter into consideration.

If you have any questions about age restrictions placed on a dog, please contact the Adoptions department directly at 905-845-1551 ex. 147 or adoptions@omhs.ca

Please click here for a handout on what to ask before adopting a new dog.

You must be 18 years of age or older to adopt an animal from the Oakville & Milton Humane Society.  You must also provide valid identification with your current address (Driver’s Licence is preferred). If you are adopting a cat or small animal, you must have a carrier to bring that animal home safely. If you are adopting a dog, you will need a collar and leash. We additionally recommend crates, harnesses or a second person to assist in taking your new dog home so that they do not climb into the driver’s seat while driving.

Your Adoption Counsellor is available to help with any difficulties that may occur once bringing your new pet home. If the pet you have adopted ends up not being the right fit, you can return the pet to us. Please note that adoption fees are non-refundable.

While we appreciate you wanting to spend time with the dogs, please know that the Oakville & Milton Humane Society has skilled dog walking volunteers that know each dog’s specific behaviours and training needs. Each dog is walked multiple times a day to ensure he or she gets plenty of socialization and exercise. Only dog walking volunteers and those seriously interested in adopting are able to walk our dogs. If you would like to volunteer to work with our dogs, please click here to see what volunteer positions are available.

We do not have a time limit or restriction on how long an animal can be in our care. Each animal that is part of the adoption program is cared for until they find their forever home.