Adoption Process | Central Nebraska Humane Society

Pet Adoption

Finding the perfect pet can be easy, but there’s a lot to consider!

Choosing to open your home to an animal in need is a selfless act and we appreciate your willingness to offer a lifetime of love to one of the many homeless animals at CNHS. Please understand that adopting a pet is a long-term commitment and should not be done on a whim. Animals require a significant time and financial commitment from their owners. Be sure your household is ready to add a new family member and review our adoption policies below!

Our adoption policies:

Adoptions are conducted on a first come, first serve basis based on which potential adopter physcially arrived at CNHS first.
You must be at least 19 years old to adopt an animal from CNHS.
You must have a valid form of identification to adopt.
If you have other pets, they must be up to date on rabies vaccinations before adopting from CNHS. You must provide proof of current vaccinations prior to adopting.
Meet and greets between adoptable dogs and owned dogs may be completed by CNHS staff at owner request, but are not required for all dog adoptions. Specific dogs with known aversions to other dogs may require a meet and greet prior to adoption.
All animal interactions must begin 45 minutes before close.
You must spend at least 30 minutes with the animal you are wanting to adopt.
You may meet with up to 2 animals per day.
Adoption applications will be kept on file for a period of 30 days. Having an application on file does not hold your place in line or guarantee approval for adoption.

Adoption Procedure:

Application: To begin the adoption process, all adopters must complete the CNHS adoption application and provide a copy of a valid ID. If you currently have pets in the home, you should plan to provide CNHS staff with copies of your pet's rabies vaccination certificate at the time of application.

Review: Once your completed application has been submitted, we will conduct a quick review of the answers you provided. This process typically takes 5 to 10 minues to complete. After the initial review has been completed and your application has been approved, we will call you back to the front desk to discuss the answers you provided and the specific animal(s) you are interested in adopting.

Animal Interaction: After you and CNHS staff have established which animal(s) could potentially be a good fit for your home, we will place you in an adoption room to meet with the animal. Please understand that CNHS has a limited number of adoption rooms and you may have to wait for another adoption to be completed before meeting with an animal. You will be asked to spend at least 30 minues with each animal before making any decisions.

Adoption: If all goes well, at the end of the 30 minutes, we will be able to complete the adoption. This includes signing the adoption contract, paying the adoption fee, and taking an adoption photo. We will alos take this time to provide you with some guidance on your new animal's needs, how to get them settled, and answering any questions you may have.

Go Home: Almost all adoptions can be completed same day if you follow the steps above! All dogs must be walked out on a leash and all cats must leave the facility in a carrier.

Adoptions are conducted during the following hours:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 12:00pm - 6:00pm
Saturday: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Sunday: 1:00pm - 4:00pm

Ensuring a successful adoption, for the well-being of pets and families:

Our goal at CNHS is to find every animal its FOREVER home. For this reason, we ensure that the characteristics of the animal you are interested in align with the traits you are seeking in a pet. If we feel that the responses you indicated on your application do not match the animal you are interested in adopting, we reserve the right to deny your adoption of that specific animal. CNHS staff can assist you in determining which animals are a good fit for your home. We also reserve the right to deny adoption for any reason, including but not limited to failure to follow adoption procedures and falsifying information on the adoption application.

Our fees for adoption are as follows:

Dogs

5 months or younger $350.00
6 months to 4 years $275.00
5 years to 9 years $150.00
10 years or older $75.00

Cats

5 months or younger $125.00
6 months to 4 years $100.00
5 years to 9 years $75.00
10 years or older $50.00
Barn Cats $25.00

Critters

Ferrets $75.00
Guinea Pigs $15.00
Mice/Rats/Hamsters $5.00
Rabbits (adult) $15.00
Rabbits (under 6 mon) $25.00
Chickens $5.00
Parakeets $20.00
Cockatiels $35.00

We do occasionally offer other types of critters, please call for pricing

The adoption fees for cats and dogs include the following:

For dogs, the adoption fee includes all age appropriate vaccinations, spay or neuter surgery, flea and tick treatment, de-wormer, heartworm test, and microchip.
For cats, the adoption fee includes all age appropriate vaccinations, spay or neuter surgery, flea and tick treatment, de-wormer, FELV/FIV combo test, and microchip.

The importance of ongoing pet care:

Because most of the animals that make their way to CNHS are strays, their medical history and background are unknown. Adopters should be prepared to provide any future care necessary for their new pet, including training and veterinary services. While all pets are up to date with appropriate vaccinations prior to adoption, adopters will need to take their new pets to a vet at least annually for a check-up and to booster their vaccinations.