(A) All dogs and puppies considered adoptable may be adopted out into suitable homes.
(B) Interested persons must complete an adoption application, with their name, address, phone numbers, what type of environment the dog will live in (inside/outside, kennel, chain, etc.), whether they own or rent their home (landlord contact information if they rent), and how many other pets they own and what health care their other pets have received.
(C) If the applicant is approved by a county adoption counselor, he or she will sign a legally binding contract. This contract will provide, among other things, that as a pet owner, the adopter will:
(1) Take his or her pet to a veterinarian annually for a routine examination and vaccinations.
(2) Take the pet to a veterinarian if it appears ill or injured.
(3) If the new pet is a dog, they will keep it on monthly heartworm preventative for the rest of its natural life.
(4) Provide the pet with an indoor home or confine it in a fenced yard with proper shelter, and that it will not be chained on a permanent basis.
(5) Acknowledge that Newberry County and its Department of Animal Care and Control cannot guarantee the health, temperament, or characteristics of the animal, and that the animal is accepted as is.
(6) If they cannot keep the animal, they must first contact Newberry County Animal Care and Control by phone or letter, and offer it back to the County, because the contract will provide that they will not sell, trade, displace, or allow it to be adopted by other parties without permission. They also will agree that the animal will not be used for research or fighting or fight training.
(7) Newberry Animal Care and Control reserves the right to make a welfare check on the animal at any point, and may repossess the animal if it is found to be in an improper environment, i.e. a situation that is in violation of the adoption contract.
(8) If the animal is too young to be spayed or neutered, the new owner agrees to return on an assigned date to have the surgery performed.
(9) Aside from the adoption fee, the new owner is responsible for all other costs incurred by the animal.
(D) A fee of $85 will be charged for each dog or puppy adopted from the animal shelter. This cost will include the cost of having the animal spayed or neutered, a rabies vaccination, a DHPP vaccination, deworming, and in the case of dogs, a heartworm test. The dog or puppy will also be micro-chipped with a Home Again micro-chip.
(Ord. 10-32-05, passed 10-5-2005; Am. Ord. 03-04-14, passed 4-16-2014)