Adopting from the Northumberland Humane Society requires people to go through a short and simple process. First is the application, which gives us information on the potential adopter's living situation, understanding of pet ownership, information on past and current pets, and what kind of home the adopter intends to give the animal in question.

Next comes the vet release, which is a short list of questions that we fax to the adopter's current veterinarian about the general quality of care their animals have received in the past (were they altered, vaccinated, was proper emergency care administered if necessary, etc) that the adopter has to sign in order to give the veterinarian permission to release the information to us. Granted permission, the veterinarian faxes the completed form back to us and we are able to process the application.

The whole process typically takes about 24-48 hours, but can take more or less time given the circumstance. Once it's completed and approved, the adopters can come pick up their new pet if he or she is already altered. Otherwise, a brief waiting period will incur pending the spay/neuter operation.

Kittens and puppies can now be altered at an early age, so we arrange a foster-to-adopt situation for adopters of animals that are nearly old enough to be fixed but not quite ready. The adopter takes the animal home until the surgery, at which point the animal comes back to us, goes to the vet for surgery, and is then released in an official adoption to its new home.