While being an animal guardian is an invaluable experience, there are certain costs associated with adopting your pet. The adoption fee that we charge helps to cover a portion of our cost of caring for animals, while we find them loving homes. Adoption fees vary by animal and by location. For specific fees in your region, check with your local animal centre. Below is a list of what is included in each adoption fee, by type of animal.

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Dog adoption fees include:

• An in-centre physical performed by staff
• Temperament assessment
• Behaviour profile
• First round of standard animal centre “core” vaccinations (does not include rabies)**
• Flea and other external parasite treatments as required
• Routine deworming and other internal parasite treatments as required
• Spay or neuter surgery (a voucher may be provided for pediatric surgeries at select locations)
• Microchip identification implant and lifetime registration with the BC Pet Registry*
• Certificate for a free veterinarian examination (at participating veterinary clinics & select locations)
• Sample bag of food and coupon provided by Hill’s Pet Nutrition as fed in the animal centre
• Six week free trial of pet insurance provided by Petsecure Pet Health Insurance
• A free virtual veterinary appointment provided by TELUS Health MyPet
• Medical treatment if required while in our care
• Daily in-centre care and monitoring

*All BC SPCA dog adoptions include a microchip and lifetime registration with the BC Pet Registry. Registration is $45 for lifetime protection which will be added on top of the adoption fee.

**Standard “core” animal centre vaccinations for dogs include: distemper, adenovirus 2, parvovirus, parainfluenza and bordetella (kennel cough)

Cat adoption fees include:

• An in-centre physical performed by staff
• First round of standard animal centre “core” vaccinations (does not include rabies or feline leukemia)**
• Flea and other external parasite treatments as required
• Routine deworming and other internal parasite treatments as required
• Spay or neuter surgery (a voucher may be provided for pediatric surgeries at select locations)
• Microchip identification implant and lifetime registration with the BC Pet Registry*
• Certificate for a free veterinarian examination (at participating veterinary clinics & select locations)
• Sample bag of food and coupon provided by Hill’s Pet Nutrition as fed in the animal centre
• Six week free trial of pet insurance provided by Petsecure Pet Health Insurance
• A free virtual veterinary appointment provided by TELUS Health MyPet
• Their Hide, Perch & Go™ box (a cat’s personal temporary pet carrier)
• Medical treatment if required while in our care
• Daily in-centre care and monitoring

*All BC SPCA cat adoptions include a microchip and lifetime registration with the BC Pet Registry. Registration is $45 for lifetime protection which will be added on top of the adoption fee.

**Standard “core” animal centre vaccinations for cats include: rhinotracheitis, calicivirus and panleukopenia.

Rabbit adoption fees include:

• An in-centre physical performed by staff
• Spay or neuter surgery (a voucher may be provided for surgeries at select locations)
• Microchip identification implant and lifetime registration with the BC Pet Registry*
• Certificate for a free veterinarian examination (at participating veterinary clinics & select locations)
• Medical treatment if required while in our care
• Daily in-centre care and monitoring

*All BC SPCA rabbit adoptions include a microchip and lifetime registration with the BC Pet Registry. Registration is $11.25 for lifetime protection which will be added on top of the adoption fee.

Small pet & bird adoption fees include:

• An in-centre physical performed by staff
• Certificate for a free veterinarian examination (at participating veterinary clinics & select locations)
• Medical treatment if required while in our care
• Daily in-centre care and monitoring

Horse adoption fees include:

• An intake exam performed by a veterinarian
• A nutritional assessment and individualized feed plan
• Certificate for complimentary nutritional consult, bag of feed and treats from Otter Co-op (at participating stores & select locations)
• Castration of intact male horses
• Hoof assessment and regular trimming while in our care
• Lice and other external parasite treatments as required
• Routine deworming and other internal parasite treatments as required
• Medical treatment if required while in our care
• Daily in-centre care and monitoring

Farm animal adoption fees include:

• An intake exam performed by a veterinarian
• A nutritional assessment and individualized feed plan
• Castration of intact male farm animals
• Hoof assessment and regular trimming while in our care
• Lice and other external parasite treatments as required
• Routine deworming and other internal parasite treatments as required
• Medical treatment if required while in our care
• Daily in-centre care and monitoring

To view all available adoptable animals, please see our adoptable animal listings. When an animal is adopted, they will be removed from the listing (within 4 hours of adoption).

Please note, even though this website is live and updates frequently, we cannot ensure the animal is still available for adoption when you arrive at the animal centre. There is a chance the animal may have been adopted by the time you arrive, or another party might be going through the adoption process at the time. For more information, please contact the animal centre caring for the animal, as listed on the animal’s profile page.

Fostering an animal means you take a BC SPCA animal into your home and care for them for us. While they’re in your home, we provide you with food and medical care until the pet is available for adoption. Foster families help animals recover from illnesses/injuries or provide them with socialization and love.

If you are unsure about adopting an animal, or unable to make the commitment at this time, fostering can be a great way to bring animals into your life.

While fostering is temporary, many foster families fall in love with the animal in their care and decide to adopt them.

Some general things we look for in foster families:

• Length of commitment from a couple of days to several weeks
• Ability to spend time with the animal every day
• Daily monitoring of the animal as needed
• Ability to accommodate time to transport the animal, as needed, for appointments, treatments and weigh-ins

Fostering opportunities

• Nursing dog with puppies
• Nursing cat with kittens
• Orphaned kittens or puppies
• Sick or injured animals needing medical care
• Animals needing help with behaviour issues
• Puppies and kittens too young to be in the animal centre
• Horses and other farm animals

If you are 19 years of age or older, you can view foster care opportunities and apply to become a foster guardian. Learn more about our program, download fostering for the BC SPCA (PDF) and watch the video below.

For questions about fostering horses and other farm animals, email rescues@spca.bc.ca or fill out our horse and farm animal foster application form.

Read our position on the sale of pets from pet stores (PDF).

What are the concerns with buying from a pet store?

• You don’t know where the animals came from. What if they were living in filth and their mothers were abused or neglected? They might have costly genetic (PDF), health and behaviour problems their entire lives. Learn more about good and bad breeders.
• Many stores carry animals that they have no expertise or knowledge to care for. These animals are not given the Five Freedoms. Many just want a safe place to hide and rest and enough space and things to do. Often, cramped housing conditions don’t meet even their most basic needs.
• When animals are transported to the pet store, they are often in cramped containers. Many animals, especially small animals like fish and gerbils, will die during transport.
• If you buy from a pet store, you are creating a space for another animal to be brought in, continuing a cycle of pain and suffering.

What happens to pet store animals who aren’t sold?

Just like with inventory in retail, animals go on sale. If the animal is marked down and no one purchases her, the store may give the animal away or try to return her to the breeder. After a very low cost sale of an animal that has high care costs, the store will think twice and will not purchase another, be it a puppy, turtle or gecko.

Are you worried about the well-being of an animal you saw in a pet store?

If you believe an animal you have seen may be in distress, call the BC SPCA Animal Helpline at 1-855-622-7722.

If a breeder asks to meet you in a shopping mall, parking lot or somewhere else away from their breeding facility to get your new pet, DO NOT purchase from this person.

Print out our guide (PDF) to take with you to a breeder’s home or facility.

Signs of a reputable breeder

• Gladly shows you their entire home or facility where animals are kept, and introduces you to all their animals — both adults and offspring — including the mother of the pet you are considering purchasing
• Openly talks about positive and negative traits of the breed
• Provides veterinary records that show that the animals are healthy
• The home or facility is clean and spacious, with the opportunity for the animals to receive regular exercise and socialization outside of their kennels/cages
• The person breeding the animals specializes in one or two breeds
• A good breeder will ask you questions about your lifestyle and experience to ensure you’re a good match

Good breeders of puppies and kittens:

• Do not breed females who are too young or too old. Generally dogs and cats should not be bred at less than 18 months and should only be bred once in every two heat cycles
• Expose puppies and kittens to household noises and new experiences, ensure they are handled gently by many different people and are kept clean, warm and well fed
• Send puppies and kittens to new homes at eight weeks of age or, preferably, at 10 weeks
• Are knowledgeable about common heritable (genetic) disorders in the breed and will discuss how they breed and test to avoid the disorders
• Provide, at no extra charge, valid paperwork for registration and veterinary records, including vaccinations and deworming, for the puppy or kitten you are purchasing
• Ask you to return the puppy or kitten to them if it does not work out

Signs of a bad breeder

• Agrees to sell you a puppy or a kitten without meeting you (e.g. over the phone) and doesn’t allow you to come and meet them and/or their animals before purchase
• Sells their animals to pet stores or brokers
• Has run-down or crowded facilities, is reluctant to show you their facilities or has dirty, unhealthy and/or fearful animals
• Sells animals without vaccinations and deworming and veterinary check, or guarantees against health problems including genetic defects
• Claims an animal is purebred but does not have the registration to prove it
• Will not take an animal back if a problem arises or offers another animal if the first one gets sick, rather than helping with your veterinary bills

The quick answer is yes! However, you still have to meet our four non-negotiable factors and the animal needs to be matched to the person receiving the animal as a gift. Please visit your local BC SPCA animal centre or check out our adoptable animals. Learn more, watch our video on giving pets as gifts:

Due to the number of adoption queries we receive at our animal centres, we are unable to keep wait lists for certain breeds of animals, puppies or kittens.

However, on our adoptable animals page, you can create an account and then set up an email notification when a certain breed of animal or certain type of animal becomes available for adoption. For best results, we recommend selecting as few criteria as possible when creating the email alert.

While being an animal guardian is an invaluable experience, there are certain costs associated with adopting your pet. The adoption fee that we charge helps to cover our cost of caring for animals, while we find them loving homes.

Search for adoptable animals now >>

Adoption fees vary by animal and by animal centre. For specific fees in your region, check with your local animal centre or learn more about what’s included in your adoption fee.

Every adoption is unique and the time it takes to adopt varies. Some animals can go home the same day if they are successfully matched. Visit our adoptable animals section to start your search today.

The BC SPCA charges adoption fees to help us offset the cost of caring for the animals, but it doesn’t cover the whole cost. Find out what’s included when you adopt a pet from the BC SPCA.

To give adopters more adoption locations and to help more animals find their forever homes, the BC SPCA partners with local pet retailers and veterinary clinics that host offsite adoption centres.

Offsite adoption centres are a great option for people who are not comfortable with visiting an animal care facility. View a list of our adoption partner locations.

Veterinary clinics or other retailers interested in becoming an BC SPCA satellite adoption site are invited to call the BC SPCA at 604-681-7271.

Search for adoptable animals now >>