COVID Response - Adoption Process by Appointment Only
Beginning May 1st, we will be processing dog and cat adoptions by appointment only. If you are interested in adopting a new pet, please review our temporary adoption process that follows social distancing guidelines to keep your family and our staff and volunteers as safe as possible.
Regular Adoption Process
- Please note that we do not do out of state adoptions. We only adopt animals out to people who live in the following counties: Cook, Dupage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will.
- You can learn about our adoptable pets either from our virtual kennel and virtual cattery or you can visit the shelter during our open hours to see the dogs and cats in person.
- Before you arrive at the shelter, complete our online Adoption Application to save time!
- Once at the shelter, one our staffers or volunteers will lead you to the kennel or cattery where you can see the dogs and cats.
- If you find any animal you're interested in, one of our friendly volunteers will introduce you personally to the animal so you can get to know each other.
- We ask that all members of the household where the animal will reside meet the animal. This includes non-human members too! Don't worry if you're not all there at once; we can work around busy schedules to set up additional meetings!
- If you'd like to proceed with an adoption, you and a volunteer or staffer will discuss whether the animal is well suited for your household. At that time, the animal will be placed on a 24-hour hold so you carefully think about your decision overnight.
- The hold means that we won't show the animal to anyone else - you get first dibs!
- When the hold ends, and if you decide you want to proceed with the adoption, we'll get the paperwork started!
- Please note - we will accept credit/debit card (Visa/Mastercard/Discover/American Express) as the preferred payment of adoption fee, cashiers’ check or cash also accepted – no personal checks please.
Adoption Fees
You get a lot of bang for your buck with our adoption fees! Effective June 1st, our adoptions fee will be:
| Cats: | Dogs: | ||
| Up to 1 year old | $150 | Up to 1 year old | $300 |
| 1 year to 6 years old | $85 | 1 year up to 6 years old | $200 |
| 7 years and older | $35 | 7 years and older | $125 |
Our Fees Cover All of This!
| For Cats: | For Dogs: |
| Spay or neuter surgery | Spay or neuter surgery |
| Microchip and registration | Microchip and registration |
| ID tag | Collar with ID tag |
| FVRCP vaccine | Flea preventative |
| Deworming | Heartworm check and preventative |
| Flea preventative | DALP-PV vaccine |
| Ear-mite check and treatment (if necessary) | Deworming |
| 2F Test | Bordatella vaccine |
| Fecal and treatment (if necessary) | Fecal and treatment (if necessary) |
Some dogs even come with a free training session! And through our Adopt A Buddy Program, you can adopt any cat and/or kitten for the regular adoption fee and get a second cat/kitten for half of the regular fee. This offer is good for up to 6 months after the first adoption!
Thank you for considering adopting from the West Suburban Humane Society!
WSHS does its best to match adopters with the dog or cat that would be best suited to their family situation and lifestyle.
WSHS can accept credit-card donations online using a secure server. Click on the Donate Now button. You can choose how your donation will be used! All donations are tax deductible.