ADOPTIONS IN THE TIME OF COVID-19
During this unusual time, people everywhere are taking precautions to safeguard their health, and the Kitty Devore Rescue team is no exception. Yes, we are still operational! With the addition of new foster parents and rescue partner rescue groups joining our mission and our network, we’re still saving the kitties of Devore Shelter. However, in the interest of safety and precaution, we are observing the governmental social distancing guidelines through May 2020, and possibly longer depending on CA extensions when it comes to our adoption process. For that reason, we have temporarily amended our adoption procedures.
Our standard adoption process involves a lot of personal interaction between prospective adopters and foster parents caring for the kitty they’re interested in adopting – something CoVid-19 dictates we suspend right now for our collective health and well-being. For that reason, we have temporarily amended how we conduct adoptions as follows:
OUR AMENDED COVID-19 ADOPTION PROCESS
Adoption Applications – The good news is we are still accepting applications for our amazing kitties! Our adoption officers are continuing to review incoming applications daily and are corresponding with prospective adopters. However, in the interest of your safety as well as that of our foster guardian volunteers, interactive Meet and Greets, home checks and all adoption delivery dates will be delayed until May. Approved applications are still being forwarded to Kitty Devore Rescue foster parents so they can connect with prospective adopters.
Meet and Greets – Once your approved application is received, the foster parent will contact you with photos and videos of the kitty you’re interested in adopting, provided you are the first applicant for the kitty. You’ll receive regular updates from the kitty’s foster parent until the social distancing recommendations are relaxed. You’ll also have the opportunity to experience a more interactive Meet and Greet with them down the line when everyday life resumes normalcy again.
Home Checks – We will be conducting preliminary home checks virtually. Through the use of the video option or Facetime on your phone, you can take us on a tour of your home. We will conduct a more comprehensive in-person home check when social safety mandates lift.
Application Status – If the kitty has more than one approved application submitted, we will add you to a waiting list for him or her. You can determine whether the kitty you’re interested in adopting has pending applications by visiting their bio listing here on our website. Don’t lose heart if the kitty you’re interested in adopting already has an application submitted by another prospective adopter. We understand when someone decides to adopt a new kitty, they anticipate the process will be relatively quick. When it’s not, they may opt to adopt elsewhere. If that happens, we’ll update the kitty’s bio to reflect the next application in line.
Adoption Pending Deposits – If your application is approved, you’ve passed your virtual home check pending the in-person check to be done at a later date and patience isn’t an issue for you because you know the kitty you’ve applied to adopt destined to be yours, you are welcome to submit an adoption fee deposit for him or her. When we receive an adoption fee deposit via PayPal, we will adjust their bio here on our website to reflect Adoption Pending. Adoption Pending indicates to other prospective adopters that he or she has a new person or family waiting for them when the current CoVid-19 safety precautions relax, and we will no longer be accepting applications for them. The adoption fee deposit is refundable in full if you change your mind.
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We understand you want to welcome a new kitty into your life, and we are committed to helping you make that happen with their safety, your safety, and the safety of the Kitty Devore Rescue team at the forefront of our mission.
You can fill out our adoption application here!
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STANDARD ADOPTION PROCESS
Due to the current health and safety climate in the wake of CoVid-19, our standard adoption process procedures have been suspended until sometime in May.
We encourage interested adopters to fill out an adoption application first as an approved application allows the adoption process to proceed.
Once submitted, one of our adoption officers will contact you within 3 to 5 days after they have reviewed your application. They may have additional questions based on your responses and will keep you abreast of the status of your application. If you do not hear from one of our adoption officers after 5 days have elapsed, we advise checking your spam, junk or suspect mail folder first as sometimes our correspondence winds up there. If not, please visit our Contact Us page on our website to send us a message to inquire further.
Please be aware we often receive several applications for the same cat around the same time. We review applications on a first come, first serve basis. The first application submitted, if approved, has priority over all subsequent applications to follow. If things don’t work out with the first approved prospective applicant, we move to the next application in line. This is a process that can take time and can be a factor in a delayed response. If you have your heart set on a specific kitty, we completely understand. However, we encourage applicants to list two or more cats of interest in the event one of them already has an approved potential adopter.
Once the application is approved, it will be forwarded to the Kitty Devore foster guardian caring for the kitty you’re interested in adopting. The foster guardian will either call or contact you via email and will work with you to schedule a Meet and Greet in their home or at one of our Petsmart or Petco adoption venue locations. Meet and Greets are mandatory. They give you the opportunity to get to know the kitty and decide if they are a good fit for you. They also give the kitty an opportunity to get to know you so that they can determine if you are a good fit for them. It’s a two-way relationship.
If all goes well and if, after meeting the kitty, you’d like to proceed with his or her adoption, a home check is the next step.
Our home checks are not invasive and we do our best not to be intrusive. We just want to get an overall sense of the home environment and check to see if there are any safety concerns.
Unfortunately, interested adopters who refuse to open their home to a KD home checker will automatically be denied.
Please know that it is also possible to have an application approved but later denied at the home check or Meet and Greet phase of the adoption process.
If there are no concerns with the home check, the KD foster guardian will schedule a time to deliver your new kitty to your home.
Our adoption fee is $175.00 for one kitty and $325.00 for two. We accept several forms of payment: PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, or personal check.
If paying by PayPal, Venmo or Zelle, we ask that you complete the adoption fee transaction BEFORE your new kitty is delivered.
Personal checks should be given to the KD representative who brings your new kitty to your home on the day of delivery*.
We do not accept cash or money orders.
Within three weeks of the date of delivery, our home office will mail an adoption box to you via USPS mail. This box will include information about your newly adopted kitty’s microchip and registration procedures, an adoption certificate, a copy of your approved application, an overview of your kitty’s history while in KD Rescue’s care and all accompanying invoices and documentation that confirm the various procedures they’ve undergone while in our care for your records. These documents can also be supplied to your personal veterinarian so they also have documented medical history. The box also contains a few goodies for your newly adopted kitty to help get them settled into their new life with you.
We usually wait three weeks before sending out the adoption box and official records in order to give time for everyone to adjust as we’ve found most returns happen within the first two weeks post-adoption.
In the event things don’t work out, we are always more than happy to take a former KD foster kitty back into our rescue’s care. If returned within 30 days, we will issue a full refund of the adoption fee.
We will also take a former KD foster kitty back into our rescue’s care years after their adoption if the adopter’s life situation has changed. Once a KD kitty, always a KD kitty. We will forever be their back-up safety net.
We are unable to adopt outside of California. We make one exception for the Seattle area of Washington, provided we have available cats placed with our singular WA foster mom. We are unable to transport cats placed with foster parents in California to Washington upon application or request.
Shelter Direct Adoption
We are often confused with Devore Animal Shelter due to our name. While our rescue efforts are focused on the cats admitted to this shelter, we have no direct affiliation with the shelter, itself, beyond this. We do not determine the temperaments of the cats admitted there. We do not have any control over their release dates or whether or not they are euth listed on a given day.
If you are interested in a Friendly cat that is currently at Devore Animal Shelter, we are not able to assist you. Please visit the shelter to adopt.
Devore Animal Shelter’s address is:
Devore Animal Shelter
19777 Shelter Way
San Bernardino, CA 92407
Phone: (909) 386-9820
Kittens who have been determined to be “Friendly” by shelter staff and who are between the ages of 8 and 16 weeks are $62.00 to adopt. The adoption fee includes an FVRCP vaccine, a microchip and the cost of sterilization.
Kittens and cats who have been determined to be “Friendly” by shelter staff and who are over the age of 16 weeks are $57 to adopt. The adoption fee includes an FVRCP vaccine, a microchip and if the cat has not been sterilized, the cost of sterilization. If the cat has been determined to be sterilized by shelter staff, the adoption fee is $17.00.
Cats who are “Friendly” but determined to have medical issues can still be adopted but require the adopter to sign a medical waiver form releasing the shelter from expenses incurred post-adoption. These cats can be taken home the same day but the adopter is expected to remit proof of spay or neuter within 30 days of adoption. Failure to do so will result in an inability to adopt from Devore Animal Shelter in the future.
All adopted cats who are healthy and require sterilization will be held at the shelter until the following business day. They are not available to take home the day they are adopted. On the following business day, they are transported to Loma Linda Animal Hospital (LLAH) for sterilization and can be picked up by the adopter after 3:30 PM that day.
Cats the shelter staff has determined to be “Rescue Only” are not available for public adoption.
Devore Shelter does not conduct adoptions or payment for adoptions over the phone. You must visit the shelter and adopt in-person. All that’s required to adopt is a driver’s license or valid state ID, cash or a debit/credit card and your signature. The shelter does not require a home check.