Our goal is to find new homes for homeless animals so we try to keep the adoption process as simple as possible.
First – meet the animals available for adoption. Visit the adoption section of our website (we update the site daily) or stop by the shelter. One of our dedicated Animal Care Specialists can find out more about your home and lifestyle and what you’re looking for in a pet. Then they can introduce you to a special dog or cat. If you decide you’ve met your match, you fill out an Adoption Questionnaire. The HOV staff can also help with dog to dog introductions if you have other pets in the home. Then you take the latest addition to your family home!
Didn’t find a pet that was the right fit? Keep an eye on our website as we frequently make new dogs and cats available.
HOV does charge an adoption fee that helps to defray the cost of caring for the animals and preparing them for adoption. Each dog or cat is spayed/neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, dewormed and has received a medical and behavioral evaluation prior to adoption.
Heart of the Valley is an open admission animal shelter that accepts any dog or cat brought to the shelter, regardless of condition or circumstance. We do not euthanize animals for space or length of stay.
Every dog or cat that comes to Heart of the Valley is medically and behaviorally evaluated for adoptability. Once an animal is deemed adoptable, we will care for that pet for as long as it takes for us to find that animal a new home. Because we accept any dog or cat, regardless of history or health status, the evaluations help us to determine if the animal suffers from a significant quality of life medical or behavioral issue. HOV takes our responsibility to the community to adopt out animals that are safe around people and other pets very seriously.
HOV accepts companion dogs and cats, puppies and kittens.
Animals come to the shelter for a variety of reasons. Some are stray animals that are not reclaimed by their guardians. Others are surrendered by families that can no longer care for them. While others are transferred to HOV by other shelters or rescues from around the state.
Our average daily census is around 180 animals. That means we care for 180 dogs and cats every day in the shelter! Dogs and cats available for adoption change daily so if you are looking to adopt, keep checking our adoptable pets pages.
Our resources are primarily focused on the thousands of animals we care for each year in the shelter. We do offer a low cost Spay/Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) which is available for un-socialized cats with some appointments available for cats and dogs of low income families. Please call 388-9399, ext. 204, if you need more information about this program.
HOV does not charge a surrender fee. However, because HOV spends an average of $450 on each animal at the shelter we hope that anyone surrendering an animal will help to offset that cost by making a voluntary donation at the time of the surrender.
If you find a stray pet check it for a collar or ID tag and attempt to contact the owner if possible. If the animal has no identification please call HOV the shelter to file a “Found Pet Report” or bring the animal to the shelter – we can check it for a microchip and keep it safe until it can be reclaimed. Check out more tips on our website Lost and Found Pet section.
Heart of the Valley is a private 501(c) 3 non-profit organization supported primarily through the generous contributions of individuals, businesses and foundations. We also get funding through adoption fees, surrender donations, stray hold contracts with municipalities, and SNAP clinic donations. If you would like to find out more about how you can help HOV, please visit our donation page.
Volunteers are an integral part of the organization, and many of our programs depend exclusively on the support of our community. Check out the Volunteer page to complete an application today and put your love of animals into action!
