FAQ

Paws and Prayers proudly hosts all adoptable dogs in the homes of volunteers; approved adopters arrange a time to meet dogs with the foster home only after an application is submitted. We do have several options for meeting cats in person! Green Pet Supplies Plus and Montrose PetSmart all have rotating cats to meet! For location and hours, please click here.

All dogs and most cats are cared for in the homes of our volunteers (fosters). To meet a pet, you must have an approved adoption application on file. Adoption applications are non-obligatory and do not guarantee the right to adopt from Paws and Prayers. Select adoptable cats can be met in person; more details on where to meet them can be found here. Interested parties are welcome to attend our weekly adoption events and meet several pets without an application on file, but you will not be considered for adoption without completing one.

Adoption fees vary for each cat and dog. The average adoption fee for a cat is between $60 and $150. The average adoption fee for a dog is $150 to $350. Adoption fees may vary outside of these ranges based on medical background, age, sex, and breed. Adoption fees are non-negotiable and are due in full at the time of adoption, no exceptions. Deposits of half the adoption fee may be required for kittens or puppies on an as-needed basis. Paws and Prayers accepts payments in the form of cash, check and credit card.

Adoption fees help Paws and Prayers in their effort to recuperate the cost of spaying/neutering, vaccinating, microchipping and carrying out other needed care for all of our pets prior to adoption. While finances needed for the care for some pets is greater than others, we never set adoption fees based on how expensive each animal is to treat; we believe that all pets deserve the best care possible!

Discounted adoption fees are currently offered to honorably discharged veterans, first-responders, and repeat-adopters. If you fall into any of these categories, please inquire with the foster of the pet you are interested in

Each of our adoptable pets are in foster houses (meaning our volunteers care for them in their own homes). Our fosters volunteer their time and, in an effort to, maximize the use of our volunteers’ time, we require a non-obligatory adoption application prior to setting up a time to meet an adoptable pet. The adoption application assists us in helping to judge whether or not the pet you are interested in would be a good match for you and/or your family!  Furthermore, if the pet you are interested is not a fit, the application provides us with enough background to assist you in making recommendations for pets that would be!

In short, yes, we do adopt to individuals out of state. Each pet has different needs, however, and based on those needs, out-of-state adopters may not be considered. Although we are sure our out-of-state adopters can provide wonderful, loving homes, some pets require follow-ups and routine communication post-adoption that is more easily done with in-state adopters. We do not, under any circumstance, ship animals. Approved out-of-state adopters (and by request, their resident pets) must meet the animal in person in the Akron, Ohio area.

Paws and Prayers has basic minimum requirements for adoption. Full adoption process and requirements can be viewed here. Understand that while the below requirements are applicable for adoption of all animals, certain animals may have extraneous needs. For example, Paws and Prayers does not require adopters to have a fenced yard, however, based on the background of the animal, some dogs may require one. Each foster volunteer is asked to determine and divulge these additional needs. 

Basic requirements include: having the ability to own a pet (e.g. your landlord allows pets or you own your home), you are not permitted to gift any pet you apply for, you are not allowed to physically alter any pet you adopt (e.g. declawing, de-vocalization, tail cropping), your resident pets must be fixed and up to date on vaccinations and flea/tick/heartworm prevention as recommended by your veterinarian.

Yes, all adopters, regardless of whether another rescue has approved your application, are required to fill out a Paws and Prayers adoption application. If you do, however, have a good rapport with another rescue, feel free to reference that experience in your application.

Paws and Prayers always takes back adopted pets that originated with our rescue. In accepting an animal into our rescue, we have promised those pets “tomorrow”–our guarantee to them to never have to worry about being forgotten or unwanted, so we always take back adopted pets.

Each contract builds in a two-week adoption trial, during which the pet can be returned to us and a refund (less an administrative fee) will be issued to the adopter. Beyond those two weeks (whether it be two months, two years or more), we will always accept back animals regardless of reason.

Effective June 2017, regardless of original date of application submission, adopters will need to submit a new application. Your application may be used for consideration of several animals; there is no need to fill out one for each animal of interest. Once on file, applications are good for 6 months unless there has been a change in contact information therein.

Unfortunately, at this time, Paws and Prayers is unable to offer the public financial assistance with their personal pets.

DOGS: Legally, Paws and Prayers cannot accept a stray dog into our adoption program. When you find a stray dog, you should immediately report the finding to local authorities (your city policy and to Summit County Animal Control (SCAC). At SCAC’s instruction, you should either turn the animal in to animal control, where it will be held for 3 business days to allow the rightful owner an opportunity to redeem it, or you can have the option to hold the animal yourself for a period of 7-10 days (again, at their instruction) prior to turning it over to a rescue or re-homing it yourself. You should always take extra steps to find the rightful owner by publishing free newspapers adds, posting to social media outlets, and posting fliers in your neighborhood.

CATS: There is currently no local law prohibiting rescues from accepting stray cats into their adoption programs, however, Paws and Prayers strongly encourages finders to attempt to find the rightful owner of a pet by publishing free newspapers adds, posting to social media outlets, and posting fliers in your neighborhood prior to turning it into animal control, a rescue, or re-homing it. Take note, if a stray cat has a tipped ear (meaning one ear appears flat or is notched), this is a sign that the cat has been spayed/neutered by a Good Samaritan and is a “feral” cat, meaning it is not sociable to humans and should not be adopted. Of course, it does rarely happen that this procedure is done in error and the cat is sociable. In any case, to check Paws and Prayers’ ability to take in a stray cat, a surrender application should be submitted.

As a foster-based rescue, Paws and Prayers does accept animals surrendered from owners as room/foster-home becomes available; we do not always have the room and/or ability to help every pet. If you are in a position to foster the pet yourself until it is adopted (meaning a Paws and Prayers representative will help you find the best home, but that the pet resides in your home), the likelihood of Paws and Prayers being able to assist is greater. In either case, owners should review our complete surrendering policies and submit an application if you feel we may be able to help you.