ABOUT US: CITY DOGS is a program of Cleveland Animal Care & Control (CACC). CACC is part of the City of Cleveland’s Department of Public Safety. Most of the dogs we impound are found running stray in the city. Dogs are held for 3-14 days depending on cause for intake while attempts to locate their are owner taken. Photos of all stray dogs are listed on the City of Cleveland Website. After the hold, dogs may be assessed and placed up for adoption, transferred to another facility, or euthanized if deemed to dangerous or too unhealthy to be placed. Our average annual intake is 3,900 dogs.
ADOPTION: The CITY DOGS adoption fee is $61 which includes spay/neuter surgery (if not altered at the time of adoption, you will pick up after surgery), microchip, vaccines, heartworm test, and Cuyahoga County license. Some CITY DOGS may need a foster home with the backing of a rescue if they have a special need to recover from, such as heartworm disease, which is indicated in their profile. If you are interested in a dog with a special need, we can help guide you through the process of working with a rescue.
ABOUT OUR DOGS: All dogs go through a medical and behavior assessment prior to being made available for adoption or foster, however, we cannot make any guarantees regarding behavior, temperament or health of any City Dog. Many of our dogs come in as strays, so we do not know what kind of home environment they were living in (i.e. with kids, other dogs or other cats), nor do we know if they are house trained. Everything we know about them is based on volunteer and staff observations. It is very hard to tell with certainty whether or not a dog will be good with kids, cats or another dog. If you have kids in the home or another dog, we do require that they be present for a meet and greet with the dog you are considering for adoption.
CONSIDERATIONS: Adopting a dog is a lifetime commitment. The cost of food, toys, veterinary care, grooming and other items can easily reach $400 or more per year. You must be prepared for house-training (potty training), and dealing with normal behavior problems such as chewing, barking, digging, etc. Things for you to consider include the financial and emotional commitments required in owning a dog.
HEALTH/VACCINATIONS: Dogs that are adopted directly from the kennel need to go to your personal vet within 14 days of leaving the kennel. All dogs do receive a DHLPP, Bordetella, and Rabies vaccine (boosters as well if they are with us for more than two weeks), are dewormed once and have a microchip. We recommend that you take a stool sample to your vet for a fecal exam, as many dogs in the kennel environment are exposed to intestinal parasites. We also recommend that your vet performs a second heartworm test in order to verify our test and to prescribe monthly heartworm preventative. Dogs leaving the kennel may have kennel cough which should also be addressed by your veterinarian.
