Adoption Information
We’re thrilled that you’re considering adopting your new best friend from Noah’s Ark Animal Welfare Association! As a small shelter serving the City of Trinidad, we take great pride in finding good homes for the companion animals in our care.
Please take the time to review the information that follows. It will help you understand our adoption packages, adoption process, and policies. When coming to adopt an animal, please be sure to give yourself enough time to get to know the pet you are interested in adopting.
What’s included in a dog or cat adoption?
All NAAWA adoptions include spay or neuter.
Spay or neuter is completed by our veterinarian before an adoptee leaves our shelter to enter a new home.
Currently, our spay/neuter surgeries are scheduled with our vet, weekly.
All animal adoptions include age appropriate vaccinations and de-worming.
All adoptions include microchip installation and reference for free microchip registration.
All pet adoptions include an offer for 30 days of free pet health insurance, which the adopter can easily activate by phone.
Cat adoptions include a cardboard take-me-home pet carrier.
For dogs, a bundle containing a clean/second-hand collar, leash, and NAAWA ID tag are available at our shelter to purchase for a $5 suggested donation. Or check out our Thrift Store for new or used collars and leashes.
Working Cat Program adoptions include spay/neuter, vaccinations, and ear-notching.
When it’s time for the adoptee to go home, adopters will receive:
a receipt of adoption fee payment
a rabies vaccination certificate (if applicable)
microchip information (if applicable)
information of how to activate pet health insurance offer
a signed copy of our adoption contract
a copy of the pet’s medical summary
Please keep in mind: while all animals have been checked by our staff or veterinarian, we cannot guarantee the health of any animal.
Adoption Fees:
Adoption fees are charged to help us offset some of our costs for caring for the thousands of animals that enter our doors each year.
They help us to ensure that animals are in good health, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and loved.
We use a variable adoption fee schedule. The variable fee schedule helps offset some of our costs for caring for the other animals who need to stay in shelter for a longer time (because they haven’t had a chance to meet the adoption match of their dreams or they are considered ‘less-adoptable’). In general fees for:
adult dogs (1 year & up) start at $150
puppies (under 1 year ) start at $200
adult cats (1 year and older) start at $150
kittens (under 1 year) start at $200
working cat adoption fees are $25 per cat
We often have adoption special prices – check with us often!
We often list our adoption fee specials on our social media sites, so be sure to follow us on Facebook.
Requirements & Considerations:
All persons must be 18 years of age or older to adopt a pet.
You must complete an NAAWA adoption application.
You must provide valid photo identification.
Payment of the adoptee’s full adoption fee is the only way to reserve an adoption.
We accept cash or credit card payments for adoption fees.
We can accept credit card payments over the phone if needed.
If an adoptee is not fully ready to go home and must stay at the shelter a bit longer due to pending surgery, medical treatment, age, etc… they can still be secured/reserved through payment of the full adoption fee, but must wait until they are fully ready before they can go home.
Once a secured/reserved adoptee is fully vetted or fully ready to go home, the adopter will be notified and will have up to 3 days to pick up the adoptee.
We ask that if you rent/lease your home, please verify with your land owner before committing to adopt, that you are permitted to keep pets in your residence and find out if there are any pet size restrictions or other requirements.
If you are adopting a dog and you already have a dog, you are welcome to bring the dog(s) you have to meet the new dog.
We have a large, fenced in area near our shelter which we use for dog-to-dog meet and greets.
All meet and greet dogs must have a leash and collar on at all times in the fenced area.
Please remind the dog(s) you bring for meet and greets with a potential adoptee, that they need to use their manners and be current with vaccinations.
If you live within the City of Trinidad limits, please keep in mind the city ordinance which limits pet ownership to 3 dogs and 3 cats. For more information about the ordinance, please contact the City of Trinidad. If you live elsewhere, please be sure to check your local ordinances concerning animals.
Adopters living within the city limits of Trinidad, CO must also purchase a City of Trinidad pet license at the time of adoption at our shelter, if the pet is of proper age to receive a rabies vaccination. Adopters living in other regions, must purchase a pet license from their respective city after adoption, as required by the respective city’s requirements.
We do not limit adoptions to any particular geographic area. We have adopted to families in 42 different US states! We require that all adopters meet the pet they adopting before the pet goes home and that the adopter is present to sign the adoption contract.
We welcome you to call us for more information or if you have questions about adoption.