*Due to high demand, our kitten waitlist is closed for May.*

Before you commit to an animal, you’ll need to make sure that adoption is right for you. Before you bring your new friend home, you’ll need to:

  • Visit our current animals page to see available companions.
  • Drop by the shelter to complete your 30 minute adoption appointment.
  • Fill out your new friend’s paperwork, wait for 24-48 hours while we check references and then, once approved, pay the adoption fee and take your new furry friend home.

Committed to Care

Like any important relationship, adopting an animal takes commitment. We feel strongly that “pets are for life”, so we work hard to make sure that each of our animals are sent to a long-term home where they’ll be able to thrive. In fact, if we can’t find a loving environment for our animals right away, we keep them until we do.

Whether you adopt from a shelter, a neighbour, or the classifieds, animals are never free. They come with a variety of costs, from food to healthcare. Although we expect our adoptive families to take excellent care of our animals, we make sure that they’re in the best possible shape before sending them to their new home. Before adoption, we provide:

  • health checks and any appropriate treatment or medication
  • up-to-date vaccinations
  • deworming
  • any necessary grooming
  • spaying or neutering
  • socialization
  • microchipping
  • feline leukemia testing

Adoption Fees

In response to the rising cost of animal care, please note that effective June 1st, 2024 – there will be a change to our adoption fees.

Bide Awhile is a not-for-profit organization and adoption fees are used to cover the animal care and vet expenses such as a spay/neuter, microchipping, and vaccines.

Many animals that come into our care incur vet expenses that go beyond the adoption fee. The average cost to our shelter per companion adopted in 2023 was $1,250.

Adjusted Adoption Fees are as follows:

Kitten (1 Year & Under): $350
Adult Cat: $250
Senior Cat (10 Years & Older): $200
Puppy (1 Year & Under): $700
Adult Dog: $500
Senior Small Breed Dog (10 Years & Older): $350
Senior Large Breed Dog (7-8 Years & Older): $350

Office Hours

Tuesday:          1:00pm – 7:00pm
Wednesday:   10:00pm – 5:00pm
Thursday:       10:00pm – 5:00pm
Friday:             10:00pm – 5:00pm
Saturday:        10:00pm – 4:00pm