General FAQ

We generally bring in new dogs and cats every other week on Saturdays. Typically every other Thursday we have new animals on our website. This can vary so our recommendation is that you check the website regularly for newly adoptable pets. Also follow us on Facebook where we post new arrivals.

No, we no longer perform in person home visits. We do a virtual adoption consultation now prior to adoption. This consultation is a chance for us to prepare you to bring your new family member home and set everyone up for success. We will not expect you to walk us through your home virtually unless you have specific questions you want us to address.

If it has been longer than a year then we request that you submit a new adoption application and have a meet-and-greet with potential dogs.

We will perform a vet check prior to adoption.

We no longer perform home visits prior to adoption. We will want to complete an adoption consultation prior to adoption especially if you are bringing a new animal into a home with other animals. This can be a modified session and is meant to help inform you about the best practices for introducing a new animal to your home and setting everyone up for success.

Many of our animals come from Southern Virginia and North Carolina where they are unclaimed strays or owner surrenders. On a case by case basis, we accept some owner surrenders. Occasionally, we work with organizations outside of the US to save precious lives.

All FOHA dogs will be spayed/neutered, microchipped, fully vaccinated (rabies, distemper, and bordetella), and on preventatives for fleas, ticks, and heartworm. We will also run a fecal test and deworm as needed. If a dog comes to our shelter with an urgent medical need, we will take care of necessary procedures.

All FOHA cats will be spayed/neutered, microchipped, fully vaccinated (rabies, FVRCP), combo tested and on preventatives for fleas and ticks. We will also run a fecal test and deworm as needed. If a cat comes to our shelter with an urgent medical need, we will take care of necessary procedures.

Each dog profile will clearly indicate if we know a dog is good with cats, kids or other dogs. If we feel a dog is best suited for a home without cats, kids or other dogs we will indicate that in the dog's detailed write up. In many cases a dog has come to us with limited history and we do not know the behavior. In those cases we will do our best to assess during your application process.

In some cases, a dog has come to us from a home with children or has had positive interactions with kids while in our care. When that information is available, we include it in the dog’s profile.

All dogs at FOHA receive a behavior assessment to help us understand their temperament, energy level, and how they handle stress or new environments. While this assessment doesn’t specifically test for compatibility with children, it helps us identify traits that may suggest a dog would do well in a home with kids. If we don’t have prior information, we’ll work with you during the application process to determine if a particular dog may be a good fit for your family.

Our process is outlined on the adoption policy page.

Use our Contact Us Form to submit your additional questions.

Use our Contact Us Form and send us a request to follow-up on your application. We also recommend you check your spam folder because our responses sometimes end up there.

For most of our dogs, we don’t have much information on their background, aside from what has been observed at the shelter. We can do a “cat test” to see how reactive they are to cats. We have a resident cat, Riley, who doesn't mind dogs. We will bring him into the same room as Riley and see how they react. We will record this interaction and send it to you so you can judge for yourself.

No. We are focused only on cats and dogs.

On occasion FOHA has puppies available for adoption. Typically the puppies we do have up for adoption are 6-12 months old. We typically do not have puppies under 6 months old unless we have a mom dog that gives birth in our care.

We are not able to take requests for a specific breed of dog. Please check our website frequently to see if we have a dog that matches what you are looking for.

In general, we do not require a fence, although you would need to walk your dog on a leash whenever they are outside. In some cases, a specific dog might require a fence of a certain height.

In general, we do not disqualify families with small children, however, we do have specific animals that would not do well with small children. In those cases we would work with you to find a different animal that would fit better with your family.

FIA stands for Foster with Intent to Adopt. In these cases, FOHA has not completed all necessary medical work to get them ready for adoption, but they are able to go home with their families and enjoy a home while they wait until everything is completed (at FOHA's expense). This could be short term (less than 30 days) such as spay/neuter surgery, or it could be something longer term such as heartworm treatment. We also send puppies and kittens home as FIA if they are not old enough to be fully vaccinated and spayed/neutered when they go home. Once the medical procedures are completed, the family can officially finalize the adoption.

Yes! Once a chip is registered to you, it is always active.

Please contact the manufacturer of your microchip to update your information. FOHA will always remain as a secondary contact on the microchip. It is good to let us know if your email or phone number changes so we can get in touch with you if your pet is found.

A new application is not necessary. Please feel free to sign up for an appointment to meet a dog or walk-in Friday - Sunday 12:00pm - 5:00pm.

• Available to Adopt - we are still accepting applications for adoption for this animal and scheduling meet & greet appointments.
• Multiple Apps Pending - we have received a lot of interest for this animal and there are quite a few pending applications. You can still submit an app for this animal, but it's likely one of the apps ahead of yours will result in an adoption.
• Pending Adoption - an adopter has committed to this animal and we are going through the final steps to complete the adoption. New apps will not be considered at this time.
• Temporarily Unavailable - something has come up and we are currently not introducing this animal to potential adopters. You may submit an application and once all is cleared we will start processing applications.

You’ll receive an automated email confirmation that your application has been received. Once your application has been reviewed and accepted, you will receive an email inviting you to come out and meet our adoptable animals.

No, submitting an application does not automatically place a dog or cat on hold. A meet and greet is required first. If you and the FOHA team agree it’s a potential match and you’d like to move forward with adoption, you’ll “activate” your application. At that point, the dog or cat will be marked as “Pending Adoption,” and we’ll guide you through the next steps.

We want your meet and greet at FOHA to be focused on connecting with and falling in love with a potential new companion. If you meet a dog you'd like to move forward with for adoption, we’ll gladly schedule a separate dog to dog introduction led by trained FOHA staff. These intros are thoughtfully conducted to help set both dogs up for success.