Frequently Asked Questions

It's easy!

1) The animals in our program change weekly! Watch for one that suits your family & lifestyle, then submit an adoption application on our website. You will receive an auto-reply email to confirm that the app went through and can reply to that email to update or change any details on your app.

2) One of our volunteers will reach out by email to follow up with any questions and provide more information about the specific animal you applied for. Note: if you apply for a young animal who is not yet spayed or neutered, we won't be responding to these apps or fielding calls until the animal is healthy, weaned, scheduled for spay, and at least 7-8 weeks old (please do not expect an email right away in this case).

3) We review all qualified apps in the order received. If it's a good match, we will email to set up a virtual or in-person meet & greet with the WCAL foster family who is raising the cat or dog in their home. We only offer meet & greets to those with apps on file and for animals who are ready to go home. We cannot hold animals for adopters who aren't ready.

WCAL's adoption fees are modest relative to how much we spend to ensure every animal is well cared for in their foster home, behaviorally and medically healthy, spayed/neutered, vaccinated, FIV/FeLV tested (all cats), heartworm tested (adult dogs) and microchipped.

DOGS

• Puppies under 1yr: $350* of which $150 will be refunded upon completion of a puppy training class from a WCAL approved training center that employs reward based force-free training methods.
• Adult Dogs: $200*
  *Fee will be waived if you're adopting a senior or special needs dog

CATS

• Kittens & Adult Cats: $100* for one, $150 for two, $200 for three
  *Fee will be waived if you're adopting a special needs cat
• Senior Cats over 10 yrs: No Charge

We do not have a brick-and-mortar facility. All of our animals live in loving foster homes throughout Napa & Sonoma counties until they are adopted. Since our adoptable dogs & cats are not all in one location, this means we cannot introduce you to ALL of our adoptable animals. Our arrangement is quite different than a traditional animal shelter.

If you see an animal you'd like to meet online, please fill out an application and then you will be contacted by one of our volunteer adoption coordinators to arrange a meet & greet in their foster home or at an upcoming event. Our counselors are wonderful at helping you to determine which pet might be the best match for your family because we know our adoptable animals very well!

Wine Country Animal Lovers is based out of Calistoga, CA. We are lucky to have a wide network of foster families who live throughout Napa and Sonoma Counties.

As a foster-based rescue group, we are not in a position to accept pets being surrendered by their families, however there may be other ways we can help. If you are looking to rehome an animal and have a reasonable amount of time, we can offer a courtesy post on our social media to connect you with interested families. This is often the least stressful outcome for your dog or cat who would be able to go straight from one loving home to another. We can only work with a family pet's legal owner and not third parties.

Note: Courtesy posts are only available for spayed or neutered animals.  If an animal isn't altered, we may be able to assist with that.

Our limited resources are committed to helping animals located in Napa, Sonoma and Lake Counties and specifically those who are in imminent risk.

It is important to file a found animal report with the appropriate shelter because this is where most families will first look for their lost pet. Animals who are underage often do best in foster homes because of their special needs and underdeveloped immune systems - please contact us for more information. We are easily reached via messenger on our social media platforms. Our volunteers also try to return calls, texts and emails promptly.

• The Napa County Animal Shelter is a safe place for animals from unincorporated Napa County. Contact Napa County Sheriff Dispatch 707-253-4451 or Animal Control 707-253-4517 for after hours assistance. They have a very high live release rate: www.countyofnapa.org/1023/Animal-Shelter
• The city of Calistoga has an agreement with North Bay Animal Services to provide safe shelter for lost/found animals. The local police department has a kennel and microchip scanner and can accept animals found within city limits 24 hours a day, 707-942-2810
• The city of St Helena does not provide animal sheltering or control, but they do have a kennel and microchip scanner available and are able to hold dogs found within city limits for short periods of time, 707-967-2850.
• Lake County Animal Care & Control has been working hard to increase their live release rate for dogs and cats each year: www.lakecountyca.gov/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm
• Clearlake Animal Control faces many challenges and we try to support their efforts as much as possible: www.clearlake.ca.us/211/Animal-Control
  *Given that this shelter is often too full to accept owner surrenders, we are sometimes able to help family pets who have nowhere else to go. Our decisions are based on need, the individual animal and whether we have a foster family available.
• Sonoma County Animal Services is a large facility that helps a great number of animals from all over Sonoma county each year: https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/Health/Animal-Services/

Through our Crisis Care one-time charity medical program, we are sometimes able to help with limited funding when an animal is suffering and the owner isn't able to cover the costs for urgent veterinary care. We want our donors' contributions to stretch as far as possible so that we can help more animals so we do ask that owners contribute what they can and apply for Care Credit. Please call us to discuss the details of your situation, 707-800-5058