1) The animals in our program change weekly! Watch for one that suits your family & lifestyle, then submit an online adoption application on our website. You will receive an auto-reply email to confirm that the app went through and can reply 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 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.
4) You will receive take-home instructions and be asked to pay the adoption fee once it is time to bring home your pet. We hope you will keep in touch and share updates, stories and photos with us. WCAL hosts a Facebook group where our adopters can connect with the WCAL fosters and volunteers who rescued your pet. You can join our private group for and watch the siblings of your pet growing up in their forever homes: WCAL Facebook Group
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.
We do not have a brick and mortar facility. All of our animals live in loving foster homes throughout Napa & Sonoma county 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 of being euthanized.
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 and emails promptly.
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
We are sometimes able to help with limited medical funding when an animal is suffering and the owner isn't able to cover the costs. In return, depending on the owner's situation, we ask for monthly payments, in kind contributions, volunteering or fostering. We want our donors' contributions to stretch as far as possible so that we can help more animals. Please call us to discuss the situation, 707-800-5058
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is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your tax-deductible donations are always appreciated and allow us to help more animals in our community! As an all-volunteer rescue group with no paid staff, we have very low overhead and this means you can rest assured that almost every dollar goes straight to helping animals
WCAL is a 501(c)3 in good standing since 2008.
EIN: 27-1454400.
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