No, we are not the Animal Shelter. The Culpeper Humane Society is an independent, 501(c)3, home-foster-based, all volunteer organization. Unlike the Culpeper County Animal Shelter, which is supported by the county, all our funding is derived from donations and grants, and we are fully staffed by volunteers.  Every dollar that you donate to our organization is used to support our programs and help animals in need. 

We are a home-foster-based rescue, with no facility.  You can contact us via the contact form on this website or at info@culpeperhumanesociety.com.

With all our rescue animals in our foster homes we require you to submit an on-line application.  Once your application has been approved, we will contact you to schedule a CHS home visit, and if approved, we arrange a home visit with the dog or cat. This protects the privacy and time of our foster homes and helps us to find the best fit for the animal and the new owner. We often get many applications for a single pet. If you application is not approved it most likely means that you were not the best fit for that particular dog or cat. We look at many factors:

• Personality of the animal

• Special needs like a quiet environment, single pet family, needs a lot of exercise, etc.

To familiarize yourself with our adoption process please visit our website,  https://www.culpeperhumanesociety.com We pride ourselves on our adoption process; we take the time to get to know our adopters so that we can place a dog/cat with them that they can enjoy for years to come. Please, understand that we will not discuss dogs/cats with individual applicants until after the application process is completed. Our rescue does not have a public facility; therefore there are no visiting hours. Appointments to visit with the available dogs are made after the full application process has been completed by our staff; application approved, and a home visit conducted.

Please click on the link to submit an application: https://www.culpeperhumane.org/adoptions/application/

Our goal is to make the best match for the dog or cat and for the family with the goal to place each pet in his/her forever home. Just because your first application is not approved don’t be discouraged, your ideal match may be the next pet we post!

The cost to adopt a dog varies from $150 to $350. (depending on breed, age, medical issues)

The cost to adopt a cat is $100.

*Please note that kittens need a lot of stimulation and companionship. If you have no other pets in your home and want to adopt a kitten you may be required to adopt a pair. This requirement does not apply to adult cats.

While our fees may seem high, they are actually low for what you and the animal receive in pre-adoption care. Every animal we adopt has receives the highest-standard of pre-adoption veterinary care. Before we place a dog or cat in a new home they receive:

• A wellness exam   $75
• Are tested for a full-panel of common diseases   $58
• Receive their first set of vaccinations (babies get a booster) and rabies    $63
• Are dewormed and treated for any parasites   $60
• Dogs are tested for heartworm and receive heartworm medicine varies 
• Are spayed/neutered $207
• Are micro-chipped   $75
• Have at least one office visit   $45

Total Veterinary Cost $583*

CHS Adoption Fee $300

Total Savings $283

These costs do not even include additional cost of veterinary care for animals that are sick, wounded or need dental care when we rescue them or for the food, medicine and possible training expenses while the pet is in our foster home. 

*Line item costs are from a local veterinarian for a 6 mo. old 45#, male dog. Heart worm cost is not priced because of a wide-variety of options that may provide coverage for other diseases.

Our average reply time is approximately 10-days.  If you are inquiring as to the receipt of your application, please be assured that if you have received our auto reply your application was received by us. All pets are available until you no longer see them on the Petfinder’s site or on the webpage link.  Unfortunately, we do not have the time and volunteer staff necessary to reply to all adoption applications.  

During holidays or when you apply for a puppy or kitten it may take us longer to process, as we receive a lot of applications for these. Please be patient with us as we carefully go through the applications looking for the best home possible for each pet.

The fastest way to get a response regarding a specific dog/cat is to fill out an application on our website, NOT by submitting an inquiry.  Please be assured, if you received our auto-reply that we have received your application. The dog or cat is removed from our Petfinder’s page once there is an adoption pending or they have been adopted.   

For specific questions about a pet, please look under, “About (Pet’s Name).” The answers to most of your questions are fully explained in the narrative about the pet.  Description of our adoption process, applicant vetting protocol and information about our organization can be found there also. 

Any dog or cat on our site may have an adoption pending and may not be available to you at a given time. The same dog or cat may later become available if the adoption falls through.

• Animal Connections (Louisa VA)