Castaic Animal Shelter is an open-admissions shelter that serves 47 cities and the unincorporated Los Angeles County. It's one of 7 animal care centers that fall under the County of Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control.
The department is constantly striving to improve their save-rate and believes they can achieve anything they set out to with the support and generosity of partners, volunteers, and fosters.
Across their 7 locations, they care for over 60,000 animals every year. While some of these animals are seized or picked up as strays, many are surrendered by their owners. This is through no fault of their own, and these dogs and cats are gorgeous, lovable pets who'll make excellent companions.
In addition to adoption services, Castaic Animal Shelter offers the following services:
Ready to adopt from Castaic Animal Shelter? Here's how it works:
If you're interested in an animal that already has a CTA from someone else, you can be listed as an interested party. There can be up to 5 interested parties per pet, and you'll be given the chance to adopt on a first-come, first-served basis.
Adoption fees at Castaic Animal Shelter are as follows:
The listed fees will be reduced by $50 for dogs and $40 for cats that were spayed or neutered prior to arriving at the shelter. Discounts are available for animals that have been at the shelter for 10 days or more.
Your adoption fee covers vaccinations, spay/neuter surgery and post-operative pain medication, microchipping, and a medical exam at a participating veterinarian. Adoption fees don't include dog and cat license fees, which are charged based on the city in which you live.
Our writing team is hard at work researching this shelter's adoption process and fees, so this page will be updated soon!
In the meantime, here's some nice-to-know info that applies to nearly every animal shelter, humane society, and rescue.
Because shelter dogs are full of love!
Is it because they know you saved them and love you harder for it?
I can't say for certain, but yes.
Jokes aside, there are three things all shelter dogs need to thrive in their new home:
Older shelter dogs, generally 1+ years old, may have experienced a lot of trauma, which often results in one of 8 common behavioral issues:
These issues are correctable! Your dog isn't broken, they're just damaged. You can fix them with enough love, patience, and a good training plan.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, finding good dog trainers can be hard. Like everything else, dog training is moving only. but there are great online dog trainers that are proven to work and can help get your new pup on the right path.
You can learn a lot about an animal welfare organization just by looking at their name.
Adoption processes vary drastically from organization to organization, but here are some general tips that apply in most instances. Note that we'll use the term "shelters" here for simplicity but it includes all types of rescue organizations.
If you have any questions about adopting an animal (what you'll need, what to expect, etc.) feel free to contact the PetLists team!
If you're looking to adopt a new dog, our Dog Adoption Guide is a must-read. It has everything you need to know about bringing a shelter dog home:
And we're adding new guides all the time.
