Every year Animal Rescue Cumbria finds secure, loving new homes for over 400 animals in need. Each cat or dog that comes into our care is assessed by our experienced Animal Care Team. We aim to ensure that the right forever home is found for each animal through a process of matching potential adopters and their individual circumstances with the needs of the dog or cat. 

Thinking of Adopting? 

Taking on a rescue cat or dog can be a wonderfully rewarding experience and may also require a great deal of patience, understanding and perseverance.  The particular needs of each animal, for example, for a quiet home, for lots of regular exercise or for on-going medical care are our priority when selecting the most appropriate home for each of our animals.  

Taking on one of our animals is a big decision: the rising costs of veterinary care, insurance, regular vaccinations and flea and worm treatments, as well as the cost of good-quality food for your new pet, all need to be taken into account.  Many landlords will not allow pets in rental properties, so you may need to check this before submitting an enquiry.   

If you decide to go ahead, think carefully about the animal’s needs, particularly for physical exercise, mental stimulation and level of social contact, and be realistic about what you can provide and the lifestyle changes you may need to make in order to keep your new companion happy, fulfilled and balanced.  When you click on an animal on our website, you will find more detailed information about the kind of home they are looking for. 

The Re-homing Process 

The re-homing process varies slightly, depending on whether you are looking for a dog or a cat.  All animals available for adoption are regularly updated on this website. 

Step 1 :  Enquiry 

• Complete the adoption enquiry for the cat or dog, providing as much information as possible.  Our questions are used solely for the purpose of determining the best possible match for the cat or dog you are interested in.    

 Step 2 :  Finding the Best Match 

• If we think you can offer a home that is a good match with the selected animal, we will contact you. 

• If you rent your home, we will require a letter from your landlord, confirming that you have permission to keep a cat or dog in the accommodation; without this letter, we cannot take the enquiry further so it’s a good idea to obtain this in advance. 

• If you have had pets in the past, we will request details of your former veterinary surgery and contact them for a reference. 

 Step 3 :  Meeting your Potential Pet 

• Once you have been matched to a cat or dog, we will invite you to meet your potential pet.  If you are applying to adopt a dog, we will invite you to come and meet it and take it for a walk around our field and interact with it in our dog playground.  (Suitable footwear and outdoor clothing is advised, particularly in wet weather!) If you have existing dogs in the home we will invite them to come along, too, so that you can be sure the dogs will get along before you make your decision.  If you are applying to adopt a cat or kitten, we will invite you to spend some time with it in our cat re-homing room. 

• We will ask to see at least one form of identification which must have your photograph on it and show your current address (you can bring 2 separate forms of identification if you need to.) 

• We never allow an animal to go home on the first appointment – we will reserve your chosen cat or dog, and we will always ask you to sleep on it first and call us as soon as you are ready to confirm your decision. 

• Following the first meeting, if you are happy with your choice, we may ask to meet the whole family and possibly arrange a home visit.  We may also ask to meet any other pets in the home.  If you have existing cats in the home, we ask that they are neutered and fully vaccinated; an existing dog must be fully vaccinated.      

• We may ask you to come and visit your chosen pet a few times before you take it home: some animals need more time than others to accept a new person, and we may need to work with you where an animal has special needs. 

• Before you are invited to collect your new companion, we will give you a voucher to spend in our Pre-loved for Pets Charity Shop, where you can purchase bedding, enrichment toys, treats and food. 

 Step 4:  Taking your Pet Home 

• Finally, we shall make an appointment for you to come and collect your new pet! 

• We will arrange the adoption paperwork and free insurance for a 4-week period. 

• We charge an adoption fee to help us carry on the vital work we do.  Current fees, which are not refundable, are detailed below.  We are always thrilled if adopters are able to offer an additional donation to support the work of the Charity.  If you are able to donate, please consider gift-aiding so we can help more cats and dogs in need.

 Your New Rescue Cat 

• Adult cats will always be neutered before they are re-homed. Kittens may not be big enough to be neutered before they leave our care but you will sign an agreement to have this done as soon as they are mature enough and we will follow this up. 

• All cats and kittens are blood tested for FeLV and FIV whilst in our care. 

• All cats and kittens will have started their vaccination course whilst in our care. 

• All cats and kittens will be up to date with flea and worming treatments. 

• All cats and kittens are micro-chipped before re-homing. 

• When you take a cat home you will need to keep it indoors for 4-6 weeks even if it is eventually going to have free access to the outdoors. This is because cats need to learn that your home is their home before they have access to outdoors – otherwise they may not return when you let them out!  Kittens must be kept in until they have been neutered. 

 Your New Rescue Dog 

• Adult dogs will generally be neutered before they are re-homed. Puppies may not be mature enough to be neutered before they leave our care but you will sign an agreement to have this done as soon as they are mature enough and we will follow this up. 

• All dogs and puppies will have started their vaccination course whilst in our care. 

• All dogs and puppies will be up to date with flea and worming treatments. 

• All dogs and puppies are micro-chipped before re-homing. 

 Aftercare 

Animal Rescue Cumbria has a lifelong commitment to every Wainwright cat and dog that has been in its care.  We will provide on-going support and advice and will ask you to return the animal to us if things do not work out.  We never know what the future will bring and if, for any reason, you are forced to re-home your cat or dog, we will ask that you surrender it to us so we can, once again, secure the best possible future for your pet. 

Re-homing Costs 

An important source of the income that enables Animal Rescue Cumbria to help cats and dogs in need is from adoption fees, together with any additional donation that adopters feel able to offer.  Current fees are as follows:

£300 for a dog

£350 for a puppy

£150 for a cat

£100 for a kitten

In many cases, this figure doesn’t cover our animal-related costs; for example, routine veterinary checks and treatments cost over £100 for each animal.  Many of our residents require neutering, costing on average £180, and dental work, costing £250-£600. If non-routine surgery is needed, this can cost several thousand pounds. Then there is the cost of feeding and animal care and, for some, there is the cost of training and rehabilitation work, often over an extended period.

An additional donation, together with Gift Aid, really helps us to continue our work, rescuing, rehabilitating and re-homing animals in need.  Please be aware that neither the fee, nor a donation, is linked to a specific animal but will go towards helping the many animals in our care.