Adopt a dog or puppy

You will need to express your interest by submitting a dog adoption application.

After submission, a member of our dog adoption team will be in touch as quickly as they can, but this may take several days depending on the needs of the dog and the number of applications. If we think you may be a match, a team member will phone you to discuss the dog you have expressed interest in and find out more about the home you are able to provide. 

After the conversation with our team, if you are still interested and the home you are able to provide is a good fit – you will be invited to attend a ‘meet & greet’ to spend some time with the dog you have applied for. This is hosted onsite at our Moolap Facility where you and the members of your family (if applicable) are able to spend time with the dog, to determine if the dog is the right one for you. A member of our dog adoptions team will be there to guide you through the visit, providing you with all the available information and to answer any questions you may have.

If your 'meet & greet' is successful, you will be offered the opportunity to adopt your new best friend. If not, we are sure your perfect match will not be far away. You will be notified of the outcome of your application via email either way. 

Recently, we have received high volumes of interest in adopting a dog from GAWS. The numbers of animals in care can fluctuate daily as new dogs seek new forever homes and our website is updated to reflect this. We recommend checking the website regularly.

Submitting a dog adoption application does not guarantee that you will get to meet / adopt that particular dog.

If you are assessed as a suitable home for the dog you have expressed interest in, you will be given the opportunity to have a ‘meet & greet’.

There is no obligation to adopt the dog. It is simply a process to meet the dog you are interested in.

Likewise, attending a ‘meet & greet’ does not guarantee that the dog will be adopted by you as this is all part of the process to ensure that we find the right home for the right dog.

Unfortunately, we do not accept application submissions that do not specify a dog that we currently have available for adoption.

As we hope everyone can appreciate, animal welfare is our top priority. Often when a dog has found itself at GAWS,  it has already encountered uncertainty and change.  We want to ensure that the home the animal goes to is the best suited option. While the home you are offering may be an amazing home, it might not be the perfect fit for that particular dog. Please keep in mind we do not adopt female dogs to homes that have an existing female dog.

Dogs are placed on the website for a minimum 24 hours. We understand that this may seem a very short time but as you can imagine, we are often inundated with applications for some of the more popular dogs. Thus, there is a minimum time period in place, but NO maximum.

While your application may have been received, and possibly even a ‘meet & greet’ arranged, there is no guarantee that the dog will be the right dog for you. We appreciate your understanding that we need to ensure that we find the most suitable home for each animal.

Dogs that require a very specific home will generally stay on the website until adoption, as it is harder to find their perfect forever home.

However, if we have been inundated with applications, the dog will be removed from our ‘available for adoption’ page while we assess all of the applications submitted.