An Overview of Pet Adoption Agreements
In animal law, a common yet often overlooked issue that arises is pet adoption agreements. In other words, how the shelters and other organizations transfer the ownership of a dog or cat to a private family. These agreements serve many purposes, perhaps most importantly that they serve as a legally binding contract between the shelter and the person who adopts the animal. An animal adoption agreement serves to legalize the adoption of an animal from an organization or an individual to a new owner. It’s important to understand that this agreement does not guarantee you own the animal adopted. In order to legally own the pet you must also submit a change of owner application at your local animal shelter.
These agreements are essential in protecting both shelters and adopters. The shelter receives a legal framework giving them control over the wellbeing of the adopted pet during the adoption period and the adopter receives a guarantee that the animal has been checked and vetted for specific conditions (for example , the animal is free of infectious diseases). Animal adoption agreements usually include the following:
Most shelters require that adopters provide an ID and address, and pay a small fee to help offset the cost of the vaccination and sterilization of the animal. In some cases they may also request a referral, in which the friend who refers you will be contacted to assess your concerns about your pet.
Some shelters will also ask for a health record and will conduct a health and temperament evaluation for certain cases. This is particularly important for puppies that are more prone to infectious diseases, although some shelters will do this for kittens as well.
As stated above, it is highly recommended that shelters use pre-printed animal adoption agreements to avoid spending precious time with too much custom drafting.
Essential Components of an Adoption Agreement
Your adoption agreement template should include the following key elements:
Indemnification: Require specific indemnification so that the adopter agrees to indemnify the shelter from all losses arising from the dog, while at the same time, you must warn him or her that this is a good-faith recommendation and better vet care may become necessary later.
Supervisor name: The person who is responsible for making sure the animal has been adopted and the contract was signed. The supervisor or shelter should be present when the adopter signs the contract, but if the adopter is signing the contract at a "satellite" location away from the shelter, it is critical that the supervisor’s information is included.
Microchip information: The reader must be programmed to the microchipping company and the shelter must provide the new pet parent with the chip number, the program number and the phone number for the iden tifier company for the chip.
Licenses: If a license is required by the local, county or state government (such as a rabies license), have the license printed directly on the contract so the adopter cannot plead ignorance of the licensing requirements. State statutes vary, so you will need to research the regulations in your area.
Identification Tags: This is essential to ensure that the owner takes responsibility for the animal. If they lose it or it gets away from them and is brought to you, you’ll want to ensure they are responsible for their own animal. The contract should also mandate any other requirements for identification such as having a rabies tag and an iden tification collar.
Spay/neuter: In some states, there is legislation regarding sterilization of animals. Be sure to check with your state statutes and comply with them when drafting your contract.
Legal Issues in Pet Adoption Contracts
Legal considerations are a must when drafting any type of agreement, including those that involve the adoption of a pet. Specific issues that are relevant for pet adoptions include, but are not limited to, liability, warranties regarding the animal’s health, and return policies.
Liability Waivers for the Animal’s Behavior
Any "adopted" pet will come with a number of behavioral attributes. While some people may embrace the notion of adopting an animal with a "checkered past," others may not be as accepting. This is where a legal waiver comes in handy. Having prospective owners read and sign a document that disclaims any potential liability for the animal’s behavior can simply be a way of pointing out that an animal may exhibit aggressive, destructive or otherwise less-than-stellar traits.
Warranties for the Animal’s Health and Condition
Just because a person is getting an animal at a deeply discounted price does not mean that the animal is free from defects. On the other hand, some individuals may predictably be averse to the idea of paying full price and then receiving a sick animal. This is especially true of dogs that may need expensive treatments for conditions like toxoplasmosis and babesiosis. It’s possible to have a pet adoption agreement include certain warranties and guarantees about the condition of a pet. For example, a cat may be deemed free of certain diseases and parasites at the time of the adoption. Certain pets might be guaranteed to be neutered. If required, these warranties can include certain limiting conditions, such as a specific amount of time for an owner to report certain issues or conditions to an organization.
Return Policies
Some animal rescue organizations allow an adopter to return an animal within a certain period of time for specified reasons. Others have stringent rules about returns, such that a pet cannot be brought back in for any reason after a certain number of days. These policies should be explicitly laid out in an adoption agreement so there can be no confusion about the possibilities.
Health Considerations
Responsible pet owners often take ill animals to their veterinarians for treatment. This not only helps the pet, but also has the benefit of protecting the owner from liability in the event of a medically-related problem, such as a bite that may need to be reported to authorities. Some agreements between animal rescue organizations and their adopters may require that an animal be taken to a veterinarian for a checkup within days of the adoption’s execution in order to protect both parties.
Modifying Your Adoption Agreement Template
While many adoption agreement templates are one-size-fits-all, adopters and shelters alike can benefit from customizing their adoption agreements to fit their specific needs. Customization not only allows a shelter to insert its own policies or tailor the agreement to a particular animal’s situation, but it also allows the adopter to clarify his responsibilities under the agreement. When selecting an adoption agreement template to customize, it is important to keep an eye on the jurisdiction from which it was drafted. Some agreement templates may cite specific state statutes that will not apply in other states. In some cases , a shelter may even want to consider working with its own local counsel to draft a specialty adoption agreement for a situation not covered by most templates, such as adoption of a "bully breed" or their mix thereof. While the idea of customizing an adoption agreement may seem daunting, it doesn’t have to be; it can be as simple as using a word processing program’s find-and-replace function to carefully insert names and contact information. Adoption agreement templates with forms already integrated are even better because shelters can delete fields in these templates that do not apply to them and then use the fillable fields for a custom agreement. After all, the stronger the adoption agreement, the more legally binding it will be.
Free vs Paid Templates for Pet Adoptions
Many businesses may be tempted to use a free pet adoption agreement template found online, but it pays to know the pros and cons of such a choice. As is typically the case, when it comes to agreements, you get what you pay for. The same holds true for pet adoption agreement templates, though it may not be obvious at first.
A major advantage of free adoption contract templates is their low cost, but there are often hidden costs associated with their weaknesses. Many lawyers offer free downloadable adoption contract templates in the interest of animal welfare. These agreements are often only suitable for the most basic types of pet adoptions. You take the risk that these contracts may be outdated or contain "boilerplate" language that may require you to make a great deal of effort in editing and negotiation just to bring them up to date.
Outdated language can be especially problematic because it could expose you to liability as a rescuer. Adoption contracts should be reviewed and updated on a periodic basis to ensure they comply with new laws and best practices endorsed by the rescue community. Rescues and shelters that continue to use obsolete adoption agreements do so at the peril of bad publicity and being held liable through court actions.
Some free pet adoption agreement templates can be poorly written and difficult to understand. Adoption contracts should clearly detail the terms of the adoption agreement and the rights and responsibilities of all parties involved. Confusing language can cause adopters or rescues to misinterpret the terms of an agreement or be overwhelmed by too much information.
Pet adoption agreement templates offered for sale usually provide rescues and shelters with more provisions than a standard adoption contract. The primary goal is to protect the shelter or rescue from lawsuits. Some adoption contracts include provisions that limit contact with adopters and do not permit the communication that can help reunite lost pets with their families.
These templates are often overly complex and may contain provisions contrary to the spirit of a friendly adoption process. You may also miss out on helping the family learn how to care for the pet. It is usually worth the cost to have a lawyer draft your adoption agreement or update your content so it conforms with new laws or trends. One provision in a free agreement template could expose you to substantial liability.
Some non-profit organizations may be able to secure an attorney licensed in the state your adoption is in to draft an adoption agreement pro bono. Another option is to network with other private rescues and shelters in the area to find someone willing to volunteer their time.
An attorney who specializes in animal law will likely have the most accurate and up-to-date information. An experienced animal attorney could also recommend additional provisions that reflect the goals of your organization that are specific to your location.
Sources for Quality Adoption Agreement Templates
There are multiple avenues for acquiring quality pet adoption agreement templates. Many reputable rescue organizations provide a downloadable template for adopters on their websites, often free of charge. These organizations typically focus on the welfare of the pets they adopt out and aim to set up the best possible arrangements for their animals and new families. These models also serve as a starting point for customization to meet individual needs.
There are several legal websites and databases that provide a compilation of forms for all types of purposes, including pet adoption contracts. These sites often require a membership or subscription, but the templates are generally very thorough and reliable for their intended purposes.
Though there are many online marketplaces where individuals and businesses sell templates , these should be approached with extreme caution. These templates are often created by unqualified and unaffiliated individuals without any input or oversight from professionals and may be poorly drafted to serve specific situations, such as barter agreements versus larger pet adoption transactions. In other words, quality control tends to be lacking. For this reason, take care when considering templates from online marketplaces.
Pet owners should also have an advocate in the event disputes or challenges arise during the adoption process. For breeder-related transactions, it is important for the transaction to comply with local laws and ordinances, and to ensure that all requirements are satisfied, such as required health certificates, shots, etc. And, of course, your vet will need to be familiar with the type of animal you bring into her office.