Our Process

In an effort to accommodate as many families as possible, reduce wait time, and provide each family with the personal attention they deserve, we schedule our appointments on Saturdays between 11:00am-2:00pm. Please contact adoptadog@STAF.org to schedule an appointment. We often experience a high-volume of inquiries; thank you for your patience as our volunteers respond and offer appointments in the order requests are received. There will be no walk-in appointments during this time.

Application & Interview
Our application and interview process is designed to help us help you find the best dog-match for your family and lifestyle. You’ll start by filling out an application, which you can download here. (Please complete and attach the application when you request an appointment). Please also arrive at your scheduled appointment with a list of any specific dogs you’re interested in meeting. You can expect to make 2 or 3 return visits to our shelter before proceeding to an official adoption. We will work with you to schedule the subsequent visits throughout the week as your schedule and that of our adoption volunteers allow.

If you want to take a dog home TODAY …
STAF doesn’t offer same day adoptions, but consider visiting your local SPCA or one of the many other private rescue groups listed on Petfinder.com who offer same-day adoption.

If you just want to walk through and look at our dogs …
Due to insurance restrictions, we’re not able to let visitors walk through our shelter to meet our dogs. And actually, we find that they make a better impression when you meet them one-on-one in one of our yards or adoption rooms. We are, however, very proud of our kennel area, which gets cleaned twice a day by our morning and evening volunteers. If you’d like to tour the facilities, please consider attending a volunteer orientation or visiting during one of our Open House dates.

Please remember …
We will do our very best to assist you in finding a furever friend. As a private shelter, we reserve the right not to adopt to homes that we feel are not in line with our policies and philosophies. In the case of multiple families interested in adopting the same dog, we will give precedence to the home we feel is the best match for that dog.

Above all else, THANK YOU for considering a STAF dog as part of your search for the perfect family member!

Other details to know:

• Adoption appointments are scheduled on Saturdays 11am-2pm at 4011 Red Bank Rd., Cincinnati
• Please note you must be 21 years of age or older to adopt a dog from STAF.
• An application can be downloaded here (please submit your completed application when you schedule your appointment).
• A personal visit to the shelter is required.
• Our adoption fee is $225. Effective 1/1/23 the adoption fee is $275.
• We can facilitate adoptions within a 75-mile radius of our Cincinnati shelter.
• We require a 4′ physical fence for homes with children under the age of 11. We also may require a physical fence for specific dogs on a case-by-case basis, depending on each dog’s behavior and exercise needs.
• Invisible fences: Due in part to increasing coyote activity/incidents in the area and the difficulty of predicting how a dog will respond to invisible fence training, we cannot adopt to homes with invisible fences.
• For specific questions or other general information, please email us.

To learn more about a specific dog, please click on the dog’s photo below to see his/her Petfinder profile.