Adopt
Every dog and cat on our adoption list came off a euthanasia hold at a rural shelter and has been living in a foster home since. That means we can tell you how they handle a doorbell, a vacuum, a toddler, and a thunderstorm before you ever fill out a form.
Adoption takes about two weeks from application to the ride home. Nothing about it is a race. We would rather place an animal once than twice.
The first ten steps into grass are the ones we work for.
Four steps, one coordinator, and honest answers about the animal in front of you. If a match is wrong for either of you, we say so early.
Questions before you apply? Call (555) 014-2288 or write to hello@secondchancetails.org.
Ten minutes of typing. Who lives in the house, whether it is a fenced yard or a third-floor walk-up, what happened to your last pet, and which animal caught your eye. Couch sleeping is allowed here, so answer honestly.
About twenty minutes on the phone within three days. We check your vet reference, talk through the animal's real quirks, and sort out landlord paperwork if you rent. This is also where you ask us the awkward questions.
An hour at our adoption lounge or at the foster family's home, whichever suits the animal. Bring everyone who lives with you, including the resident dog on a leash. Most visits end with somebody sitting on the floor.
Sign the adoption contract, take the medical file, and drive home with two weeks of the food they already eat. Your foster's phone number comes with them, and our team checks in at day three, day thirty, and any time you need us after that.
Spay or neuter, age-appropriate vaccines, deworming, microchip registered in your name, and a heartworm or FeLV test. Fees vary by animal and are listed on each profile.
Cats meet new households in a quiet room. Dog-to-dog introductions happen outside on neutral ground with two handlers, never over a fence line.
Say so at the visit. No guilt, no hard sell. We will show you the two or three animals in foster care who actually match your week.
Schedule a visit
Pick a time below and a coordinator will confirm by email with the address, who you are meeting, and what to bring. Visits run about an hour. You can book before your application is in.
Adoption lounge
1420 Prairie Bend Road, Cedar Falls, IA 50613
Adoption lounge open Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 6pm
Prefer to talk first? (555) 014-2288
Online booking is loading. If the calendar does not appear, call us and we will pencil you in.
Adopters send us photos we never asked for. These are a few of the notes that came with them.
“Ruby spent her first night behind the couch. Now she wakes our son up for the school bus. The foster warned us it would take about ten days and she was right to the hour.”
Marisol & Dev A.
Waterloo, adopted Ruby
“I came in wanting a kitten and left with an eight-year-old tabby, because the coordinator listened to how quiet my apartment is. Best advice anyone gave me all year.”
Jenna P.
Cedar Falls, adopted Olive
“Our old shepherd needed to approve of anybody new. They set the meeting up in a field, took forty minutes, and let the dogs decide. Two years later they nap back to back.”
The Hallorans
Hudson, adopted Banjo
Ready to meet one? Book a visit, or help us keep pulling animals off the list.
