Vancouver's Animal Control Services

Description

Vancouver's municipally run shelter is a pro-adoption shelter. Dogs that are adoptable or treatable are not put down. The shelter makes every effort to keep dogs alive and find them homes.
Adoptable dogs are those that show no sign of a behavioral or temperamental defect that could pose a health or safety risk to the public and have shown no sign of disease, injury, or congenital or hereditary condition that adversely affects the health of the dog or that is likely to adversely affect the dog's health in the future. Adoptable dogs may be old, deaf, blind, disfigured or disabled. Treatable animals are any dog that is not adoptable but that could become adoptable with reasonable efforts. Sick, traumatized, infant or unsocialized dogs need appropriate medical treatment, behavior modification and/or foster care to turn them into healthy animals ready for placement. There is no time limit for animals in our care, so long as they are happy and healthy we will continue to try and find them their forever home. If an animal starts to show stress from being in the shelter we may search out a foster placement or rescue group in order to find them a home. The only incidences in which an animal would be put down is if they are neither adoptable or treatable. They include: Dogs for whom euthanasia is the most humane alternative due to disease, injury or suffering that can't be alleviated; Vicious dogs, the placement of whom would constitute a danger to the public; and Dogs who pose a public health hazard.