Adopting from SCARS Edmonton: The Full Process

SCARS stands for Second Chance Animal Rescue Society of Alberta. It is one of the largest Edmonton-area foster-based rescues, with two named operating centres and a foster network across Edmonton metro.

• Athabasca Second-Chance Country Refuge: a rural facility in Athabasca that houses some intake dogs and cats before placement.
• Morinville Rescue Centre: a closer-to-Edmonton facility for intake and short-term housing.
• Edmonton foster network: dogs and cats live in foster homes across Edmonton, Sherwood Park, St. Albert, Morinville, and surrounding communities until adoption.

SCARS is best known for pulling dogs and cats from underserved northern Alberta communities and Indigenous community partnerships where veterinary infrastructure is limited. The organization also runs a mobile spay-neuter-return clinic for partner communities to reduce the long-term need for animal relocation, and the Walls for Winter program that delivers insulated outdoor shelters to rural residents.

For working-breed dogs (German Shepherd, Husky, Labrador, working-line mixes), SCARS is Edmonton's #1 source. Their structured compatibility profiles include explicit housing requirements, training status, and detailed notes on the dog's behaviour around cats, kids, and other dogs.

Step 1, browse the inventory. Start at adopt.scarscare.ca. Each pet has structured compatibility data, photos, and foster notes. Read the profile carefully. SCARS profiles are usually detailed enough to know whether the dog is a real candidate for your home before applying.

Step 2, submit the application. Detailed online form covering household composition, housing, work schedule, prior pet experience, vet reference, landlord reference if you rent, and what behavioural or medical situations you can manage. Plan 30 to 45 minutes.

Step 3, application review. Typically 1 to 2 weeks. Volunteers review applications and shortlist for the dogs you applied for.

Step 4, phone interview. A volunteer calls to discuss the application, ask follow-up questions, and tell you more about the specific dog. The call usually runs 20 to 45 minutes.

Step 5, reference checks. Vet reference for prior pet care quality. Landlord reference if you rent. Personal reference sometimes. A few days.

Step 6, home visit. A SCARS volunteer visits to see the environment, meet household members, check fencing if relevant, and answer questions. Foster-based rescues run home visits because the dog is leaving the foster home for an unknown environment.

Step 7, meet-and-greet. At the foster home, the Athabasca Country Refuge, or the Morinville Rescue Centre depending on where the dog currently lives. Bring everyone in the household. Bring any current dog if compatibility is being assessed. Plan 30 to 90 minutes.

Step 8, adoption contract and take-home. If the match is right, sign the contract, pay the fee, and take the dog home. The foster usually stays in contact for the first weeks to support the transition.

What is included in every adoption: spay or neuter surgery, age-appropriate vaccinations, microchip, deworming, parasite prevention, and behavioural notes from the foster home. The veterinary bundle alone runs $500 to $1,200 if done privately.

Typical timeline is 2 to 4 weeks from application to adoption. Shorter than Zoe's because SCARS has more inventory and runs a higher placement volume.

Faster than typical: straightforward applications on less-applied-for dogs sometimes complete in 10 to 14 days.

Slower than typical: applications on highly desired dogs (puppies, small breeds, sociable Labs) take longer because SCARS chooses among multiple strong applicants. Foster-to-adopt arrangements for trauma-history dogs add another 2 to 4 weeks of trial period before the adoption is finalized.

If the pet is adopted by someone else: the volunteer will tell you, often with redirects to one or two similar dogs. The application stays on file for future placements.

• Inappropriate housing for the specific dog (apartment for a working-line German Shepherd with high exercise needs, no yard for a high-prey-drive Husky).
• Lack of breed experience for a working-line or trauma-history dog.
• Inadequate fencing for a flight-risk dog with no leash history (typical for chain-tether intake dogs).
• Household composition mismatch (very young children plus a fear-reactive dog).
• Work schedule mismatch for a separation-prone dog.
• Prior surrender history pattern that suggests the placement may repeat.

If your application is declined, ask the volunteer what would change the answer for a different dog. The redirect is often to a less-demanding dog who is actually a better fit.

Working Cats is one of SCARS's most distinctive programs and the right path for adopters with barns, shops, acreages, or rural properties who want functional rodent control plus the satisfaction of giving a feral or semi-feral cat a chance at outdoor life.

Who is a Working Cat: typically feral or semi-feral cats who would be miserable in an indoor-only household setting. Some are former community cats; some are barn cats whose original placements ended. They want to be outdoors, they want minimal human contact, and they want shelter and food.

What adopters provide: a safe shelter (barn, shop, garage, insulated outbuilding), food and water daily, basic veterinary care if the cat presents with illness or injury, and a reasonable acclimation period (typically a 2 to 4 week confinement in the new shelter so the cat learns where home is before being released to roam).

Why working cats often come in pairs: cats settle better with a familiar companion. SCARS will sometimes place a bonded pair of Working Cats together because the second cat dramatically improves the chance the first cat stays.

What Working Cats are not: not pets in the traditional sense. Do not adopt a Working Cat expecting affection or interactive behaviour. The right Working Cat home values the cat for what they actually are.

SCARS fosters are usually rural Alberta volunteers who live with the dog for weeks before the dog is listed for adoption. The foster writes detailed temperament notes covering housing requirements, training status, observed behaviour around cats, kids, and other dogs, and any flags that surfaced in the household.

This depth is unusual in the Edmonton rescue landscape. For working-line dogs, where breed-experience expectations matter, the SCARS profile is the most honest available assessment. Read it carefully. Ask the foster the questions the profile does not answer. The foster's observation is your starting point, not a finished product, because the Edmonton home is the dog's second indoor environment after the foster home.

For trauma-history dogs (chain-tether background, undersocialization, no prior veterinary care), expect a fresh decompression period in your home even after the foster has done good work. See our rescue Shepherd trauma framework for the standard 333 rule applied to high-drive Edmonton rescue dogs.

• EHS: open-admission, same-day adoption. Best for first-time adopters who want speed and broad selection.
• SCARS: foster-based, northern Alberta intake, most detailed compatibility profiles. Best for adopters specifically looking for working-breed mixes, willing to take on chain-tether or undersocialization history. Working Cats program is the only one of its kind in Edmonton.
• Zoe's: foster-based, no facility. Best for adopters who want detailed personality data and a known-history pet. Caretaker Cat Program is unique to Zoe's.
• AHHRB: foster-based, bylaw-agency intake from the eastern Edmonton corridor.
• GEARS and Hope Lives Here: smaller foster-based rescues with force-free training emphasis.

For the full comparison see our best dog rescues Edmonton guide.

References used in this guide: SCARS; ASPCA: cats position statement; American Veterinary Medical Association: dog-bite prevention.