How do I adopt a dog in India?

The Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 (G.S.R. 193(E), 10 March 2023) classify pet animals as dogs owned and kept indoors by individuals, and rule 8(1) says that for pet animals the owner is responsible for deworming, immunisation and sterilisation. The rules define an owner widely, as anyone in possession or custody of the animal.

Section 11(1)(i) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 makes it cruelty for an owner, without reasonable cause, to abandon an animal in circumstances that make it likely to suffer pain from starvation or thirst. If an adoption does not work out, return the dog to the shelter or rehome it properly.

Several city corporations also require a pet dog licence. The rules differ by city, so check Petym's pet registration page and your corporation's portal before or soon after adoption.

Take every paper the shelter gave you. The vet will examine the dog, look at the vaccination card and decide what is due. WSAVA's 2024 guidelines name the core vaccines for dogs everywhere as those against distemper, adenovirus and parvovirus, add rabies as core where rabies is endemic, and say leptospirosis vaccines should be considered core where canine leptospirosis is endemic and suitable vaccines exist. For a puppy, WSAVA advises several doses with the last at 16 weeks or older; your vet sets the dates.

Ask about deworming, tick control and sterilisation at the same visit. Ask about ticks too: Merck advises removing ticks as soon as possible, having the dog checked for tick-borne disease even if it carried only a few, and asking your vet which tick control product to use.

Both can work. A puppy needs a vaccine course, many meals a day and house training: Merck says puppies can leave their mother at about 7 to 8 weeks and need feeding several times a day while young. An adult dog's size and temperament are already known, which helps in a flat. If your days are long, ask which dogs already cope with time alone.