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Adoptions

Find your new best friend!

How to Adopt:

What can you tell me about the pets at Young-Williams?

Adopting a pet is an important, lifelong decision. At Young-Williams, we strive to make the best match possible for each individual or family while not overburdening families with long, complicated processes.  

If you have questions or concerns that are not addressed on this page, please contact a member of our adoption team at [email protected] or the Adoptions Manager, Kat Stone, at [email protected].

If you are interested in adopting barn/farm animals, please fill out an interest form: Livestock Interest Form

We will always provide any information we have on a pet’s temperament and health status, but many of our animals come in as strays and have been in the shelter for a very brief amount of time. Behaviors seen inside the shelter can be unreliable. Even though we strive to make the shelter as much like home as possible, the shelter is a very loud and stressful place for a pet, so they may not always act like themselves. Also be sure to check out some of our animals available from foster homes! While each home is unique, our wonderful foster families can help provide perspective on how the animal usually behaves outside of the shelter. 

We encourage all members of the household come meet the pet prior to adoption, including children. Often times, pets are good with certain children, but not with others. In addition, if you are adopting a dog and would like to do a meet and greet with your resident dog(s) prior to adoption, our staff would be happy to help. For cats, our staff can help talk you through a proper slow introduction at home. 

After adoption, we recommend you visit a vet of your choice to do a thorough exam. Our shelter can only provide a brief exam in order to serve our average intake of over 9,000 animals a year. Any abnormalities discovered will be disclosed, but not all can be treated by Young-Williams and may need to be treated by your full-service veterinarian. 

What is pre-adoption?

Young-Williams Animal Center on 3201 Division Street is the holding center for Knox City and Knox County animal control, so there are many animals in our care that are not yet ready for adoption, either because they have not yet completed their state required legal stray hold time (3 days without identification, 5 days with identification), or because they have not yet been examined or spayed/neutered by a Young-Williams Animal Center veterinarian. Since some stray pets may not be reclaimed by their owners, we do allow animals to be pre-adopted before their stray hold is complete. 

Pre-adoptions must be done in person at the shelter and will be canceled if an owner reclaims their pet or if an unforeseen circumstance occurs preventing the pet from being adopted. To complete a pre-adoption, please come and meet with a staff member. If you pre-adopt a pet, you must provide a $25 deposit and have an appointment scheduled to come back and pick up your new friend once they are ready. This deposit counts towards your adoption fee but is non-refundable in the event you change your mind, fail to show up for your appointment, or the pet is reclaimed. Pre-adoption helps us prevent animals from unnecessarily lingering in the shelter. The pre-adoption fee can remain as a credit on your account for up to two weeks. To view current stray animals, please visit the Lost and Found section of our website. 

Thank you for thinking adoption first!

Our goal at Young-Williams Animal Center is to find long-term homes for all our adoptable animals. If you have any questions concerning adoptable animals or our adoption policies, please contact us at 865. 215.6650 or email [email protected]. 

If you adopted within the last 30 days and need assistance, please text our adoption team at 865.740.9373. If it has been longer than 30 days, please reach out to our Pet Resource Center at 865.363.6702 or email [email protected] 

More to Know...
  • Spay or neuter for all dogs, cats and rabbits
  • Microchip & registration for dogs, cats and rabbits
  • Preliminary physical exam
  • Initial core vaccines
  • Deworming for dogs and cats
  • Flea and tick treatment for dogs and cats
  • Heartworm test for adult dogs and preventative
  • FELV and FIV combo test for adult cats
  • FELV test for kittens