• Be at least 18 years of age, or have a legal guardian with you.
• Adopters are responsible for travel expenses of rescues (see below).
• Have an official form of government ID, Greek Tax number (ΑΦΜ) or passport number.
• Fill out an adoption form in Greek or in English which asks you to:
• Agree to spay/neuter your pet prior to adoption or before its first estrus (if it is not neutered when you obtain it)
• Agree to register the pet’s microchip under your name with your verified information with your local veterinarian
• Review the needs of your pet’s needs in order to assure that you are able to provide the training and lifetime medical care that (s)he may need.

If you are a visitor to Karpathos, and decide to adopt a stray pet, first check with your airline/travel operator for information on traveling with your new dog or cat and what they need you to do.

• Every carrier is different and requirements are different at different times of the year.
• For an adoption within Greece: we can typically find transport via plane or ferry, along with working with volunteers to help connect pets with their forever homes.
• For an adoption outside of Greece: this typically involves a ferry or plane ride from Karpathos to Athens, and then a plane ride to get the animal to their forever home. We often work with our network of volunteers to help connect pets with their forever home.
• The easiest and best option is for those visiting Κarpathos to take the animals with them on their way home.
• Please contact us at adopt@animalwelfarekarpathos.com to make arrangements and for more information!

Animal Welfare Karpathos treats all diagnosed diseases of the animals rescued. If they are of appropriate age they are spayed/neutered before they are placed for adoption. If these medical acts have not already been performed by Animal Welfare Karpathos (e.g if a rescue was just found), prior to your departure from the island, - your pet will need to be vaccinated against rabies, micro-chipped, given medications against fleas and endoparasites (worms), and if at a proper age be neutered/spayed. (S)he will be given a pet passport and all relevant documents needed for the country of adoption.

Additional information:

• Blood tests can be performed on dogs and cats to ensure that they do not have diseases, such as Leishmaniasis (dogs) or FIV/FeLV (cats).
• A puppy or kitten has to be 12 weeks old before it can receive its Rabies vaccination. Following that, pets can legally travel 21 days after the vaccination or when the next available transport leaves.
• If you have found a stray on your own which you would like to adopt, you will be charged vet fees for vaccination, microchip and pet passport, and you will also need to buy an IATA-compliant animal carrier. Multiple stores on the island offer those. The cost is between 30-40 euros depending on what you choose. Animal Welfare Karpathos is happy to facilitate the process and guide you through the necessary steps.
• All of AWK's rescues have received the above, along with any other necessary medical treatments. For this reason, although we do not have an adoption fee, we encourage you to donate to Animal Welfare Karpathos.

 Donations help us save more animals!