Frequently Asked Questions

  • If you are able to safely approach and secure the dog, we advise taking them to the nearest vet clinic to be scanned for a microchip, which should contain the guardian’s contact information. If no microchip is found, we recommend posting a photo of the dog, information regarding where they were found, and your contact information on Nextdoor, Facebook, Instagram, and the Multnomah County Lost Reports page to attempt to find their owner.

    If you are unable to hold onto the dog, take them to Multnomah County Animal Services (or your respective county shelter) to complete a stray hold. Many guardians will be looking for their lost companion at the shelter.

    OTAT PDX is not able to help with found or loose dogs.

  • Unfortunately, OTAT PDX is not legally able to accept strays into our program. Stray dogs must complete a stray hold at their county shelter before they are eligible for adoption or rescue to ensure that due diligence has been completed to reunite the animal to their guardian.

  • We are very rarely able to accommodate owner surrender requests, as our mission focus is to reduce euthanasia rates by primarily supporting municipal shelters. We evaluate owner surrenders on a case by case basis. If you are seeking to surrender your dog, the first step is to fill out our Surrender Form. Unfortunately we receive a high number of requests and can only respond if we are able to help.

  • Yes. The term ‘no-kill’ is used to designate a shelter or rescue organization with a live release rate of 90% or higher. OTAT PDX is proud to have a 99% live release rate. In some cases, we make the difficult decision to humanely euthanasia a dog with poor medical prognosis or extreme behavioral challenges that pose a safety risk to the community.

  • Updating your record in our system will require you to have your unique ID - the sequence of characters assigned to you by our system when you initially applied. If you’re unable to remember it feel free to email us at ID@otatpdx.org!)

    • If you’re already an approved adopter with us, you can update your record in our system to reflect interest in a new dog, changes in your home environment, or to add a new foster or volunteer application by going to this page and entering your unique ID.

    • If you’re already an approved foster with us, you can update your record in our system to reflect changes in your home environment or to add a new adoption application by going to this page and entering your unique ID (fosters are automatically approved as volunteers already!).

    • If you’re already an approved volunteer with us, you can update your record in our system to reflect new “Skills” selections or to add a new adoption or foster application by going to this page and entering your unique ID.

  • OTAT PDX primarily intakes dogs from overburdened municipal shelters, both in Oregon and out of state.

  • Texas is the #1 state in the nation in need of rescue support. In 2023 alone, over 74,000 adoptable animals were euthanized in Texas; compared to under 1,000 in the state of Oregon (per Best Friends Animal Society - learn more here). With a high number of stray dogs, numerous shelterless communities, and low to no government investment, Texas is responsible for nearly 20% of preventable shelter deaths in the United States annually. We are working to drive aid directly at the heart of the animal rescue crisis by supporting Texas.

  • Our Adoption Center (located at 5132 NE Sandy Blvd) is our centralized hub for all things OTAT PDX! Officially open December 2023, the Adoption Center provides the following:

    • Storage for the supplies we provide all foster dogs

    • Venue to host fundraising and adoption events

    • Workspace for Staff and Volunteers

    • Convenient location for adoption introductions

    • Opportunities for in-house wellness exams and other more efficient processes

    • Temporary housing for foster dogs

    We are still actively developing and expanding our hours and offerings at the Adoption Center (March 2024); currently, meetings at our Adoption Center are by appointment only.

  • Dogs only stay overnight at the Adoption Center in rare cases of emergency or temporary situations. The Adoption Center is not designed to function as a traditional shelter and we are committed to remaining a foster based rescue.

  • It’s better for the dogs! A foster based model gets dogs out of shelters and into homes, allowing us to provide a higher quality of care, gather far more information about a dog’s personality and health, and make more thoughtful, informed adoption matches.

  • Learn more about volunteer opportunities (and sign up!) at otatpdx.org/volunteer.

  • It depends! All our dogs are with us at least 1 week prior to adoption. This allows us to screen for most illnesses, provide them with a wellness exam, and gives the dog an opportunity to decompress in foster after leaving the shelter.

    Of course, love isn’t always on time – so there’s no time limit on how long they can stay. We remain committed to our dogs regardless of the time they’ve been with us. On average, though, a dog spends about 2-4 weeks in foster care.

  • This varies greatly, depending on the dog/their needs and also how much adoption interest they have/whether those adopters are good fits. We ask our foster homes to commit to at least 3 weeks of fostering when they welcome a new dog into their home. All dogs are adoptable 7 days after arrival, barring any medical or other reasons for delaying their adoption on our end. Some dogs go home on Day 7, having lined up intros in the preceding day or two. Other dogs may linger a bit longer. The majority of our dogs are with us less than a month.

    Dogs with more specific placement needs, special medical or behavior considerations, etc. may be in our care longer - but that’s often just due to a lack of adoption interest for those special needs. Pro-tip: check out the dogs who you’ve seen on our website for awhile - if you’re open to a dog who needs to be the only animal at home, a dog who is heartworm positive or has another treatable medical condition, etc. these pups often have sponsored adoption fees and little to no competition among adopters!

  • OTAT PDX covers all necessary medical care for our dogs in foster, which varies widely on a case by case basis. At minimum, all of our dogs receive a wellness exam, core vaccinations (Rabies, DAPP and Bordetella), heartworm/flea/tick preventatives, and are spayed/neutered. We do not let cost function as a barrier when it comes to saving the lives of our dogs in foster, and have historically covered the cost of emergency care, major surgeries, and medical rehabilitation. We follow the guidance of veterinary professionals when making decisions about care.

  • We are proud partners of Wildwood Veterinary Clinic, Brooklyn Yard Veterinary Hospital and BluePearl Pet Hospital.

  • OTAT PDX only works with certified force free trainers. Adopted OTAT PDX dogs are contractually prohibited from working with trainers that utilize force or tools such as e-collars, prong collars, or choke chains. View our list of approved trainers in the Portland Metro Area, Salem, Bend and Seattle here.

    We are proud to work with Hannah Blumenfeld, CDBC, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, of Pup Star Training and Gabi Urbani, CPDT-KA of subUrban Pooch for our dogs in foster.

  • Absolutely – the dogs appreciate your generosity! You can make a donation to support our work here.

  • OTAT PDX merch is available for purchase via our Threadless Shop, or in person at our events!