While our main focus is on animals from Santa Barbara County, we will try our best to accommodate as many requests as our available space allows. If your dog is accepted, we assure you that we will provide it with the best possible care while it is under our organization and find it a suitable and loving home.

Please note that we primarily work with small to medium-sized breeds and no longer accept dominant breed adult dogs. We may consider larger breeds if their temperament allows for easy integration into foster care. All of our adoptable dogs live in pre-approved foster homes while they await adoption, but there may be instances where we have to utilize boarding facilities.

Please be patient as we search for the right foster for your dog. If you would like to foster your dog until we find a permanent placement instead of us finding temporary housing, please indicate this on your application.

If you are considering re-homing your dog due to behavioral issues, we recommend reaching out to a qualified training professional. There are many Positive Reinforcement trainers in the Santa Barbara area who can help address these concerns.

Fees: We are a private nonprofit organization that relies solely on donations to care for pets under our care. On average, it costs us $25 per day to care for a pet in our program. Admission fees help offset these costs.

The surrender donation, if accepted, is $75.00- $250, depending on the pet's medical conditions, overall health, and age. Payment must be made at the time of surrender. If you have valid reasons why the fee cannot be paid, please discuss it during the evaluation and admittance process, or outline it on your surrender application.

Returning a pet adopted through Spark Rescue:

If you feel that the animal you adopted from Spark Rescue is not a suitable match for your lifestyle or home, we accept the return of all our animals within 30 days with no surrender fee. If more than 30 days have passed since you adopted, please fill out the owner surrender form below, and a member of our intake team will respond within 72 hours. If there are financial circumstances preventing you from affording the surrender fee, please discuss it during the intake process or explain it on your surrender application.

Surrendering an Animal That Does Not Belong To You:

Legally, we cannot accept stray dogs or cats into the rescue unless a reasonable effort has been made to find their owner for 14 days. This includes contacting local Animal Control and filing a found report, posting flyers in the area, and submitting found ads online. Please also take the dog to a vet to check for a microchip. If an owner is found, ask for proof of ownership to avoid false claims. If you found a lost dog and cannot follow these steps, please take it to the local animal shelter.

If you need to surrender your dog or cat, please fill out the form below.