Terms of use

Last updated: October 2026

What AdotaPet is

AdotaPet is a digital platform that promotes animals looking for a family, with the aim of making it easier for potential adopters to get in touch with the people or organizations responsible for the animals.

The platform brings together listings published by municipal shelters, animal welfare associations and private individuals, allowing users to search for available animals by location and other characteristics.

AdotaPet is not a shelter, kennel or animal welfare association, does not take in or hold the animals listed and does not decide on adoptions. Unless expressly stated otherwise for a specific feature, contact, assessment of applicants and the final adoption decision are the responsibility of the people or organizations responsible for each animal.

Publishing a listing does not certify the identity of the advertiser, the health of the animal or the accuracy of all the information shown.

Using the platform to promote animals for adoption is free of charge. AdotaPet may earn revenue from advertising and from optional commercial promotion services for businesses and professionals, under their respective conditions.

Buying advertising services gives the advertiser no right to interfere in adoption decisions and does not change the rules that apply to publishing animals.

Adoption and rehoming are always free

Asking for money for the animal, disguised fees, or advertising animals for sale is not allowed. Such listings are removed and accounts may be suspended. If someone asks you for money for the animal, tell us at [email protected].

Some rescues may ask you to share veterinary costs (for example neutering) as part of their own process. That is decided by each organization, outside this site.

Responsibility for listings

Listings are published by the people or organizations that submit them to the platform, who are responsible for the legitimacy of the publication, the accuracy of the information provided and keeping the animal's status up to date.

Anyone who publishes a listing declares that they are entitled to promote the animal and that they have permission to use the photos, texts and any other content submitted.

AdotaPet provides a digital space for promotion and does not, by itself, guarantee the identity of all advertisers, the health, behaviour or history of the animals, or the full accuracy of the information published.

Users should confirm directly with the responsible person or organization the animal's availability, the adoption conditions and any relevant information before going ahead.

AdotaPet may ask for clarification or additional information, hide or remove listings and restrict accounts where there are reasonable grounds to suspect fraud, falsehood, unauthorised use of content or a breach of these Terms or applicable law.

Any user can report a suspicious listing through the reporting mechanisms available on the platform.

This section does not exclude liabilities or obligations that apply to AdotaPet under the law in force.

Services and partners

Businesses marked Partner support the project and may get extra visibility. This is not an endorsement or a guarantee of quality. Services are provided directly by the businesses, under their responsibility.

Advertisers and the Partner plan

Pet-related businesses may register and buy the Partner plan for 6 or 12 months, paid in advance (via Stripe or another agreed method). The plan does not renew automatically. A listing only becomes visible once approved and must follow these terms and relate to animals; we may refuse or remove listings that do not comply. The price shown for each category is the one that applies at the time of purchase. There is no automatic refund: refund requests are reviewed case by case through [email protected], for example if we remove the listing or something goes wrong on our side. The advertiser is responsible for the content and services advertised.

Affiliate links

Some links (marked Affiliate) lead to third-party shops or services. If you buy or sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Offers are the responsibility of the advertisers. Adoption is always free.

Acceptable use

Do not use the site to publish false, illegal or offensive content, to scrape data at scale or to disrupt it. We may remove content and suspend accounts that break these rules.

Content and ownership

The site's design, texts and code belong to the operator. Those who publish photos and texts keep their rights and allow the site to display them to promote adoption.

Limitation of liability

The site is provided as is. To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for damages arising from adoptions, the behaviour or health of animals, third-party listings and information, third-party services or site downtime. None of this limits rights that the law does not allow to be limited.

Changes and contact

We may update these terms. The version in force is the one published on this page. Questions: [email protected]. Portuguese law applies.