Connecting Shelter Pets with Forever Homes Across Portugal
The largest central directory of adoptable dogs and cats waiting in shelters and canis municipals in Portugal. We bring together shelters and municipal kennels (canis municipals) from across Portugal so you can find the right companion in one place. From playful puppies, tiny kittens, active hiking dogs, to calm seniors, every animal listed is waiting for a forever home — search by region, age, gender, size and connect directly with the shelter or municipal kennel caring for them. Whether you live in Lisbon, Porto, the Algarve, the Centro region, or anywhere in between, adopting a shelter pet in Portugal has never been easier, faster, or more transparent. Our mission is simple: cut through the scattered Facebook pages, outdated websites, and overlooked municipal kennels so that no adoptable animal is left behind, and every family looking to adopt can find the right match without the guesswork.
Why We Created AdoptPets.pt
We are Tami and Craig, originally from San Diego, California. Four years ago, we moved to Portugal and made our home in the Algarve.
Our connection to rescue began long before AdoptPets. We have both been involved in dog and cat rescue and adoptions for years in the US, and after moving to Portugal, we wanted to find a way to continue helping animals here. We noticed one issue that we thought we may be able to help with.
There were so many wonderful dogs and cats waiting for homes in Portugal's shelters, rescue organizations and municipal kennels, but many of them were not being seen.
Many municipal kennels have no photos. Some shelters don't have websites showing which animals were available. Many rescues only had dogs and cats scattered throughout Facebook posts.
It could take hours of searching to find out which dogs and cats were available, where they were located, and which organizations had them.
Craig owns and operates a web development and online marketing agency, so building a website that could organize all of this information and make it easier for people to find was something we knew we could do.
We couldn't solve every problem facing animal rescue in Portugal, but we hoped we could make it easier to find and adopt a shelter animal over buying from a breeder or pet store.
AdoptPets.pt is a free directory designed to bring adoptable dogs and cats from shelters, municipal kennels and rescue organizations together in one place.
Our hope is simple: make these animals easier to see, easier to find, and ultimately easier to adopt.
We don't operate a shelter. We don't sell animals. And we don't make the adoption decisions.
We simply want to connect people looking to adopt with the dogs and cats who have been waiting patiently in a shelter or municipal kennel, hoping someone will open their hearts and home to them.
Our goal isn't to replace the incredible work being done by shelters and rescue organizations. It's to help shine a bigger light on it, and to help their adoptable animals be seen and adopted.
These shelter dogs and cats deserve to be seen...
And sometimes, getting the right animal in front of the right person is the first step toward changing its life.
— Tami & Craig
Founders, AdoptPets.pt
ADOPT DON'T SHOP! Who saved who? Search Portugal's Free Directory of shelter dogs and cats.
Looking for a dog or cat in Portugal? Don't buy—adopt! adoptpets.pt is a 100% free community resource sharing photos and listings of adoptable pets directly from shelters, municipal kennels (munipal canis). Currently thousands of wonderful dogs and cats sit waiting for their forever homes in municipal kennels and shelters. You can be part of helping the pet overpopulation problem in Portugal, while feeling good about saving a life and finding your new family member!
At adoptpets.pt we don't sell animals; we don't adopt out animals, we just make it easier for you to find and save your next shelter companion in one searchable place. While we have not formally vetted every shelter or municipal canil on this website ourselves (YET!), we feature established organizations with a recognized public and digital presence that are strictly dedicated to rescue—ensuring you will never find breeders or commercial sellers here.
Our mission is to cut through the scattered social media pages and outdated websites to make finding a wonderful rescued pet easier, so that no adoptable animal is left behind.
We pull listings from the following shelters and organisations across Portugal:
Algarve
Lisbon, South Bay & the West
- Amigo Fiel Bombarral
- Bianca - Associação de Defesa dos Animais
- Canil da Aroeira
- Canil e Gatil Municipal de Almada
- Casa dos Animais de Lisboa
- Centro de Recolha Oficial de Animais de Palmela
- CROAC Sesimbra – Centro de Recolha Oficial de Animais de Companhia
- IRA
- O Cantinho da Milu
- Projecto JAVA
- Rafeiros SOS
- Quintinha ABC - Associação Protetora dos Animais
- SOS Animal
- União Zoófila de Lisboa
- UPPA - União Portuguesa Para Animais
Porto & Greater Porto
- ABRA – Associação Bracarense dos Amigos dos Animais
- ADAAVV – Associação de Defesa dos Animais e Ambiente de Vila Verde
- Associação Midas
- Causas de Caudas
- CAUDA – Canil Intermunicipal das Terras de Santa Maria
- Centro de Reabilitação Animal — Vila Nova de Gaia
- CRO Braga – Centro de Recolha Oficial de Braga
- CROA – Centro de Recolha Oficial de Animais do Porto
- MARanimais – Associação de Proteção Animal
- Animais de Rua
- Animais Como Nós
- Streetdogs - Associação de Proteção Animal
Central Portugal
- Adoption Dogs Portugal
- Animalix – Canil e Gatil Municipal de Leiria
- Canil Municipal de Seia
- CROAC – Centro de Recolha Oficial de Animais de Companhia da Covilhã
- Louzanimales / Happy Tails Rescue
- Pegadas e Bigodes
- CRO Tomar – Canil-Gatil Municipal de Tomar
- Associação Pelas Patas Felizes
- Hello Whiskers
- Patas Errantes
- ASFA – Associação São Francisco de Assis (Cascais)
- Rede Leonardo Da Vinci
Azores
Do you know of another dog or cat shelter or municipal kennel in Portugal that would like their adoptable dogs and cats listed on our site? Please get in touch with us — we'd love to find a way to include them in our directory!
The Problem We Solve
If you want to adopt a dog or cat in Portugal, you currently have to check dozens of different Facebook pages, websites, and Instagram accounts spread across the whole country. Every canil municipal and independent rescue maintains its own listings. It's time-consuming and many adoptable pets slip through the cracks.
How It Works
You Browse
Search Portugal's free central directory of shelter dogs and cats by region, size, age, gender and breed to find what your looking for and to find the animals waiting for a home.
You Connect
Find a pet you love and connect directly with the shelter or municipal kennel caring for them.
You Adopt
Go through the specific shelter or municipal kennel's adoption process and work with them to welcome your new family member home!
You Support
Circle back to adoptpets.pt to browse for your next pet, to keep up to date on your favorite adoptable pets, to sponsor your favorite animals or to support the shelters or canils through volunteering, adopting, or donating!
Regions We Cover
We currently aggregate adoptable pets from shelters in all seven regions we cover — the Algarve, Lisbon and the surrounding coast, Porto and the North, Central Portugal, the Alentejo, Madeira and the Azores.
Algarve — 16 Municipalities
Lisbon, South Bay & the West
Porto & the North
Central Portugal
Alentejo
Madeira
Azores
Data Transparency
Last updated 17 October 2026 — Syncing daily with shelters across Portugal. Our directory is refreshed regularly to ensure you see the most current adoptable dogs and cats available nationwide. Our database is only as current as the rescue and shelter websites. We cannot guarantee that a pet listed is still available for adoption or has not already been adopted.
Disclaimer
Disclaimer: Adopt Pets Portugal is a directory service, not a shelter. We don't test or track animal behaviors ourselves! This quiz is just a fun way to filter listings and spark ideas based on some information we have received about the animals from the shelter or kennel. Always check with the actual shelter or municipal canil to learn a pet's true personality and behavior. No match is ever guaranteed—every adoption starts with a conversation!
Get Involved
Find your new best friend, or help us grow the directory.
Browse Adoptable Pets Now
Discover hundreds of dogs and cats waiting for a forever home across Portugal.
Browse Adoptable Pets NowSubmit a Shelter
Run or know a rescue we should list? Send us the details and we'll add them.
Suggest a Shelter