Week one
First consultation
The health check every adopted animal needs first.
120 AED
- Full nose-to-tail examination
- Real age and weight assessment
- Fleas, ear mites and worms checked
- An honest read of the paperwork
Pet Adoption in Dubai: The Vet Side of the First Month
We are a veterinary clinic, not a shelter — so this is the half nobody explains: what to check, what to book, and in what order, once the animal is already home.
- AED 120 First consultation
- AED 199 Vaccination package
- Same-day Appointments
- Al Quoz 3 Dubai
After you say yes
The order things actually need doing
Adoption in the UAE is well covered up to the moment you say yes. After that it goes quiet. Pet adoption in Dubai leaves you with an animal, a rough age, sometimes a vaccination card, and no clear order of operations — and the order genuinely matters, because registration depends on the rabies certificate, and the rabies certificate depends on the animal being old enough and well enough to have it.
This page is written from the clinic side. Petbook Veterinary Clinic in Al Quoz 3 does not rehome animals and has nothing to sell you here — shelters and fosterers do that part, and they do it better than any clinic would. What we see is what arrives afterwards: the ear mites, the worms, the vaccination card that cannot be verified, the kitten who turns out to be four weeks younger than everyone thought.
So use this as a checklist. The first consultation is AED 120, and from there it splits by species — a puppy's first vet visit or a kitten's first vet visit — then the vaccination course and finally registering your pet in Dubai.
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Health check in the first week
Before anything else. An adopted animal's real condition and real age are found on the table, not on the card.
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Paperwork read honestly
We tell you whether the vaccination record in front of us can be trusted or the course has to start again.
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The course, then the certificate
Registration in Dubai rests on a valid rabies certificate. The vaccination schedule is what unlocks it.
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We are not a shelter
We do not rehome animals. Adopt through a shelter or fosterer — this page is the veterinary half only.
What Dubai pet owners say about Petbook
Reviews from our public Google profile — not written by us.
4.7 446 Google reviews
- ★★★★★
khadidja belairche 4 weeks ago I highly recommend this veterinary clinic! They truly care about pets as if they were their own babies. Every time my cats have been sick, the team has always followed up to check on their recovery & see if they needed anything else. That level of care & compassion means so much to me 🤍
- ★★★★★
michael lapez 3 weeks ago I had a wonderful experience at Petbook Veterinary Clinic in Al Quoz with my 9-month-old male Turkish Angora cat, Meiko. A special thank you to Dr. Emad and Miss Charrie for their excellent care, kindness, patience, and professionalism.
- ★★★★★
Maria Teresa Orino 4 weeks ago I had all three of my cats vaccinated at this clinic, and I couldn't be happier with the service. The veterinarians and staff were very professional, gentle, and caring with my cats, making the entire experience smooth and stress-free.
What the first month costs
The veterinary side, in published prices
The first consultation is AED 120. The First Vaccination Package — the core course plus deworming — is AED 199, and a single viral vaccine on its own is AED 80. Later, a cat spay is AED 399 and castration AED 199; dog neutering starts at AED 650 and spaying at AED 850, by weight. Municipality registration fees are separate and set by them, not by us.
Weeks one to four
First Vaccination Package
Core course plus deworming.
199 AED
- Core vaccinations for the species
- Deworming dosed by weight
- Vaccination book signed and stamped
- The record registration will need
First month, in order
What to do, and when
Each step depends on the one before it. Doing them out of order is the most common reason registration stalls.
- Step 01
Days 1–3: settle, do not test
Quiet room, one litter tray or one toilet spot, no visitors. Hiding and barely eating in the first days is normal — not eating at all for over a day is not.
- Step 02
Week 1: the health check
A full examination, real age, weight, and a check for fleas, ear mites and worms. Before you book it, know that a municipality programme and a private clinic cover different things — public campaigns run to their own schedule and scope.
- Step 03
Week 1: parasites treated
Almost every adopted animal here arrives with something. Deworming is dosed on the scale and repeated — not a single tablet.
- Step 04
Weeks 1–4: the vaccination course
Started or restarted depending on what the record shows. Doses are spaced by interval; an early dose does not count toward the course.
- Step 05
Then: microchip and rabies certificate
Both are prerequisites for registration, and the certificate cannot be issued before the animal is old enough and the course allows it.
- Step 06
Finally: municipality registration
Forms, fees and where to submit are the municipality's and they change. We handle the veterinary documents; check the current requirements with them.
Adopted pets at our Al Quoz clinic
Real photos from the clinic — animals brought in for their first check after coming home.
Start with the examination
One consultation tells you what you have actually taken on
The first consultation is AED 120 and covers a full examination, real age assessment, and a check for the parasites adopted animals almost always carry. You leave with the vaccination schedule written down and a realistic picture — including anything the person rehoming the animal did not know.
- Real age and condition, not the stated ones
- Fleas, ear mites and worms found and treated
- A written schedule through to registration
Adopting here specifically
What is different about adopting in Dubai
Adoption here has its own pattern: a large street-animal population, a transient owner base, and a registration system with real requirements.
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Most are street rescues
Community cats and abandoned dogs make up much of what is rehomed here. Parasites and untreated ear and eye problems are the norm, not bad luck.
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Registration is not optional
Owned dogs and cats in Dubai need a microchip, a valid rabies certificate and municipality registration. Adoption does not exempt you from any of it.
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Animals rehomed at short notice
People leave the country quickly here, so animals often change hands with days of notice and paperwork that did not follow them.
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Summer shapes the first months
A dog adopted in June cannot be walked at normal hours for months. Plan indoor exercise and training, or the behaviour problems start early.
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Apartments, balconies, towers
Screening balconies and windows is the single most useful thing you can do in the first week. Cats survive falls and still break jaws and chests.
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Records in several languages
Cards arrive in Arabic, English, Russian or nothing at all. Bring whatever you have — we would rather read it than assume it does not exist.
How soon
When to bring an adopted animal in
Sooner is better, with one exception: if the animal is terrified and physically well, a few days to settle makes the examination more useful and less frightening.
- Within the first week for any adopted animal, even one that looks perfectly healthy
- The same day if there is diarrhoea, discharge from the eyes or nose, or refusal to eat
- Before introducing them to other pets at home, whenever that is possible
- Again at the interval your vet sets — the course is a series, not one appointment
Do not wait to settle in
Signs an adopted animal needs seeing today
New arrivals are stressed, and stress hides illness. These are the things that are not settling-in behaviour.
- Not eating at all for more than 24 hours
- Diarrhoea, particularly with blood, or repeated vomiting
- Discharge from both eyes or the nose, or laboured breathing
- Visible worms, or a swollen hard belly on a thin animal
- Dragging a limb, or crying when touched in one place
- Extreme lethargy — sleeping through handling and noise
Common questions
Can you own a cat in Dubai?
Yes. Owning cats and dogs is legal in Dubai, and owned animals are expected to be microchipped, vaccinated against rabies and registered with the municipality. The practical limits are usually not legal but contractual — many tenancy agreements and building rules restrict or ban pets, so check your lease and with the building management before you commit to an animal.
How to adopt a cat in UAE?
Through a shelter, a registered rescue group or a fosterer — we are a veterinary clinic and do not rehome animals ourselves. Most rescues will ask about your housing, whether your landlord permits pets, and whether you plan to stay in the country. Once the cat is home, the veterinary side starts: a health check in the first week, then the vaccination course, microchip and registration in that order — and from there our <a href="/pet-owner-guide-dubai/">owner guide</a> covers the rules and routine care that follow the first month.
How much does it cost to adopt a dog in Dubai?
The adoption fee itself is set by the shelter or rescue and varies widely — some ask only for a contribution toward what they have already spent. What is more predictable is the veterinary side afterwards: AED 120 for the first consultation and AED 199 for the vaccination package including deworming, then neutering later from AED 650 depending on weight. Municipality registration fees are separate and set by them.
What's the best age to adopt a dog?
Old enough to have been properly weaned and socialised with its mother and littermates — rushing that causes behaviour problems that outlast any convenience. Beyond that, there is a strong case for adopting an adult rather than a puppy in Dubai specifically: an adult's size, coat and temperament are already known, and an adult copes far better with a summer where walks are limited to early morning and late evening.
What is the 7 7 7 rule for dogs?
It is a socialisation guideline for young puppies — the idea of exposing them to seven different surfaces, seven objects, seven locations and so on while they are young enough to accept new things easily. It is worth knowing here because Dubai makes it harder: for much of the year outdoor surfaces are too hot and the vaccination course is not finished, so the variety has to be created indoors and in carried outings. Do not skip it and wait for winter — the window closes on its own schedule.
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