Dog Yoga at the CAP Shelter. Help a shelter dog find a home.
A 45-minute, all-levels yoga class at Citizens for Animal Protection with adoptable shelter dogs roaming the room. Meet them, fall in love, adopt the same day. $30 a mat, and half of every ticket goes straight to CAP.
Why we're doing this
Adoptions, on the spot
Every dog in the room is looking for a home. Spend a full class with them instead of two minutes at a kennel. Click with one? CAP's adoption team is right there. Adoption is $110 for a dog over 25 lbs and $150 for a small dog, already spayed or neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and heartworm tested.
50% of every ticket to CAP
Half of your $30 goes directly to Citizens for Animal Protection, funding shelter, medical care, and adoptions for Houston's homeless pets. A sold-out morning sends CAP about $900.
Awareness for dogs still waiting
Sixty dog lovers, a room full of photos, and a Thanksgiving weekend story worth sharing. Even the dogs who don't go home that day get seen by people who care.
The best thing on your Thanksgiving weekend calendar
Saturday, November 28 is the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. The turkey is gone, the house is full of relatives, Black Friday was yesterday, and everyone is looking at each other wondering what to do next.
Here is the answer: 45 minutes, $30, and a room full of dogs who need a home.
It works for the whole group. Out-of-town guests who have never seen this side of Houston. Teenagers who have been on their phones since Wednesday. Grandparents who just want to sit down and pet something. Kids 7 and up with an adult. Nobody has to be flexible, fit, or a yoga person.
Both sessions run in the morning, 9:15 AM and 10:15 AM, so you are out and back before lunch and the rest of the day is still yours. CAP sits right on the Katy Freeway near Highway 6, an easy drive from Katy, Memorial, the Energy Corridor, Cypress, and most of west Houston.
And unlike almost everything else on a holiday weekend, this one leaves Houston a little better than it found it.
The quick facts
- 📅 Saturday, November 28, Thanksgiving weekend
- ⏰ Two sessions: 9:15 AM or 10:15 AM, 45 minutes each
- 📍 CAP shelter, 17555 Katy Fwy, Building C, Houston 77094
- 💵 $30 plus a small booking fee. 50% goes to CAP
- 🧘 Only 30 mats per session. Mats provided, no experience needed
- 👨👩👧 Ages 7 and up with an adult. Arrive 10 minutes early
Real CAP residents. If they're already home by event day, that's the mission working.
Thinking about adopting? This is the honest way to meet a dog
A kennel visit is a bad audition. You get two or three minutes in front of a run, every dog in the building is barking, and the dog in front of you is too wound up to be himself. Plenty of wonderful dogs get passed over that way.
This is the opposite. You are on the floor for 45 minutes while the dogs move freely around the room. You see which one settles next to you, which one goes for the toy, which one climbs into a lap and stays. That is the dog you would actually be taking home.
CAP's adoption team is in the room the whole time. They know these dogs and their histories, and they can tell you which one suits an apartment, a house full of kids, or a home that already has a dog. If you click with one, you can start the adoption right there and go home together the same day.
What adoption actually costs and covers. CAP charges $110 for a dog over 25 lbs and $150 for a small dog under 25 lbs or a puppy six months and younger. That fee already includes age-appropriate vaccinations, a heartworm test, spaying or neutering, deworming, and a microchip. CAP puts the total value of that care at more than $450, so the fee covers only part of what the dog's stay actually cost them.
CAP adopts on a walk-in basis, with no appointment and no application by email, and the adoption lobby is open 11 AM to 5 PM on Saturdays. The second session finishes right as the lobby opens, so you can walk straight from your mat into the paperwork.
There is no pressure at all. Most people come for the yoga, pet everything in sight, and leave with a camera roll full of photos. If you are seriously considering it, think about your schedule, your lease, and anyone already at home, and bring those questions for CAP's team on the day.
If you might adopt, come prepared
You do not need any of this to take the class. But if there is a chance you go home with a dog, twenty minutes of prep on the Friday makes the difference between adopting on the spot and driving back next week. These are CAP's rules, not ours, so confirm anything unusual with their team.
Bring with you
- A current driver's license or ID. You must be 18 or older.
- Proof of your current address, which can be the license itself, a utility bill, mail, or car insurance.
- Landlord approval if you rent, and check what breed or size restrictions your lease carries before you fall in love with a 60 lb dog.
- Agreement from every adult in the house. CAP asks for it, and it saves a hard conversation later.
- If you already have pets, they need to be current on vaccinations, and dogs need to be on heartworm prevention.
Two things worth doing the night before
- Browse the dogs. CAP's site updates in real time, so any dog listed is genuinely still available.
- Print the adoption application and fill it in. CAP does not approve applications online, but you can walk in with it already completed.
Discounts most people do not know about
- Seniors for Seniors: if you are 60 or older and adopt a dog 7 or older, there is no adoption fee at all.
- Military and first responders: 50 percent of the adoption fee is waived with proof of eligibility.
- A second dog adopted within 30 days is $20 off, and a dog adopted alongside a cat is $20 off.
- Only one discount applies per adoption.
Not ready to commit? There is a middle step
CAP runs a Foster to Adopt program: you take the dog home for five days to find out whether it really fits, then come back to either finish the adoption or return them. It costs a $25 processing fee, and you need a completed application on file, an address within 30 miles of the shelter, to be 25 or older, landlord approval if you rent, and agreement from the other adults at home. It is the honest answer to "I think so, but I am not certain."
All of the above comes from CAP and can change. The current version always lives at cap4pets.org/pet-adoptions, and CAP takes questions at 281-497-0591.
Where your $30 goes, and who CAP is
Half of every ticket, $15, goes straight to Citizens for Animal Protection. A sold-out morning across both sessions sends CAP about $900. We do not earmark it for a program we picked out for them. It goes to CAP to spend where it is needed most.
CAP is not a new name in Houston. A group of residents founded it in 1972 in response to the thousands of neglected and abused animals in Harris County, and it has been a 501(c)(3) nonprofit ever since. Their own description of the work is short: caring for pets in need through sheltering, adoption, humane education, low-cost wellness and community outreach.
In practice that means a lot more than adoptions. Out of the same Katy Freeway campus where this class happens, CAP runs a vaccination and wellness clinic, feral cat assistance and spay and neuter services, a foster home program, lost and found help, pet surrender services, humane education classes, and CAP4Kids, which includes a club, summer camp and shelter tours. Dogs, puppies, cats, kittens, rabbits and small animals all come through the building.
The other half of your ticket covers what it costs us to put the morning on: the instructor, the mats, the staff, the insurance, the setup and the cleanup. Nobody is getting rich on a $30 ticket. The point is to hand CAP a check, get sixty people on the floor with dogs who need homes, and see how many of them go home.
You can read more about their work at cap4pets.org. If your company or group wants to do something like this, we also build charity events and fundraisers the same way.
Reserve your mat
Pick your session. $30 plus booking fee, half to CAP, all sales final. A quick waiver is built into checkout.
Widget not loading? Open the ticket page → · Learn more about CAP at cap4pets.org
Questions about dog yoga at CAP
Is this the same as Pawty Yoga's regular puppy yoga class?+
No. This is a one-time benefit at the Citizens for Animal Protection shelter with adoptable shelter dogs of all ages and sizes, chosen by CAP. Our regular studio classes are puppy yoga in the Memorial area, with different dogs, a different venue, a different price, and a different length.
Will there be puppies?+
We cannot promise puppies. CAP picks which adoptable dogs join each session that morning, so expect a mix of ages and sizes. If puppies are what you are after, book a studio session instead.
Can I adopt a dog at the event?+
Yes. Every dog in the room is available for adoption through CAP, their adoption team is on site, and you can go home together the same day. Adoption is $110 for a dog over 25 lbs and $150 for a small dog under 25 lbs or a puppy six months and younger. CAP adopts on a walk-in basis and their adoption lobby is open 11 AM to 5 PM on Saturdays, which is right when the second session ends.
What does the CAP adoption fee include?+
A lot. CAP's fee covers age-appropriate vaccinations, a heartworm test, spaying or neutering, deworming treatment and a microchip. That is $110 for a dog over 25 lbs and $150 for a small dog or a puppy six months and younger, which is well below what the same veterinary work would cost separately.
What do I need to bring if I want to adopt?+
CAP asks for a current driver's license or ID showing you are 18 or older, proof of your current address, landlord approval if you rent, and agreement from every adult living at home. If you already have pets they need to be current on vaccinations, and dogs need to be on heartworm prevention. You can also print CAP's adoption application and bring it filled in, which speeds the whole thing up.
Are there adoption discounts?+
Yes, and they are generous. If you are 60 or older and adopt a dog 7 or older, CAP waives the fee entirely. Military personnel, veterans and first responders get 50 percent off with proof of eligibility. A second dog adopted within 30 days is $20 off, as is a dog adopted at the same time as a cat. Only one discount can be applied per adoption.
What if I fall in love but I am not ready to commit?+
Ask CAP about Foster to Adopt. You take the dog home for five days to see whether it fits, then return to finish the adoption or bring them back. There is a $25 processing fee, and you need a completed application on file, an address within 30 miles of the shelter, to be 25 or older, landlord approval if you rent, and agreement from the other adults in the home.
Do I need to be good at yoga?+
No. It is 45 minutes of easy, all-levels movement, and honestly the dogs interrupt most of it. If you can sit down on the floor and get back up, you are qualified. No experience needed and mats are provided.
What should I wear and bring?+
Leggings or joggers and a fitted top, something you do not mind getting paw prints on, plus a water bottle if you like. Tie long hair back and leave dangly jewelry at home. Mats are provided and we handle everything else.
Can I bring my own dog?+
No. Only CAP's adoptable dogs are in the room. Bringing an outside dog into a shelter event is not safe for the shelter dogs or for yours.
Can my kids come?+
Yes, ages 7 and up with a participating adult. These are adult shelter dogs of all sizes rather than puppies, so we keep the minimum age where it is and ask that every child stays with their grown-up.
What if I just want to pet the dogs and skip the yoga?+
That is completely fine. Sit on your mat, skip the poses, and let the dogs come to you. Nobody is checking.
Can I get a refund?+
Because half of every ticket is donated to CAP, all sales are final. Tickets are transferable to a friend.
I want to help but I cannot make it on November 28.+
Go straight to cap4pets.org or call CAP at 281-497-0591. They take donations, fosters and volunteers year-round, and fostering is usually the thing shelters are shortest on. Sharing this page helps too, and it costs nothing.
Anything else? Email hello@pawtyyoga.com or call (281) 408-4647.