If I adopt a dog from a public shelter, do they do a "home inspection?"?

Question

I am thinking of adopting a dog, and just contacted a rescue group in my area. They do a "home inspection". The woman was very vague about exactly what they inspect, she just said "we have to make sure your house is safe for a dog"and I am not comfortable with a stranger snooping thru my house. I realize these rescues are private organizatins. Does a public shelter do this also?I have had dogs before and know what is not safe for them. Do they inspect every room in the house?

Answer 1

I understand your feelings about knowing what is safe for a dog but the shelter doesn't know you, and you have to understand that. Also understand that the rescue groups often take dogs who have been abandoned, mistreated, abused and may be very sick or requiring surgeries. The rescues feel very responsible for these dogs and they want to place them in a stable home. They want to make sure that this dog, who has already had a crappy past most likely, will not be put into a similar situation.

Also, please understand that ALL sorts of people try to adopt dogs from rescues, especially people who want a rare or expensive dog but not pay for a puppy. There are some people out there who are unfit for dog ownership but don't admit it or know it.

A home inspection is standard for a dog rescue. They want to make sure it is clean, that there's ample room for that breed, that the backyard (if there is one) is safe, that you don't have too many animals already, etc.

They don't "snoop" around your house. They do a walk through and check your back yard. I'll be blunt, if you're not comfortable doing that for a dog that you want, perhaps you should consider owning something else. Basically, get over yourself. They aren't there to see what color undies you have in your drawers or if you have a good color scheme. They don't know you from Job. They have no idea what type of apartment or hosue you have, etc.

Here are some stories I've heard about people who tried to adopt dogs from a rescue. Perhaps you'll better understand why they can't take your word for it. Don't take it personally, they would do it to anyone.

- One rescue group went to do a home inspection. They took the dog with them, hoping that if the house looked ok, the dog could stay there. They went into the backyard and found two dogs tied up to a tree with chains around their necks. Both were underfed. There was feces everywhere.

- One woman applied to adopt a dog, never telling the rescue group that she lived in a boarding house and had ONE room, that's it. She was trying to adopt a 90+ lb dog. She had no access to other rooms in the house and no guaranteed access to the backyard.

- A man applied to adopt a dog. During the home inspection, a dead cat was discovered on the premises and the guy's response was "oh, it's just a cat, big deal, I wouldn't let my dog die."

All of these people were able to give false answers or answers that were suitable enough on paper to warrant a home inspection. Clearly none of them were a suitable home for dogs.

So, while I understand that you might not want someone snooping around your house, please know that they have no idea what type of person you are, what type of home atmosphere you have, etc. They're doing it for the safety of the dog.

Answer 2

You mean like you'd "test-drive" a car? Put yourself in the shoes of the dog for a minute. You are given what you think is a lovely new home which you start to settle into. You start forming bonds with family members. Life is great. Then, for no reason you can see, you are taken back to the shelter. Doesn't that spark you as a little unfair on the dog? I am pro-adoption so I thank you for considering it, but the idea of adoption is that it has the dog's best interests at heart. With this (actually quite selfish) proposition, you obviously do not. You can foster dogs for a shelter which means you take them into your home if they are not ready to be adopted (ie. if they're just has surgery) and keep them until they are. Fostering can help you decide whether you want a dog generally as you do not get to keep any of them, but you do not get to "test" a particular dog for your own benefit. The shelter should give you all the information you need to make an educated choice regarding whether the dog is right for you. They will allow you to visit the dog more than once with different members of your family. They may even allow you to take it for a walk with supervsion (not alone as they cannot trust just anyone). They will be very honest with you about the dog's traits - both good and bad - and about what they know of its background and any training issues it might have. They will require you to undergo a home-check so they can see for themselves whether the dog would be right for your lifestyle. They will not, under any circumstances, send a dog to a home if they feel it is not suitable for it. They do all this so you do not NEED a trial period. You should know by the time you sign the adoption papers whether the dog is coming for with you forever or not.

Answer 3

Just a few days ago I adopted a dog from a public shelter in Australia the RSPCA they ask you to bring any dogs you currently have in to make sure that the 2 dogs are not going to attack each other but apart from that - thats it I dont know of any house inspections - I once adopted a dog from a breeder she took the dog off the people she sold it to as she insisted on a home visit after a month or so to see how the dog is getting on - this dog wasnt being treated right so she took it back and thats when I got her - she came and did a visit at my house after a little time and we just sat around in the lounge chatting while she patted the dog and had a general look at my yard - she was looking at the dog and wether it was looking healthy and happy thats all she needed to know...

Im not sure what they would be looking at before you buy the dog apart from making sure your yard is fully fenced and if you were to be making the dog an indoors dog they might look at the condition of the house.

Answer 4

Shelters are notorious for making it difficult to adopt a dog. Some won't let you if you are not home 24/7, or if you are going to actually treat it like a dog (gasp!). A person was just on here yesterday who said a shelter wouldn't allow her to adopt unless she would take it to dog daycare during the day.

Control freaks who really don't seem to want to adopt out dogs. They are not all like this, but many are. Shelters or rescues, they are no different, they do whatever they want.

As a breeder, I do home inspections, so that in itself is not a big deal. Have they made any outrageous demands?

Answer 5

the last thing they want to see is that dog come back a couple weeks later. They will look to see how well you would keep your house, not just whether or not you have done your dishes, but if you have 10 other pets running around that arent cared for, they might not let the new dog go to you... They are smart for wanting to do a home inspection.
If it is a breed rescue, they are even pickier. They want to know you are perfect for that dog and that dog is perfect with you. Not just the fact that you want a dog!!!
There are too many people buying dogs at a pet store that fell in love with him through a glass window, and come online and ask how to care for him, and why he is chewing up their furniature and how to potty train him, and how much to feed him. Do research on the breed and other breeds, and dont feel too uncomfortable about the inspection... The shelter knows what that dog has gone through, and like I said, doesnt want to see him come back!!!

Answer 6

All shelters are different but the shelter I got my dog from asked if we would be willing to have home inspections and we said sure but they never showed up and it has been two years. I think the reason they ask is to see what you will say. If you say no they assume you have something to hide. Also if you say ok, more than likely they will never do an inspection unless they feel their ligitament reasons for it like if you are expected of abuse. Which i hope you not. So i wouldn't worry about it, just say yes so they can have their peace of mind.

Answer 7

No, they won't come and inspect your house. They will however ask you a lot of questions to make sure you know what your doing and can afford to care for the dog.

If you have other dogs, they will most likely ask you to bring it in so the 2 dogs can visit and you can see if they will get along together. We had to do this. We got 3 dogs from a shelter all at different times. We had to bring our dogs in everytime to make sure their wouldn't be an major problems with the dogs being together at home.

Answer 8

Some rescues do home inspections for some dogs if they had a bad start to life and want to make sure they have a brighter future.Don't worry usually they just want to check you have a secure fencing in your garden and a place where your new dog will be sleeping. It also your choice to let them in your house, but its theirs choice to refuse you a dog. They should'nt check every room in house, I have done home checks previously for a rescue i just checked garden and sleeping area.

If the rescue are been OTT, their is loads of other rescue centres and dogs that need homing out there.

Goodluck

Answer 9

Basically, they want to make sure that the home they are going into is fit for their personality. For instance, you don't want to put a aggresive/hyper dog in a small apartment, they need a ton of room to run around. They could also want to make sure that you're not a slob and that the dog with be in a healthy environment. IF they go to your house (which I kind of doubt) they just want to make sure that the dog isn't going to be returning to the shelter due to abuse.

Answer 10

It really is not that bad. They just want to make sure that you live where you say you do, have appropriate space, have a secure space for the dog, ect. They do not rummage through your stuff. They just want to see for themselves that the dogs will be in the right house for them.

Please do not buy a dog from a pet store. Most of these puppies come from puppy mills and a few from irresponsible breeders. For more info on puppy mills check out:
http://www.stoppuppymills.org/