my shelter dog question.....?

Question

forgot to ask...we're going to a few shelters today. so we'll find out for sure today. but what is adoption process like? is really hard to adopt a dog? i've watched the animal discovery channel...and on the animal cop shows...they make it out to be a VERY long, and hard, drawn out process. is it REALLY like that?

Answer 1

I volunteer for an animal rescue service- so i foster and then adopt the dogs out. Our process is to meet the dog or cat and play for a little while, then if you think you are interested in adopting fill out a couple of papers. Sometimes we might check info you fill out on the paper like if you have a vet currently, we might call and just see if any animals you might already have are current on shots, or if you had pets in the past what kind of health care was provided or what happened to the dog (i.e given away, died, or euthanized and maybe why) This is only to ensure that the new pet will get the vetting the animal will need.

The other thing we might check is if you are renting- we might call the landlord to make sure they allow pets- so in the unfortunate event that the landlord does not allow pets and a person adopts and then gets busted for the dog- it saves the dog from being returned and going through the whole process again.

Other times we might have an adoption event and if the paper work looks fine the people will pay the adoption fee and take the dog home right then.

Our paper work states that we can and probably will have follow up calls to check on the animal and how everone is doing with the new pet, etc. The papers also state that we have taken the dog to our vet and will have been updated on shots as well as have a dental cleaning and it will be fixed if it hasn't already been done. But even after that we still expect the new owner to take the dog to the vet with in 2 weeks just so your vet can also confirm the dog is healthy.

It's not a grueling process or anything- if you really want to adopt just research the breeds to know what type will work best in your family.

Good luck! I'm glad to see you going to a shelter/rescue and saving a dog/giving him a 2nd chance then going to a pet store and paying way too much for a pet that may have some major health issue in the long run- one never *really* knows what kind of background those dogs may have come and for the price you are paying you better get a good guarantee nothing will happen to the poor pup.

Answer 2

A lot of shelters do make it difficult and do charge adoption fees, but they do it to "weed out" the bad people. There are many people that go around shelters trying to get dogs, to sell to reasearch facilities, to train to fight, or to use as bait for fight training, or just plainly because they are sick and get dogs to abuse them. Also some people adopt a dog to use as a free alarm system, by chaining them outside. If your going to have your dog chained out back 24/7 then why get a dog in the first place? It is cruel contrary to all beliefs that dogs "like it", please check dogsdeservebetter.com for more info on that. Recently reputable shelters and humane societies have been trying to prevent this, they want to make sure the dog you adopt will not be chained outside most of their life, and that it will not be abused in any ways mentioned above, therefore they do make it "not easy" to adopt one as in most cases it is better to put a dog to sleep then have it suffer in any way shape or form. The adoption fee is there to make sure you can afford to provide vet care if it is needed. If you cant afford an adoption fee how can you afford to pay a vet bill. If you really love dogs, you should look at this process as for the good of the dog, and just deal with it knowing you will be rescuing and doing something great in the life of that animal. Good luck and I hope you find the perfect dog for you today, in time to make that dogs life finally happy after everything it may have gone through!

Susan
volunteer with Save-A-dog, Inc.

Answer 3

Depends on the shelter. Some take a few hours while others take months. I found that most no kill shelters dont give as good as care (not saying all do but some) Also it is known for no kill shelters to give out poorly socialized, aggressive, and untrained animals. Again not saying all do.
If you really want to go save a life do it at a shelter that will put an animal down.The best of the best are up for adoption (ones with few temperment or health problems.)

No kill shelters will adopt out in a day down here

while county shelters take a few weeks (they screen you, give you the dog and make you bring back the dog to see if the dog is still healthy, check for a vet, and sometimes screen your home)

Answer 4

Lunar is right, depends on the shelter how long it takes. And BaaBaaBlacksheep may not know how different Non Kill Shelters work. Most of them foster out to volunteer loving homes so the dogs get adjusted to a home, family, children, house trained etc. And when they are ready to be adopted out, are put on a website or other advertisement to be adopted. As I said in my other answer, I got mine through Petfinders.com. through a rescue called STFBR-Shih-Tzu and Furbaby Rescue. (They usually have smaller dogs). My first adoption took a while, but, there was an adoption pending on the dog I fell in love with, and I had the patience to wait it out. That pending adoption fell through because of problems with the potential adoptor, and I was more suitable to this dog. My second, went through right away. But I was already approved through their processes. I have heard of adoptions going through quite fast-even first time adopters, like a week or two. Most rescues are on a volunteer basis, and sometimes it takes longer because there are not enough volunteers to help out. And a lot of them work together to make the process go faster. You may be adopting from one rescue, and get a home visit from another. Because they have someone in your area, or some other rescue has the time. It all depends on the circumstanses.
A friend of mine got his dog from a local shelter. It took about a week to check things out. And the only other thing that happened was he had to bring his other dog to meet the one he was going to adopt to make sure they got along. Once they met, and there wasn't a problem with the dogs, he took the dog home that day.

Good luck, you are doing the right thing by going to a shelter.
BTW-his dogs and my dogs get along great. Mine are small, his are large. It did take a few visits until my puppy mill dog got used to the larger dogs, but its fine now. They romp and play in his back yard.

Answer 5

I don't think its awfully hard, but it will vary from shelter to shelter.
PLEASE do not be discouraged if one group will not adopt to you for some reason (some places won't adopt out unless you currently have a fenced in yard for example).
These places do this to weed out bad people or as the result of a bad incident that happened at some point.
Some places will ask you to foster before officially adopting - which is good for you because you do not lay out any cash except for dog food and a few supplies.

Answer 6

It depends on whether you are going to a rescue or a shelter. Most of the county shelters will take a payment (anywhere from $30 - $100), have you sign a form agreeing to have the dog fixed within a given amount of time and send you on your way. This is what you will experience at a facility that euthanizes animals due to overcrowding. Some humane societies are the same way but not all.
There are no-kill humane societies and rescue groups that are MUCH harder to get a dog from and they will cost you more money. Typically, you will fill out an application asking for your vet references, what you feed the dogs, what the living situation is like and how much you are willingto spend on medical care each year. The paperwork is like two pages long. What they are looking for are people that will be home most of the time, who do not use grocery store dog food and can demonstrate an understanding on the needs of an animal.
Some groups are more picky than others. In Georgia, it is mandated that some of these groups perform a home visitation either before of after the adoption. Costs to adopt from a rescue like this can be anywhere from $90 - $200 or higher, depending on the breed. Some groups have one flat rate. Others ask more money for the designer breeds to off set the rising costs of caring for teh foster animals in their care. Remember, none of these people are in this for profit. They pay the vet bills, pay for meds, food ... everything. Whatever you pay them is a drop in the bucket of what they put out in a year, so don't haggle over price.
I have had experience on all levels of this. I am that lady that has an invisile dog tattoo that reads "sucker". I have adopted dogs in every way possible. This is what I found.
We got a Jack Russell Terrier from a rescue group outside of Petsmart last April. This was the hadrest process we had to go through. The foster mother was extremely particular who she would let this dog be adopted to. She went through every line on our application. She called the groomer that I used as a reference. She almost did not let us adopt her because we have an old yard dog that we had taken in as a favour to someone else. (Rescue groups and Humane Societies look very poorly on people who have yard dogs.) She finally relented because my husband was a fireman. $150 and a very lengthy home visit later and we have the best dog you could ask for. She was medically up to date, spayed and mostly housetrained. She was never kept in a cage. We still keep in touch with the group, exchanging pictures and emails.
I later felt sorry for a dog I found in the road and went back to the county animal shelter to get her. Basically, I had a two paragraph contract to sign, gave them $30. and took her home in less than 15 minutes. Turned out that they misrepresented her breed and her behavior. She was not a lab mix, as they claimed. She was a pit mix and she attempted to kill my old yard dog the first time they met. She was returned to the shelter and we had almost $500 in vet bills to save the old dog. She had also not been given any shots, was not spayed or even bathed.
Not to be disuaded ... I recently adopted another JRT from a local humane society. This is a kill shelter but they fall in between the rescue and the county facility in what you are dealing with. Here, the dogs were kept in cages. They were however given excellent vet care and spayed. The charge was $70, with a slightly shorted application than the rescue. We were given coupons for obedience training and free vet care for two weeks following the adoption. She was totally not house trained. She was also very skiddish around people - basically lots of pyscological baggage.
I guess what I have learned is that you get what you pay for. The rescues at the pet stores are more expensive and way for particular BUT they have better handled dogs. The county facilities just want to unload the animals as quick as they can. The ones in the middle are a crap shoot, you may get lucky or you may not.
I wish you the best of luck. I'm sorry that this was so long.
PS If you want to know the best dog food to feed the dog (which will be asked on the application: buy Nutro (Nature's Choice). It is not only reasonable but it is one of the best foods you could feed the dog. Many rescue groups use this brand as well.

Answer 7

The shelters usually are not as hard to adopt from as the rescue groups. Still be prepared to answer lots of questions and be upfront and honest about everything. I jope things go well and you find a new best friend to love.

Answer 8

It really depends on the particular shelter, some take longer than others.

Im sure it wont be incredubly hard as long as your background is animal-abuse free.

Answer 9

if there anything like a cat .....I don't think its too hard to get any animal at a shelter.....got my cat " Ms Molly" and she cost me only $ 50.00 ...I have gotten animals at shelters all the time and always had good luck with them..........they all died of old age!!!