Adoption Q&A
PLEASE take a few moments to read the following explanation of our adoption policies and the steps that make up the process. You may be surprised to find that adopting an animal is a more involved process than you expected, or that it means you can’t have immediate access to an animal you are interested in. Therefore, it’s important to understand two things:
1) the process is the same for every-one, and
2) it’s not our intent to frustrate you. Rather, everything we do is for the best interests of the animals in our care, and is aimed at giving them the best possible chance of finding a permanent home.
Our website is not meant to be viewed as a catalog.Yes, you may like the look of a particular dog, but that does not necessarily mean that the dog’s personality is a match for your family or lifestyle. Our adoption success rate is quite high and we are quite proud of our program and its standards. This is because our main concern is finding happy endings for the dogs in our program.
HERE ARE THE STEPS YOU’LL GO THROUGH IN THE ADOPTION PROCESS: Before you can adopt any animal, we ask you to complete an adoption application. Our process includes asking questions, asking to see proof of identity and, frequently, asking for veterinary references, particularly when you have other animals at home. This is simply to protect the health of adoption candidates and the pets you already have.
Once all the application has been submitted, it will be reviewed by one of our volunteers. We will contact you to clarify any questions we may have and assist in setting up an appointment at a volunteer’s home or be invited to an adoption event where a knowledgeable member of our volunteer staff will be available to answer questions about behavior, training, veterinary care, how to deal with introductions to current pets, and anything else you can think of.
You will be asked to sign an adoption contract and pay an adoption fee. This fee covers spaying or neutering (if old enough), veterinary care, deworming, vaccines, food, and other items your pet has received while in our care.
PLEASE NOTE: We cannot hold animals for anyone. Unfortunately, because of the tremendous demands on our foster homes, all adoptions must be done on a first-come, first-served basis, and the first good, properly-qualified prospective home will get the pet.
LET US REPEAT: We don’t ever mean to be frustrating to or evasive with you. We want you to understand that it’s stressful and upsetting-in fact, downright devastating – for the animals, for our volunteers, and most importantly, for you when adoptions don’t work out and pets have to come back to us. And a bad adoption experience can sour some people on shelter animals — for life. So try to bear with us and be patient. Understand that going through the process the way we do really is the best policy – for all of us.
Our website is not meant to be viewed as a catalog.Yes, you may like the look of a particular dog, but that does not necessarily mean that the dog’s personality is a match for your family or lifestyle. Our adoption success rate is quite high and we are quite proud of our program and its standards. This is because our main concern is finding happy endings for the dogs in our program.
HERE ARE THE STEPS YOU’LL GO THROUGH IN THE ADOPTION PROCESS: Before you can adopt any animal, we ask you to complete an adoption application. Our process includes asking questions, asking to see proof of identity and, frequently, asking for veterinary references, particularly when you have other animals at home. This is simply to protect the health of adoption candidates and the pets you already have.
Once all the application has been submitted, it will be reviewed by one of our volunteers. We will contact you to clarify any questions we may have and assist in setting up an appointment at a volunteer’s home or be invited to an adoption event where a knowledgeable member of our volunteer staff will be available to answer questions about behavior, training, veterinary care, how to deal with introductions to current pets, and anything else you can think of.
You will be asked to sign an adoption contract and pay an adoption fee. This fee covers spaying or neutering (if old enough), veterinary care, deworming, vaccines, food, and other items your pet has received while in our care.
PLEASE NOTE: We cannot hold animals for anyone. Unfortunately, because of the tremendous demands on our foster homes, all adoptions must be done on a first-come, first-served basis, and the first good, properly-qualified prospective home will get the pet.
LET US REPEAT: We don’t ever mean to be frustrating to or evasive with you. We want you to understand that it’s stressful and upsetting-in fact, downright devastating – for the animals, for our volunteers, and most importantly, for you when adoptions don’t work out and pets have to come back to us. And a bad adoption experience can sour some people on shelter animals — for life. So try to bear with us and be patient. Understand that going through the process the way we do really is the best policy – for all of us.
Our adoption fee is outlined below:
All vaccinations and medical care after adoption become the responsibility of the adoptive family.
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- Adults over 1 year $475
- Puppies/young adults under 1 year old able to be altered in our care $525
- Puppies too small / young for us to alter (normally under 12-16 weeks)- the fee is reduced to $450 but leave us on an alter contract.
- Health examination(s)
- Spaying/Neutering **
- Wormings (age related)
- Parvo/Distemper Combo Vaccination (number of vaccinations will be related to age)
- Rabies Vaccination (If older than 4 months when adopted)
- Heartworm Disease Test (If older than 9 months when adopted)
- Flea & Tick Treatment when needed
All vaccinations and medical care after adoption become the responsibility of the adoptive family.
In most cases you will get an email within a day. If you have spam blocking on your e-mail account, this would usually be the problem as we find that our mail sometimes gets lost there. You could try shutting it off and sending in a new application.
The first step is to fill in an adoption application. Once the application is approved you will either be invited to schedule an appointment to meet the dogs in our care.
PawSafe’s Volunteers have made a commitment to ensure that the animals we place will be in their new home for life. This is why we ask that applicants complete an application form prior to speaking with an adoption coordinator.
Please plan on meeting the animal you are interested in adopting. Although the pictures and descriptions may show the “perfect” pet for you – nothing replaces an actual meeting!! You can NOT place an animal on hold. This is unfair to both the animal and other potential adopters
PawSafe is located in the Patterson NY and Ellington CT area. So our dogs are in different locations. The bio for each animal will list where they are and when they are ready for adoption. We would be happy to invite you to the location where you see dogs that most interest you.
That depends. We are a small group of volunteers and try our best to respond in with a day – if not hours! The more information you take the time to give us in your adoption application, the faster we can approve you for adoption. Normally the process is completed within 24 hours to several days at most!
The adoption fee is payable in cash / PayPal / Credit card.
There is a $25-dollar charge for bounced checks
Adopters should be prepared to take their new puppy home at the time of adoption!! We are a small rescue. We CANNOT hold your dog for you while you go on vacation or prepare the house for your new family member. This should be done before you come to adopt a dog. Please understand, if we did that, we would save far less dogs because of a lack of space or resources. Thank You
Just send an email to adoptions@pawsafe.org
If you live in MA the quick answer is NO due to MA Dept of Agriculture restrictions. Sorry.
In order for a puppy to cross state lines they need a Health Certificate made out to the “owner” of the dog. All our dogs come to us with a Health Certificate written to PawSafe in the state we are in.
After arrival our dogs get another health exam written to us. To go to another state there needs to be a new health certificate written to you in your name. It’s an official exam/certificate that goes to the Department of Agriculture in both states and can only be done by a licensed vet. Our vet charges $100 for that and the fee is passed along.
You can adopt, but you would need to come meet the dog, adopt, and we’d have to get the puppy a new exam w/Health Certificate and you could pick up the following day or so.
Sorry- these are state laws.