Advice for Potential Adopters
The home checking part of the process is taken very seriously by people known to us, who have had extensive training. We ask that all those to be directly involved with the dog are present at the home check. Once the home check is approved, you are free to visit and adopt your dog. Our fosterers are mainly in the South East of England so please be ready to travel to them. Please be prepared to take a few days off work (we suggest at least a week) to settle your new dog in.
The adoption form that you sign when homing the dog and paying the adoption fee will include a clause that if you need to surrender the dog, you will do so only to us. We hope you will persevere with any problems you may experience in the early days and we will support you with advice about any issues that arise. We also hope you would not surrender the dog for a trivial reason. We provide full rescue back up for all our adopted dogs and like to keep in regular touch with all our dogs to check on their welfare.
All of our adult dogs will be neutered before adoption. The adoption form also stipulates that if the dog is not neutered or spayed when it is homed, you agree to have this done. This is of fundamental importance to our values and mission. It will be followed up and insisted upon so please do not adopt one of our dogs if you are not willing to do neuter/spay as soon as it is of the right age and health.
The dog will need to live inside the house as one of the family, except in very special circumstances where it is in the individual dog’s interest. Supervision is important for the first few weeks after the dog has arrived and, once settled, adult dogs should not be left more more than 4 hours a day and puppies no longer than 2 hours,.
Please do not adopt a dog if you do not have the financial means to care for the dog - vet bills, food, other items, walking/boarding fees and flea and worming treatments can mount up. We advise taking out a reputable pet insurance scheme to cover vet fees, which normally costs about £25 per month.
There is an adoption fee that you will agree £666 (including microchip) to, to cover transport costs. Pet passports are then given free on top, so your dog will be fully vaccinated, including against rabies. Give a Dog a Home is a not for profit organisation. The rescues and shelters where the dogs originate from are all established charities or not for profit. We do not make money out of homing dogs - in fact there is usually a loss involved and we rely on our supporters to help with costs.
We have homed dogs to people with disabilities or health conditions and to families with young children, but it will take commitment and patience and is also a matter of finding the right dog for your particular circumstances.
Please note we do not commonly home dogs to families with children under 4 years old. We may ask you to sign a legal disclaimer in the case of homing with very young children.
If you would like to foster rather than home a dog, please fill out an application form stating your wish to foster.
It is very usual for everyone in the house to go through lots of emotions when your dog arrives - expectations can be high and no-one really knows how the dog will settle or what special measures you will need to take. However, do not let this put you off!
A great article to read is What Was I Thinking (Rescue Regrets are Usually Temporary)
A great article to read is What Was I Thinking (Rescue Regrets are Usually Temporary)