How to Adopt
Easier than it looks and harder than buying from a pet store (AHR Doesn’t support puppy mills!), adoption through a shelter or rescue is infinitely more responsible and rewarding. You are saving a life!
What do I need to know before I adopt?
Adoption Process
APPLICATION: WE DO NOT ACCEPT APPLICATIONS FOR UNDECIDED APPLICANTS. This is actually the hardest part! Pre-screening is an important step in finding the best match for you and your lifestyle. Please fill out the application thoroughly. If you would like an application emailed to you, please email adoptions_ahr@yahoo.com
VET REFERENCE: Please call your veterinarian to authorize them to release information to Almost Home Rescue. See below for what we look for.
LANDLORD REFERENCE AND APPROVAL: If applicable
HOME VISIT: After steps 1 and 2 are complete, you will be contacted directly by a volunteer to conduct a brief (45 minutes to 1 hour depending on your questions) home visit. Don’t clean up! Easy and comfortable, we promise!
APPROVAL: After steps 1-3 have been completed, you will receive an email approval letter outlining particulars about payment and pick up, as well as tips on homecoming, socialization and training.
PAYMENT:
Our adoption fees are:
Through 6 months of age $450
7 months to through 5 years: $400
6 years and under 9 years: $325 bonded pairs are $500
9 years and older: $250 bonded pairs are $300The adoption fee is due at the time of approval. We accept Paypal or money orders for payment, no cash or personal checks please. On occasion if an animal requires extensive vet care, extra fees will be noted in the dog’s listing.
PICK UP: It’s time to pick up your new dog! You are all done and can pick up your new dog. Pick up instructions will be included with your approval letter. Congratulations on your new family member!
UPDATES and PICTURES!: If we could make this a requirement, we would! Updates keep us all motivated to keep doing what we are doing. Rescue is a heartbreaking venture as we see cruelty that most people don’t know exists. Please update us (3 days post adoption, 6 months post-adoption, then annually. Think of it as a birthday present to your dog!). We want to hear how wonderfully your dogs are doing and how much you love them!
Vet References
Your application should contain the name your account is in. If you have multiple animals or multiple vets, please include all the names of your vets and account names, all pets in the home, all pets cared for in the past, their breeds and the dates they lived with you. If they passed away, please put the year.
All current dogs (& historically) should be up to date with Rabies, Parvo, Distemper and Heartworm Preventative (Lyme is now always recommended by AHR).
Cats should have rabies and distemper vaccinations. Feline leukemia tests are recommended. Rabies is required by Maine State Law.
Vet references should also show a history of up to date vaccinations and, if applicable, a history and ability to care for sick or injured pets.
Out of State or Long Distance Adoptions
We do adopt out of state; however, some home visits are impossible for us to do in certain areas. Many areas have a local rescue or shelter that can assist with this, or your vet may have someone that will do a home visit for you. If we are unable to find a representative to do your home visit, the adopter will be responsible for finding a representative in the animal welfare community who can do this, please email adoptions_ahr@yahoo.com for more information and instructions.
We do accept application from renters. Renters must provide a record of a positive stable rental history, landlord phone number and approval, as well as your plan to keep this dog for its lifetime if your rental unit becomes unavailable in the future.
Have you ever wanted to do something that really made a difference? Giving a homeless dog a temporary home changes the life of that dog forever. Most times these animals are one step away from being euthanized! The stories of their lives can be heart wrenching, but you can help to give them a happy ending.
What Does My Adoption Fee Pay for?
Included in your fees are the following:
Vaccinations: Rabies (3 months and older) DHLPP, Bordetella, if imported, and de-worming
Spay/neuter
Frontline/Advantage (flea and tick preventative) or Capstar
Heartworm preventative — current at time of adoption
Microchip
Interstate health certificate (if imported)
Transport fee included in the adoption fee
If (and there usually isn’t) there are any funds left over from your fee after paying all the bills associated with your dog, the funds will go toward extra vet bills incurred or other organizational expenses and help to sponsor a foster dog that must go into foster care. We are an all volunteer rescue, with no employees, so none of the excess funds are used to pay salaries.
All Mississippi, Louisiana & North Carolina veterinarian bills, as well as any vetting incurred while in foster care are submitted to Almost Home Rescue. The cost of vetting and transporting some dogs is often more than the adoption fee.
What do I need to know after I adopt?
Approval/Adoption Fee Payment
Due upon Application Approval. All dogs will remain available for adoption unless they have been paid.
PLEASE, DO NOT PAY FOR YOUR DOG UNTIL YOU HAVE RECEIVED YOUR FORMAL APPROVAL LETTER FROM YOUR ADOPTION COORDINATOR.
**Please note: New Hampshire Law RSA 437 requires that any dog who has been imported into New Hampshire be held at an approved quarantine facility for 48 hours, and obtain a new New Hampshire Health Certificate. This law went into effect Aug 4, 2012. You may be responsible for this additional cost if you are a New Hampshire resident – Your adoption coordinator will discuss this with you**
Transport Information
Please note: It is illegal in in the states of Maine and New Hampshire for any dog or puppy to get off any transport within those states and go directly to the adopter.
**All AHR dogs are quarantined in foster care prior going to their homes in Maine and New Hampshire. New Hampshire Law RSA 437 requires that any dog who has been imported into New Hampshire be held at in an approved quarantine facility for 48 hours, and obtain a New Hampshire Health Certificate. This law went into effect Aug 4, 2012. The state of Maine requires a 2 or 5 day quarantine depending on the age of the dog. AHR follows all state rules and regulations.**
Adoptive Homes in Maine and NH: You will be picking your dogs up from a foster home after your dog/puppy has been quarantined for the appropriate amount of days. (Maine: minimum 48 hours if 7 months old, 5 days under 7 months old. New Hampshire requires a 2 day hold for dogs at the NH licensed facility. They will also need to be issued a NH health certificate before adoption. Your adoption coordinator will put you in touch with your new family members foster home.
Foster dogs will be scheduled when foster homes are available and transport space permits (we have listed a few dogs below who are looking for foster homes – please consider helping one of these sweet dogs find his/her forever home).
Picking Up Your Dog
Per State Law – All of our Dogs/Puppies are quarantined in our foster system. Direct adopts from any transport is illegal in the State of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Picking up from our foster homes as directed by your adoption coordinator:
YOU MUST BRING WITH YOU:
Tags with your name and phone number.
We provide a flat collar and martingale collar.
Do NOT bring: Chain Choke collars or flexi-leashes. Do not use flexi-leashes at home for at least 3 months (we do not ever recommend them), as they can be chewed through in 2 seconds and are dangerous.
CRATE: For the sake of your car, dogs should be crated securely when you are bringing them home. They also may have a temporary case of nervous nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.
VIGILANCE: Be extremely vigilant after picking up your new family member, and when you first bring your dog home: these dogs are stressed and can slip a collar easily and can be extreme flight risks, even after you get them home. Remember! They don’t know where they live yet.
LOTS OF LOVE! Your new dog needs lots of love, hugs, acceptance and patience!
What to Have for the Homecoming of Your New Dog
Dog Shampoo: Your dog will already be Frontlined, therefore your dog can and should be bathed.
High Quality Food: Shelter dogs need the nutrients of a good food to help their lowered and stressed immune systems and to recover and maintain general good health.
An Immediate Appointment with your Vet: All dogs need to see the vet for a baseline health exam. They also need:
Re-worming (Panacure or Drontal Plus for Southern dogs..do not re-worm with Strongid, it does NOT kill all the common southern worms/parasites).
HEARTGARD! Consistent Heartgard for a full year, all year! See below.
Lyme Vaccine: There is no cure for Lyme disease and it is a serious problem in the Northeast! Check out the Center for Disease Control page for more information: http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/index.html
Register your microchip
Almost Home will register the microchip to the new adopter and list AHR as the emergency contact. Did you know that nationally 75-80% of dogs that accidentally get loose NEVER returned to their owners? Please be responsible for keeping your dog safe at all times so if you move or change your contact information please call your chip company right away to give them the updated information. If your dog does get lost, registering the microchip gives your dog a better chance of being returned to you.
Important Tips
Do not overwhelm your new dog with strangers, children and chaos. Let your dog adjust to its new family and schedule for a few weeks before going visiting and out in public. Please keep the phone number of your coordinator handy at all times. Call us if you have an issue or your dog gets loose. MANY rescue dogs get loose because people underestimate the trauma a dog is experiencing when changing environments. Things you can do to reduce the chances of a lost dog:
Keep your dog on a harness with a leash attached at all times for a week after transport.
Be extra vigilant. Flight risk is the highest during the first few weeks in its new home.
Leash your new dog whenever it is outside or near the door. Or whenever you have children using the door.
Do not try to “test” your new dog off-leash. Buy a 25ft check cord from the pet store (not a flexi leash!!) to test your dogs recall or go to a large fenced in dog park.
Take your dog to formal obedience training. A dog that is well-trained is much less likely to be lost or hit by a car and very likely to become a well adjusted, well mannered dog.
If your dog gets loose, DON’T GIVE CHASE and don’t PANIC! Kneel down and calmly call the dog. Please call us immediately and see our download on how to recover a lost dog.
THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR:
Dogs may have diarrhea and stomach upset because of a change in diet. Please do not feed your new dog inexpensive food (Pedigree/Purina/Ol’ Roy), it will hurt their already stressed digestive systems and will not give them the nutrients needed to recover from their shelter life and transport.
BE CONCERNED IF: Diarrhea persists for more than 2 days, OR sooner if it has blood mixed in with it. Please contact your coordinator. These dogs are wormed, however the stress of transport, foster home and now your home can suppress the immune system, meaning latent worms in their system can grow unrestrained. OR, your dog may need a bland transitional diet. DO NOT start your dog on a bland diet with out checking for worms first. Worms and parasites can cause dehydration and CAN kill a puppy if left untreated. A fecal float done by your vet is inexpensive and should diagnose worms or parasites in the system.
INFORMATION ON HEARTWORM PREVENTATIVE:
HEARTGARD/INTERCEPTOR is REQUIRED for all dogs and puppies from arrival for a FULL YEAR continuously, then according to your vets recommendation and schedule. This requirement is due to the dogs exposure to a high number of heartworm positive dogs in the south. If you do NOT use heartworm preventative for a full year, your dog could potentially become heartworm positive. It takes 7 months from exposure to a positive test, so if you use a heartworm preventative during this amount of time after your dog’s arrival, any exposure should be negated by the preventative. The treatment for heartworm is painful to the dog and has associated risks.
OUR RESCUE DOES NOT ACCEPT THE LIABILITY, NOR ANY COSTS, FOR TREATMENT OF A POSITIVE DOG IF THE DOG WAS TOO YOUNG TO TEST (UNDER 6 MONTHS) OR TESTED HEARTWORM NEGATIVE JUST PRIOR TO BEING TRANSPORTED NORTH…PLEASE USE PREVENTATIVE! UNTREATED HEARTWORM DISEASE WILL KILL A DOG.