Step 1 – Complete Adoption Application
The first step in the adoption process is filling out the application on our website. This application will tell us about you and your lifestyle, home environment, and experience with pet ownership, allowing us to gauge the fit between the adopter and the dogs in our rescue program. The happiness and well-being of our rescue dogs are our priority. As such, we do not select adopters on a “first-come, first-serve” basis, we do not have a “waiting list” to meet dogs, and we do not “hold” a dog based on interest alone.
TSBR does not accommodate introductions with one of our dogs without this first step being completed, except for our public events, where we invite you and the public to come out and meet our volunteers and dogs in our program.
Step 2 – Application Preliminary Review
TSBR volunteers will screen your application to determine if the necessary information was provided; if not, you will be contacted to provide additional information. Most of our communication is via e-mail.
Step 3 – Landlord Approval Verified
If you rent your home, we will contact your landlord to ensure you have the approval necessary to have a dog in your home. We will also ask about any breed or size limitations.
Your application will be denied if your landlord does not allow a dog in your home.
Step 4 – Veterinary References
This step can take the most time.
You must provide vet records (including a complete patient history report) by email. Please make certain records match the name on the application. Your application will not be processed until our volunteers receive and review the records. Our volunteers may contact the veterinary reference(s) you provided with any additional questions related to the care of your current and previous (at a minimum, pets must be spayed/neutered and up to date on vaccinations and monthly heartworm preventative). If you do not have pets, we will ask about the veterinary care your previous pets received. If you have never owned a pet, this step is skipped.
If your veterinary reference(s) cannot verify spay/neuter, vaccination history, current heartworm status, and the purchase of monthly heartworm prevention on current and previous pets, processing of your application will be held until you provide this information. Exemptions to our spay/neuter policy are granted on a case-by-case basis for dogs upon veterinary recommendation to not spay/neuter or upon verification that the dog is actively participating in AKC/CKC sanction event or competition or is part of an AKC-sanctioned registered breeding program.
Step 5 – Personal/Professional References Contacted
Our volunteers may contact your references and ask them questions about whether they consider you a responsible pet owner. It would be helpful if you could contact your references and ask them to return our calls promptly.
If our reference-checking volunteers have any major concerns about adopting a dog to you, based on communication with your references, your application may be denied at this point in the process.
Step 6 – Home Visit
TSBR requires home visits to determine that the dog will be living in a safe environment. Once your application has passed the initial screening and reference check(s), a volunteer will contact you to schedule a visit to your home. We ask that each family member (and other pets) be present during the visit. We do not allow “surprise” adoptions or adoptions on behalf of a friend or family member. This visit is an informal chance for us to get to know you, your lifestyle, home environment and help our adoption team determine which dog(s) in our program might be the best fit. Our home visit isn’t intrusive; we aren’t there to inspect every inch of the home. We’re there to meet everyone in the house, view the main living areas, see the yard, and speak with the entire family regarding their knowledge of and interest in the joys and the challenges of bringing a rescued sporting breed into the home. The home visit volunteer’s purpose is to gather information, ask and answer questions, and provide their observations to our Adoption Team.
TSBR volunteers may conduct home visits using video conference technology such as Skype, Zoom, or FaceTime.
If you live in the State of Texas but outside the Dallas/Fort Worth area, we will make every effort to network and find a local volunteer to conduct the home visit. Distance determines whether or not the required home visit can be completed. We are a 100% volunteer-run organization. Although we have volunteer contacts in many areas, some areas may be difficult for us to locate a volunteer to conduct the home visit. If we can not find an out-of-area volunteer to do a home visit, we may consider alternative ways but reserve the right to not move forward with the application.
Your application will be denied if our home visit volunteers have any significant concerns about your home environment or if you refuse a home visit.
Step 7 – Approval/Denial
Our Director of Adoptions (or other Board members as necessary) uses the information provided on the application, interviews, vet/ reference checks, and home visits to determine an applicant’s suitability for adopting or fostering a dog. Our Director of Adoptions will notify you of your status. We reserve the right to refuse any applicant for any reason if we feel the dog's needs will not be properly met or the adoption is not in the dog's best interest.
Step 8 – Meeting Request
Once an application is processed and approved, the fun part comes!
While it is easy to fall in love with a picture on our website - personality and temperament determine whether a particular dog may make an excellent candidate for you. We work hard to accommodate your desires with the traits and personalities of our dogs. We have committed to the dogs in our program. Approval to move forward in the process of adoption or being provided with foster contact information does not guarantee your ability to adopt that particular dog. In essence, our goal is to ensure the best fit between a dog in our program and your family. Not all dogs will be suitable for all situations; if we do not think a specific dog is a good fit for your home, we are not passing judgment on you/your family but are drawing on years of experience with sporting breeds and, more importantly, experience with the dogs in our program. First come, first served, and waiting lists do not apply here, as we strive to adopt each dog in our program to the most appropriate home for him/her, whether that home comes next week or next year!
Submitting an application and meeting a specific dog does not guarantee your ability to adopt from our organization.
Step 9 – Meeting between Approved Applicant and Available Dogs
All of our dogs live in private/volunteer foster homes until adopted. We do NOT arrange meetings between interested individuals and our dogs until an applicant has been approved via this adoption process.
Once you are approved to adopt from TSBR, our adoption team will connect you with dogs in our program that meet your criteria or, we believe, may be suitable for your family and lifestyle. You will receive an e-mail with contact information for the appropriate foster home(s) (the foster will also receive your information and notification that you may be interested in meeting their foster dog). You may contact the foster at this time to confirm availability/status, ask questions, and determine if you would like to schedule a time to meet the dog. Please remember that our foster families are volunteers with families, pets, jobs, school, and obligations of their own in addition to their volunteer commitment.
Foster families are the backbone of our organization; they have the best understanding of temperament, personality, and the individual needs of the dog in their home. Frequently, dogs in our program are of interest to numerous families. Under the guidance of our adoptions and animal welfare teams, the foster family has a rewarding and challenging role of helping choose a home they feel is most suited. Many of our foster homes may want you to meet the dog in a neutral environment and then will want to bring the dog to your home for a visit, ask questions, allow you to visit, and see how the dog responds in your home environment.
Additionally, we hold several public events each month, allowing you to meet several dogs at once.
Step 10 – Finalizing the Adoption
Once everyone (adopter and TSBR) agrees that a dog is right for your home, the foster will proceed with the paperwork. This process includes reviewing and signing an adoption contract and restraint agreement and transferring all ownership and vetting that we have on the dog. Adoption fees may be paid by cash, money order, check, or credit card (additional fees are required for credit card payment).
Please note that, as we rescue the majority of our dogs from high-kill shelters, we do not know much about the dogs' history, genetics, age, or behaviors. We can share information we gather based on what we learn of our dogs during their time with us and in foster homes and based on their wellness exams by veterinarians.
Step 11 – Trip to the Vet
You should make an appointment with your vet as soon as possible after adopting a dog from our program. While every effort is made to provide the best possible care once these dogs come to us, we cannot guarantee their health. Although all of our dogs have had their essential vaccines and are dewormed monthly, some clinical signs of viruses do not show up before adoption. Additionally, if your dog were not already spayed/neutered at the time of adoption, you would have been required to sign a spay/neuter agreement. Our adoption contract requires all dogs to be spayed/neutered within one month of adoption or when age-appropriate. You are asked to notify us when and by who this surgery will be performed. Our volunteers will verify that the dog has been spayed/neutered. If you fail to spay/neuter, as outlined in the adoption contract you signed, our organization will take appropriate measures to reclaim the dog.
Step 12 – Post-Adoption Follow-up
To ensure successful adoption, we have a network of volunteers who are happy to answer any questions or help you work through issues that may arise while your new dog is transitioning into your home or ten years down the road! We are committed to every dog we rescue for the rest of his/her life, so please stay in touch with us—we love getting updates!
Additionally, our adoption contract contains a clause that allows one of our volunteers or TSBR representatives the ability to perform a follow-up visit. We may require such a visit if we feel that the terms of the adoption contract are not being met. Texas Sporting Breed Rescue is committed to the life, health, and well-being of every dog we place for the remainder of that dog’s life. Should the adoption not work out or you need to rehome the dog, we require, by contract, that you make immediate contact with us to determine the best course of action for the dog.
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