Adoption Policies and Guidelines

Wee Waggin Rescue uses the following guidelines and policies when processing applications. We thank you in advance for your understanding of our priorities and requirements.

We require that all animals in the family be spayed or neutered, up-to-date on rabies and distemper/parvo vaccines, and heartworm tested and on prevention.

We prefer homes with fenced yards. While this is not necessarily a strict requirement, it is taken into consideration when processing applications.

We generally do not adopt out to a family that rents; while there are rare situations we prefer the new family to own their home.  We receive dogs in all the time that were in a rental situation and could not move to the new place.

We also consider the size of the home in relation to the size and temperament of the dog to determine if it is a match.  

Applicants must be 25 years old or older. At a young age, there are so many aspects of life that can change: a new career, a new home/apartment, a husband, children, etc. With these changes, dog ownership becomes challenging and sometimes impossible.

Dogs cannot be adopted as gifts. We take the placement of our dogs very seriously and do not allow them to be adopted as gifts for another. We do this to ensure that the owner of the dog is the right match and we require that a 'meet and greet' take place prior to adoption. The dogs are the ones with the final "approval" for an adoption. They must show us that they are willing to bond with your family.

You must have a vet. If you do not have a pet, we still require that you have given this enough thought to select a vet. In addition, if you have owned a pet in the last five years, we need to know where you took that pet for health care. This is part of the veterinary reference check that helps us to determine if we have a match for your family among our rescues.

We do not reserve dogs. Even if you seem like the perfect match for a particular dog, we will not hold a dog in a foster home to wait for you to get approved. It is not fair to the dog should another, possibly better, match be approved and want to adopt. We recommend that you get approved before you see a dog you want so that when the right match comes along, you will be ready.

Female Only? If you will only adopt a female dog, chances are that your application will be put on a waiting list. Females are rare in rescue and when they do come in, we have many applicants who are already approved and waiting for their right match. The more specific your requirements, the less chance you will find what you want in rescue. We are looking to find the perfect family for each dog as, for us; the dogs are our top priority.

Make sure that Rescue is right for your family.

Consider these facts:

• Males out number females in rescue by at least 4:1.
• Females in rescue will likely be adult or senior dogs.
• It is more common to find an adult or senior dog in rescue.
• Rescue dogs are commonly 10 pounds or more.
• If you see one tiny dog available, there are 40 other people who want the same dog.
• If you are looking for a young dog, don't expect him/her to be a "lap dog". Young dogs want to run, go for walks and play. An adult or senior dog will more likely want to be a "lap dog".
• Rescue dogs need and deserve your patience, whether it be house training, getting along with the other pets or just settling in. Be prepared, they will need time to adjust to your home and family.
• Dogs are expensive to own - they have the same medical needs as human children and deserve the same care.
• Be prepared to drive. It is best when you and your pet(s) can come to the foster home to meet the dog you are interested in adopting. Also, we do not ship our rescues to adopters. No exceptions.
• We charge adoption fees for our dogs. These fees vary based on the gender, age, size and health of the dog. All money received goes directly to caring for the dogs in our rescue - no person is compensated for their voluntary services to this organization. Please be sure that you are applying to truly adopt a rescue dog and not just shopping for a less expensive, perfect representation of the breed standard. If this is what you are looking for, then please look for a "Reputable Breeder". Reputable Breeders breed to improve the breed, make every effort to cancel out genetic faults, spay/neuter the dogs they sell to prevent further pet over-population, and have you sign a contract that requires the return of the dog should it not meet your needs for ANY reason.

While these are the basic guidelines, we can at any time, deny an application because we know that there is no dog in our rescue that will fit your environment. Please do not take this personally and understand that every volunteer in this organization works hard to do what is in the best interest of each and every dog. Our priority is always the dog.

Thank you for considering adopting a rescue.

If you do adopt a dog, you won't regret it!

Save a life. 

Adopt a rescue!