TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF ADOPTION

 

Initial Enquiry

 

As most of our shelter dogs come from the streets, we rarely have any background information on them. So if you are looking for a ready-made pet, maybe a rescue dog is not for you. Some of our dogs may not be easy, and may need some time to adjust to a completely new type of home environment. Please take time considering this before applying to adopt one of the dogs from the shelter. Settling in time must be allowed, as the last thing we would want is for the dog to be returned because it has chewed something or used your new rug as a toilet! If you cannot, or will not, cope with such issues, then a rescue dog is likely not to be for you. You must be prepared to put in time and effort with your new family addition, to receive in return, the unconditional love that he/she will give you. The majority of our dogs have had a shaky start in life, so coming to a new “forever” home, is a completely new start for them and may be unnerving and difficult for them to adjust to immediately. [However, that being said, an extremely low percentage of animals that have been re-homed from the shelter have ever been returned, and the majority go on to live a full and happy and loved life with their new families.]

 

All our dogs are assessed in the kennels, and we will tell you what we can of their personalities: if they are friendly, shy, quiet, playful, boisterous etc. if they have any health problems (serious medical issues will be dealt with prior to re-homing and all veterinary information will be provided) if they are okay with other dogs. As the dogs have not been assessed around children or cats (unless fostered), we would be very reluctant to re-home a dog with children, and definitely not with small children or babies, unless we know the dog’s background and are 100% sure that the dog will be fine.

 

One question we are often asked is if the dog is okay with cats. Firstly, please make sure your cat is okay with a dog. We will not want to re-home a dog where the result will in turn make a cat homeless as it and the dog do not get along. Please note that unless it says in the dog’s description that it is fine with cats, then we will not re-home to a home with cats, as we have no way of cat testing the dogs at the kennels. This will be stipulated in your contract of adoption and be part of the home checking process. If you see a dog you would like to find out more about please write to: info@trikalawelfaresociety.com ~ Please be patient after sending an e-mail to the shelter as they are often very busy and short staffed. They will endeavour to respond to you as soon as possible.

 

Home Checks

 

Once you have fallen in love with the dog(s) of your choice, and want to give him/her a forever home with you, we will arrange a home check. This is nothing to worry about, we are not interested if you have good taste in decor or have done the washing up, it is just to make sure you have a suitable home environment for the dog. Your inside and outside living space will be checked to ensure it is a safe environment for the dog, and we would also ask you to introduce the home checker to any other animals you have living there and anyone also living in your home that will be in frequent contact with the dog and part of it’s normal day to day life. Please note that after the home check, should your living circumstances change at any point during the adoption process, then you must inform us immediately, as the process may need to be re-assessed and a further home check carried out prior to the dog coming to live with you. Should you not inform us and there is a change in circumstances which we deem could cause concern over the welfare of the dog, the adoption process will be cancelled (even if already homed with you), any monies paid will not be refunded. The welfare of the dog is our priority. Please only book a home check if you are 100% interested in a particular dog. Home checks are carried out by our dedicated team of volunteers and they give their time for free, so please make it count.

 

Adoption Costs

 

Adopters are responsible for the costs to prepare dogs for their PETS passport and also for transporting costs. Your dog is likely to travel by road to the UK and Western Europe and by Air to the rest of the world. We do have a wonderful transport company (to the UK and Western Europe), who only charge a quarter of any others we have found. We are very happy for our dogs to travel via this company as they are so well looked after throughout their exciting journey to a new loving forever home. The adoption costs are non-refundable, even if you choose to return the dog (except in exceptional circumstances [and at the discretion of the shelter’s Management). If you cannot afford the donation toward adoption, then please consider whether you can afford a dog at all. Please get in touch directly for more information about the costs involved in transporting your dog, as they differ from country to country.

 

Taking The Dog Home

 

Once the home check has been completed and approved, we will start to make preparations for your dog to come home to you, whether it is just one street away or to another country. We offer a support service with all our dogs, and any help or guidance you need with re-homing. We will do further home checks for a period of time, to make sure both the dog and you are fully happy. Remember that to us, the dog’s welfare is our first concern.

All of the dogs are spayed or neutered and will have had some, if not all, necessary vaccinations (you will be advised what vaccinations have been given, and provided with any certificates of validity). Some dogs can not be neutered before adoption due to age or if a bitch is in season. A term of your adoption will be to get the dog neutered within a set time frame and we will check on this and require proof of neutering. The dogs will also have been micro-chipped before travel as this forms part of their PETS Passport. [The microchip will be registered in the shelter’s name and is up to you to register in your name upon receipt of the paperwork.] We reserve the right to remove dogs from homes at any time [throughout the duration of the dog’s life] should we consider the care to be inadequate and detrimental to the dog’s welfare. Should it be deemed that the care provided is unsuitable and having a negative impact on the welfare of the dog, then the he/she will be removed and no monies that have been paid to the shelter for any part of the adoption process will be re-funded.