Why do you
not adopt out to families with small children? Do you make exceptions?
What if our children have experience with small dogs? What if I have
grandchildren coming into my home?
We look at each dog individually. Sometimes it is for the safety
of the child, and other times it is for the safety of the dog. Dogs
less than 10lbs can be easily hurt if mishandled so we placed an age
limit to protect them. Dogs over 10lbs will be judged individually,
as well as any applications that arrive with families with younger children.
We will give consideration to children who are familiar with dogs and
who can be trusted to treat them properly. Our goal is to find a secure
forever home for each of our dogs that is in the best interest of all
involved.
We occasionally
get a dog that is comfortable with children but more often the opposite
is true. Since dogs in our rescue come from a variety of backgrounds,
many of them strays, we are not sure on how they will react with children
and always prefer to error on the side of caution. Many of the owner
surrendered dogs were given to us due to snapping issues. Although these
issues are mainly due to negligence on the part of the former owners,
we need to insure that the dog will not be placed in a similar situation
again. (back to top)
What
if I don’t have a vet?
If you do not have a vet, you can still fill out the adoption application.
If you have had a vet in the past, please include them on the application.
If you have never had a vet, place N/A in those fields on the application.
The application will not submit is any fields are missing. (back
to top)
Can
I visit and meet with the dog?
All of our dogs stay in foster homes, which are scattered around a fairly
large area. To reduce the amount of traffic going in and out of their
homes, as well as to prevent disappointment if you are not the best
candidate for a particular dog, we will not give out the dog’s
exact location until we have checked your references and have completed
a home visit. After your application has been approved, you will be
able to visit with the dog of your choice. (back
to top)
Where
do the dogs come from? Why do you not know their history?
Dogs enter our rescue a number of different ways: Owner surrenders,
strays, shelters, and other rescues. Sometimes we do not receive any
information on a dog, but we will try our best to give the adoptive
home as much information as possible. The more time the dog spends with
his foster family, the better we can access the dog’s personality,
behavioral issues and any special needs. We will update the Petfinder
website (www.psbr.petfinder.com)
with this type of information provided by the foster family on each
dog as often as possible. (back to top)
Do
I have to fill out an application for each dog I am interested in? What
if I want to add another dog to my application?
If you are interested in more than one dog, you can include all their
names on one application. You do not need to fill out multiple applications.
If another dog(s) interests you after your application has been submitted,
just email us at psbrescue@yahoo.ca
with the relevant information and we will add that dog(s) to your existing
application. Please be sure to include your name and the original email
address that you used to submit your application, so that we can be
sure we are updating the correct application. (back
to top)
What
if I have submitted an application, but have adopted elsewhere?
Congratulations on your new family member! Thank you for choosing to
adopt! If you have adopted elsewhere, please send us an email at psbrescue@yahoo.ca
so we can cancel your application. We are all volunteers, and processing
applications can take up a lot of our time, please let us know as soon
as possible if you wish to cancel your application. (back
to top)
What
if I need to change something on my application?
If you have any changes in living situation, or other changes related
to the application please contact us at psbrescue@yahoo.ca.
Please be sure to include your name and the original email address that
you used to submit your application, so that we can be sure we are updating
the correct application. (back to top)
How do I
know if a dog is still available for adoption?
If you go to www.psbr.petfinder.com
under Our Pet List, you will see a list of current dogs available for
adoption. Dogs will be removed from the list once they have been taken
home by an approved adopter.
Please keep in mind
that we often receive more than one application for each dog. We pick
the application that seems the best fit with the dog’s personality
and needs and our volunteers work on getting that application processed,
which includes reference checking and a home visit.
Although an application
may be in the middle of being processed for a particular dog, we still
encourage potential adopters to send in their applications. If an application
arrives that is clearly better suited for a particular dog, we will
switch and work on the new application. In some cases, the chosen applicant
turns out to be unsuitable for the desired dog, in which case we will
again review the additional applications and chose another candidate.
We will always notify
all the applicants when their chosen dog has been adopted elsewhere,
and give them an opportunity to switch their attention to another rescued
dog. (back to top)
Are
you a shelter? Do the dogs stay in cages?
No, we are not a shelter, we are a rescue. All of our dogs stay in foster
homes, and have the run of the house and live as though they are a permanent
part of the family in which they are staying with. This also helps us
determine the dog’s personality and needs, as they can be evaluated
as they adapt to the less stressful surroundings. (back
to top)
What are
the costs involved? Why do you charge for adopting a dog?
In order to continue saving these dogs and giving them medical care
we must charge an adoption fee. Many of the dogs that come into our
rescue are in need of expensive medical treatments, surgeries, dentals,
spay, neuter, and vaccinations, after being neglected by their previous
owners or living on the streets. We receive no government funding, and
rely solely on the adoption fees and donations to cover our vet bills.
Our fees are based on the age of the dog, not their veterinary costs.
In this way, the higher fees charged for the younger dogs can assist
in offsetting some of the medical costs acquired on the behalf of other
dogs.
Many of the adult
and senior dogs are over looked due to their age and can live to their
high teens! These dogs have many more years of happiness to share –
consider adopting an older pet. (back to top)
Where
are you located?
Our rescue is made up of many foster homes around Southern Ontario.
We do not have one main address where all the dogs stay. If you want
to mail something to the rescue please contact us at psbrescue@yahoo.ca
for the correct address. As we are a registered charity, our Treasurer
has allowed her address to stand as the official address, although she
does not foster any of our dogs. (back to top)
What is
the full adoption process?
The adoption process starts with filling out the adoption application.
Our volunteers will review your application against any other applications
for a particular dog, and then chose the application most suitable to
the dog’s needs and personality. Our volunteers will check your
references and arrange a home visit. Once you are approved, you will
be able to meet and discuss the dog’s traits with the foster Mom
directly and take the dog home with you, if desired.
In some cases, a
chosen applicant will turn out to not be suitable after all, in which
case we will chose another applicant from the remaining applications
for that dog and start over. So the adoption process usually takes a
minimum of 3 weeks. Unfortunately, we do not have enough volunteers
to conduct reference checks and home visits on every application that
we receive, so we chose the one which looks like the best match.
We will always notify
all the applicants when their chosen dog has been adopted elsewhere,
and give them an opportunity to switch their attention to another rescued
dog. (back to top)
Are the
dogs vetted / spayed or neutered before being adopted?
Each dog will be vetted according to their specific requirements,
however all dogs will have received their basic vaccinations, including
Rabies - and be altered before going to their forever homes.
Female dogs with
unknown histories may have scars that appear to be caused by spaying.
In those cases, we will not open up a dog just to verify it has been
altered. The foster home will watch the dog for any evidence of entering
estrus and PSBR will reimburse the new adopters for the cost of spaying
should the dog go into estrus post-adoption. (back
to top)
Why
is your application so long?
We need to gather as much information as possible to make the best match
between our dogs and their potential adopters. Each dog has their own
personality and particular needs. Since we don’t have the resources
to perform reference checks on each application that comes in, only
the ones best suited to the requested dogs will be selected for processing.
We rely on the information presented in the application to make that
determination. (back to top)