How to Adopt

We take pride in our placement efforts. We strive to guarantee that the right dog goes to the right home. If you would like to adopt a dog or puppy from Home FurEver, here is what you need to do!

PLEASE NOTE: Because we are a small group of volunteers who do this in our spare time, our adoption process can take up to a few weeks. We appreciate your patience.

Complete an application: We would like to get to know you better. Our dogs are fostered in our homes and we get very attached. We like to know that our dogs are going to the best home possible!  We have online applications now!

Interview with our adoption coordinator: While reviewing your application, we may have questions for you to help explain your application. Our adoption coordination has over 30 years of successful experience in placing dogs. We love our dogs and want to be sure you’ll love and care for them as much as we do. All of our dogs must have a physical fenced yard.  If you don’t hear from us within 2 weeks, your application was not approved for the dog you applied for.  If your application was approved, we move on to the vet check and home check.

Our commitment to obedience training: One requirement that sets us apart from other groups is our commitment to obedience training. We are noticing that this is catching on in the rescue community. Dogs and puppies will need to go through an approved training program. This helps create a wonderful bond between dog and the owner. Dogs are less likely to be returned due to behavior issues. When you adopt a dog from us, we will provide you with a list of several training facilities that you can choose from. Training classes are fun, help socialize your dog with new people and new dogs and create and cement a bond that will last a lifetime. As part of the training process, we also recommend that our adopters read Decoding Your Dog: Explaining Common Dog Behaviors and How to Prevent or Change Unwanted Ones (available for purchase via Amazon at the link).

Veterinarian check: We will need your current veterinarian’s name and phone number in order to verify that your current or even previous animals have been properly cared for. To save time you could bring in ALL your current and past dogs medical records.  If your vet check was approved, we move on to the home visit.

Home check: All approved applications will require a home visit. Please note that just because the application was approved, does not mean the home check will be approved. Our home checks usually take about a week to coordinate. One of our approved volunteers will come to your home to help assess the safety and security of your home. We do not mean for this to be an invasion of your privacy. Over the years, we have learned how to think like dogs. We can point out weaknesses in your fencing, your doors, point out poisonous plants and other hazards you may not have thought of. We also help teach the little ones how to properly care for a dog or puppy and encourage a positive experience for everyone. On some occasions, we are able to bring the dog or puppy you are interested in with us. This helps make sure that the dog or puppy you have chosen is the right dog for you. We are not always able to coordinate bringing the dog, though. All of our volunteers and fosters have jobs, kids, family, soccer practice, etc. so we really cannot drive more than about an hour for a home check.

Foster to adopt: We encourage all potential adopters to foster the dog they are interested in before making the lifelong commitment. We like to offer you a week or two to foster before finalizing the adoption at the following adoption event. Please be aware that we cannot offer this program to young puppies. Young puppies are more susceptible to disease, so we only offer this program to dogs that are fully vaccinated and sterilized.

Adoption: If you have been approved for adoption, we will contact you to let you know. We will set up an appointment at one of our local adoption events for the contract signing. We have tried to narrow down our paperwork for adoption. We are still in the process of making the process a little easier for all involved. We have the adoption contracts and veterinary history for you. We take a family photo and you can pick out a crate blanket for your newest family member! Adoption fees can be paid in cash or check.

For more information, please email us at [email protected].

Please note that if you haven’t heard from a Home FurEver representative within 2 weeks of your application being submitted, you were not selected for the dog you applied for. Should you feel this decision was made in error, please contact us at [email protected].