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Welcome
to the Animal Refuge Center!
10
Considerations Prior to Adopting a Pet
- Submitted by volunteer Deborah Beard
Adopt
a pet for the right reasons.
Is this a spur of the moment decision? Did you
see a cute furry face in a store window? Is it because your
children are hounding you for one? Or is it because you
have decided that you want the companionship that an animal
can provide during its lifetime?
-
Consult your
entire household.
Everyone that has to live with the pet should be in
agreement about adopting it. If you are adopting it
for your children are you willing to care for the pet
once the kids lose interest?
-
Consider your
lifestyle.
Do you travel a lot or work most of the day? Do you
have young children or other pets that may not interact
well with a new pet? Is an energetic puppy that needs
to be housebroken, prone to chewing everything, and
in need of obedience training right for you?
-
Evaluate living
accommodations.
Many rental places do not allow pets or restrict what
type of pet you can have. Do you anticipate a move in
the near future?
-
Not everyone
can live with a pet.
Is anyone in your household allergic to pets? Or is
anyone in the house fearful of that type of pet?
-
Time Management.
Do you have time to train, socialize, and offer companionship
to that animal? Do you have the time to feed, clean
up after, groom, exercise, and play with that pet?
-
Budget expenses
for your pet.
Do you have the money to pay for food, toys, bowls,
collars, cages, obedience lessons, kitty litter, and
other such expenses? Do you have the money to pay for
visits to the veterinarian and the proper vaccinations
for that pet?
-
Pets need room
to roam.
Do you have the appropriate space for the type of pet
you are considering? Are you looking to adopt a large,
energetic dog to live in your studio apartment?
-
Troubleshooting
101.
Are you prepared to deal with problems that may arise
from pet ownership? Chewed or scratched furniture, flea
infestations, accidents on the good carpet, behavior
problems, etc...
-
Prepare for a
lifetime commitment.
Are you prepared to make a commitment to that pet for
its entire lifetime? They don’t remain cute, adorable
puppies and kittens forever. Are you prepared to make
the commitment to be a responsible pet owner for the
next 10 - 20 years (the average life span of many dogs
and cats.)
Animal Refuge Center Adoption Policies!
- The person responsible for the pet MUST
be 18 years of age or older in order to adopt. In some cases,
proof of age is required.
- Must have valid identification, with name
and present address. Valid identification consists of: Driver's
license, major credit card (Master Card, Visa, American
Express, Discover), passport or a current utility bill.
- Must have a working telephone in their
household, under the Adopter's name.
- Must be gainfully employed. Unemployment,
welfare, and social services are unacceptable. Adopter must
have a working business number.
- If single and living at home with parents,
or in an apartment in parent's house, one parent MUST be
present or reachable by telephone at the time of the adoption.
One or both parents must be contacted to ensure the pet
will be allowed in the house.
- If married and not accompanied by your
spouse, ARC MUST be able to speak with the husband, wife
or partner. If potential adopter is living with a roommate,
the roommate must be contacted.
- If the husband/wife/partner are divorced
or separated, neither one can adopt an animal for the other's
household. The person who is going to be responsible for
the pet MUST be present to sign the Adoption Application.
- At no time can a friend, relative or neighbor
not living in the same household as the Adopter be responsible
for the pet. *
- NO GIFT ADOPTIONS!! The person that is
going to be responsible for the pet must be present at the
time of the adoption in order to sign the Adoption Agreement.
If the person that is adopting the pet has written on the
form that the pet is a gift adoption, the adoption cannot
take place, and the form cannot be changed so as to allow
the pet to go to the Adopter's household, instead of as
originally stated. *
- NO ADOPTION to any person(s) who has taken
any previous pets to a shelter that destroys.
- No dormitory or group living situations,
i.e. schools, communes, group housing, etc., are permitted.
- NO ADOPTION if an Adopter or any family
member has an allergy to pets. *
- NO ADOPTION to any person that lives in
a city project or government housing.
- NO ADOPTION to any person(s) who have adopted
an ARC animal and given the animal away, without prior written
approval from ARC.
- If previous animal has died of any airborne
disease, Adopters must have house and yard disinfected and
must wait no less than 1 month (minimum) before any animals
of the same kind can be brought into the household.
- NO LARGE DOGS TO APARTMENTS!! This should
be verified with Landlord. *
- If a potential Adopter is turned down for
any reason, no one that was with him/her at that time will
be allowed to adopt on the same day.
- NO PERSON (S) WHO IS SUSPECTED OF BEING
UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL OR DRUGS CAN ADOPT!!!
- No animal will be given to anyone who refuses
to have it spayed/neutered.
- No new animal will be given to an Adopter
if a previous animal was adopted from ARC and was not spayed/neutered
within 6 months after the adoption.
- ADOPTERS WITH POOR PET HISTORY CANNOT ADOPT!!
All present and past pet history must be verified.
- Except for special cases where an animal
is discovered to be terminally ill (i.e., cat is found positive
with FeLv or FIP, or dog has very bad behavioral problems),
if a person(s) previously adopted a pet from ARC and returned
it for any other reason, a new adoption cannot take place,
unless otherwise stated.
- Dogs are not allowed to go out as guard
dogs. *
- For the purpose of follow-ups to adoptions,
we try to minimize our adoptions to the Tri-State area.
*
- NO ADOPTION will take place if Adopter
refuses to sign the Adoption Agreement. NO CHANGES can be
made to the agreement.
- ARC reserves the right to deny any person(s)
that does not meet ARC's specified adoption policies.
*Staff must use own judgment
Click here to download our Adoption
Questionnaire and Adoption Contract
 This
document uses Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF). To view
it, you must install the Free
Acrobat Reader for use with your web browser.
Pam
Harrison, Webmaster
If you would like to adopt, volunteer, or have other questions,
send us an email to:
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