Pet Adoption Forms

Original article by S. Veigel 11/19/2017

Sometimes people don’t adopt pets from a rescue just because it looks like too much effort and paper work. “I’m not filling out an application for a car loan”, someone might think, “I just want a dog”. So let’s talk about it.

When a rescue takes in an animal they have to clear several hurdles. First is the medical care for that pet which usually includes spaying or neutering. Then there are the basic injections, bathing, food, deworming and sometimes additional surgery. If an animal has heart worms the treatment requires several additional months of care before the animal can be adopted. They’re also dealing with an animal that was lost, abused and/or abandoned. Many rescues rely on volunteers to foster the animals which helps them to acclimate back into a home environment while they’re waiting to be adopted. So there’s some real cost and emotional investment in that animal. The last thing a rescue wants is to hand over a pet into a home where the animal might be left outside chained to a dog house, end up back in an animal control cage or worse.

To defray the cost of rescuing animals rescue organizations rely on donations of course but they also charge a nominal fee for the adoption. This fee is usually a small fraction of the cost of buying an animal elsewhere. To find the animal a “forever home” rescues not only want you to have one of their animals they also want to match an animal with your particular interest and situation. For example, when we adopted a really sweet dog named Hoover one of the conditions for his adoption was, “no cats”. That’s not a slight on cats, I love cats. But one of the foster parents noted that Hoover was extremely animated around cats and would not leave them alone.

So adoption forms serve several purposes. First of all they provide the rescue organization with basic information about your situation and interest so they can attempt to match you with a pet you’ll want to keep. Second of all it gives them a chance to inform you if they have a pet you might want in the first place. Since some of the animals might be in one of their foster homes they may not be able to provide “walk in service”. Third the form provides information that may require a more personal visit or further documentation. For example, if you rent a home or apartment and your landlord doesn’t permit pets that’s not a good situation for the animal (it happens). So the application informs you that the rescue will need a letter from your landlord stating that you are permitted to have a pet. Furthermore, the form and/or the adoption agreement may stipulate that if the animal doesn’t work out in your situation you must agree to return the animal to them and not animal control.

In my experience adoption forms are just not that complicated. Responsible rescues are only asking for basic contact and public information with some reassurance that will serve both you and the animal’s interest. The process may take longer than walking into a pet store (heaven forbid) and paying out some real cash for a pet that may have come from a “puppy mill” but if you achieve a good match there is no animal more appreciative than an animal that did not previously have a good home. And there is nothing more satisfying than the knowledge that every time you see them get a drink of water, eat some food or pop up in the window excited to see you coming home that you are part of something very meaningful in that life you helped to save.