Pet rescue adoption home visit.

[JennyDarling]

I am so excited! I feel like my family is finally ready to add a new furry member!

I have filled out an adoption application for a beautiful girl who is currently being fostered in VA and am waiting to hear for the rescue. In the mean time I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice on preparing for the home visit (assuming that we make it that far, of course!). This is a breed specific rescue who is reportedly exceptionally careful when placing their dogs and I want to make sure I am ready!

I know that I'll need show them where she'll sleep, eat and how we will handle training. She will most likely come to work with me everyday but we do have a fenced in yard and are installing a doggy door. Anything else you think I should be ready for?

 

[tlbwriter]

In my case, they basically wanted to confirm that we had a fenced yard and didn't have a bunch of unreported animals, as far as I could tell.

 

[nancycg56]

I recently had a home visit from Best Friends (they took some of the Vick dogs) and it was really easy. I had to show where the dog would sleep, where the dog we have now sleeps, where he eats, and she poked around to make sure our house was safe and watched our interaction with the dog we already had.

I worried like crazy but it was really easy and we passed with flying colors. The dog we already have could not have been more annoying during the home visit and I was so embarrassed but she thought he was great

We ended up not adopting from them at that time because we found a little dog here locally that needed us but our home visit lasts as long as we stay in this house

I'm so excited for you and please come back and let us know how it went.

 

[joyjoy]

Lone Star Boxer Rescue wanted to see that she would have access to the house and yard, that the fence was sound and had padlocks on each gate, what we were going to feed her, the name of our vet, any kids and/or other pets, what we would do if we had to leave town, our experience with dogs. That's about it, I think. I felt like I was adopting a baby!

 

[Nette]

Gold Ribbon Rescue (Golden Retrievers) wanted to make sure there was a fenced yard, NO dog door and no obstacles around the fence that could serve as a jumping off point.

Doesn't matter, our Star knows how to open the gate.

 

[tammymacb]

I've had home visits myself and also done them for greyhound rescue.

They want to make sure you have a safe and loving environment for your intended pet. That there are no obvious dangers to handing him or her over to you. That you're serious about the responsibilities you're taking on.

You'll do fine.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

When we had our home visit from GRREAT (golden retriever rescue), they brought a dog of their own with them to see how we would act with the dog. They wanted everyone who lived in the house to be there, which wasn't possible because DS was at college. Can't remember them looking for specific things other than the fence.

We have had our 2 goldens from them for 3 years now.

 

[nathalee81]

I am so excited! I feel like my family is finally ready to add a new furry member!

I have filled out an adoption application for a beautiful girl who is currently being fostered in VA and am waiting to hear for the rescue. In the mean time I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice on preparing for the home visit (assuming that we make it that far, of course!). This is a breed specific rescue who is reportedly exceptionally careful when placing their dogs and I want to make sure I am ready!

I know that I'll need show them where she'll sleep, eat and how we will handle training. She will most likely come to work with me everyday but we do have a fenced in yard and are installing a doggy door. Anything else you think I should be ready for?

Congratulations on your decision to adopt a pup!

I have done many, many home visits for a couple of different rescue groups.

Mostly the group wants to make sure you are serious about your commitment to your new furry family member member. I had a slew of questions that I asked-training, discipline, feeding, etc.

I would also look around the whole house and inspect the fence to make sure there were no gaps or weak spots (where a doggie could escape). One group I worked with didn't mind the doggie doors, another didn't like doggie doors if there was a pool-that really varied.

I also would observe how they reacted to the doggie I brought along (not every group brings along a dog, so it might be different for this group). I also just observed how the family interacted with one another and/or any other furry family members in the house.

I was not looking to see if your house was spotless or anything. Lots of people seemed concerned I was checking up on their housecleaning, which was SO not the case!

Good luck to you...keep us updated!

 

[louey]

Just wanted to say congrats, we have also had two home visits one for our greyhound and one for our King Charles. Like everyone said they just want to be sure your fence is secure, where the dog will sleep and that its the best and safe environment for you and your dog

 

[clh2]

In addition to things the other posters have mentioned - they will look for a pool. If you have one - make sure it is "secure" i.e. little kiddos or furry friends are not able to access it.

Our last dog adoption did not do a home visit, however, they must have looked at a satellite pic of our yard. They questioned us about our shed (think a 1-car unattached garage.) They were concerned that our new dog would be sleeping out there. We had no problem explaining that the shed was built after DD got her license. (We have a 3-car attached garage.) All summer stuff needs to go out to the shed in the winter - so all cars can be in the garage. Otherwise DH was worried that he would be the odd man out - or should I say his car would be out in the elements. The rescue had NO issues or further questions with our explanation.

Other questions the rescue may ask - how much do you think it will cost to have a dog, on an annual basis (think vet bills, food, etc.) What will you do when you go out of town with the dog (I don't think they care about your specific answer - just that you have thought it through. What if you and your spouse get divorced? Is your house a rental vs owned. What food will you be feeding (make sure it is a high quality food). How do you determine whether you will get a health problem fixed, or if you will decide to have the dog euthenized (Last time we had this question - the answer was crystal clear - our old dog had $2000 of dental work done, and that just wasn't even a decision, as it was a 1-time problem that was then fixed; we did decide to put our dog down after she had been diagnosed with cancer, when we knew the pain was getting unbearable.) If you have any other animals - are they all "fixed", are they all U-T-D on their shots, etc.

Good luck - they aren't anything to be nervous about (even though that is human nature). Please post pics (DIS rule) when you get your new furbaby.

 

[kerstfan1]

we have a rescue beagle

he was born in a lab and we are pretty sure they did tests on him
he was with 2 different homes before he got to us
i must say if i had known then what i know now he would not have come to us but now we dont want to miss him

we first had to visit him in the pension he was in at the time
after that we had a visit in our home the lady brought her dogs to see how it would go
and 2 days later we got to pick up our bob that was 5 years ago last september

 

[JennyDarling]

Thanks for the advice guys! We don't have a pool so that isn't a concern. I'm thinking hard about the doggy door now. The only reason I thought we should put it in is because the adoption listing mentions that she is doggy door trained. Maybe I'll wait and see if there are any concerns with the back yard that I'm not seeing before I install it.

Gosh, I hope I get this dog!

 

[tlbwriter]

Interesting... it sounds like a lot of your rescues combined the home visit with the information gathering process. In our case, the home visits weren't scheduled until we had already passed a written interview.

 

[JennyDarling]

Interesting... it sounds like a lot of your rescues combined the home visit with the information gathering process. In our case, the home visits weren't scheduled until we had already passed a written interview.

From what I gather, this particular rescue takes multiple applications for each dog then narrows it down to the ones that, on paper, are a good best fit for that specific dog. Then home visits are scheduled to determine who's the best candidate.

It's a pretty intense process.

 

[angwill]

Lone Star Boxer Rescue wanted to see that she would have access to the house and yard, that the fence was sound and had padlocks on each gate, what we were going to feed her, the name of our vet, any kids and/or other pets, what we would do if we had to leave town, our experience with dogs. That's about it, I think. I felt like I was adopting a baby!

I adopted a child and did foster care. Adopting was easier than getting a dog from the rescue in my area. Sadly because our yard could not be fenced I did not qualify and ended up buying from a good breeder.