Underdog Railway Rescue
Our Mission
We are a very small foster-home based rescue in Chicago's west suburbs, run by dedicated volunteers. Many of our dogs are unclaimed strays pulled from shelters who are Urgent (at risk of being destroyed due to expired time/lack of space). We are licensed by the IL Dept. of Agriculture, and 501c3 Tax Exempt.
Underdog Railway Rescue is urgently seeking more foster homes so we can save more deserving dogs. All vetting, food, and supplies are provided. Please consider stepping up to save a life of a deserving dog. Just once...
Our Adoption Process:
We limit our placements to the Chicago area, and reserve the right to determine the boundaries of that area.
We require a completed application prior to scheduling any one-on-one meeting. All family/household members and any other dogs must be present for the meeting.
If the meeting goes well, the dog can begin foster-to-adopt (trial adoption) of 1-2 weeks under the terms of our waiver/contract. We will lend you a cage if you need one. We reserve the right to do a home visit during this timeframe.
Assuming all goes well, we reconvene to complete the adoption, at which time the adoption contract is completed, the fee is paid (cash or check) and the vet and microchip records are provided to the adopter. We encourage our adopters to follow us on Facebook, and share Happy Tails updates.
Our goal is a happy, safe dog, and a delighted foster family.
Adoption Policy
For an adoption application, please email underdograilway@yahoo.com
Our dogs are housed in private foster homes, and may be viewed at adoption events, or by appointment with an approved application. We do not have a shelter facilty.
Please note: barring special circumstances, we limit our adoptions to the Chicago metro area. Under no circumstance will we ship a dog anywhere. We cannot hold dogs.
We do not adopt pitbulls or other bully breeds to renters. This is due to the scarcity of bully-friendly rental housing, which all to often leads to relinquishment or abandonment of the dog. Shelters are overwhelmed with pitbulls left homeless for these reasons.
If you have other dogs in your home, they must be spayed/neutered/UTD on vetting, barring a current and valid veterinarian exemption.
Our base adoption fee is $360 (cash), and includes spay/neuter, microchipping, heartworm testing, deworming/parasite screening, and vaccinations for rabies, distemper/parvo, leptospirosis, and bordetella (kennel cough). Some of our dogs also require and are treated for extraordinary medical conditions such as dental decay, heartworm, orthopedic or oral surgery, malnutrition, infections, etc.
Our dogs live in our homes, so we can provide temperament and behavior insights to help ensure a good fit with an adoptive family.
Our foster-to-adopt program is basically a trial adoption, which allows approved applicants to host the dog for 1-2 weeks before committing to a permanent adoption. When the adoption is complete, The adopter receives the dog's vetting records and microchip registration information, and the adaptation fee is due.
We do not have a physical shelter. Our dogs may be seen at our scheduled adoption events, or by appointment. A completed application is required prior to any appointments.
Volunteers welcome. Please consider fostering with us. You would be helping us save lives.
