Homeward Bound Dog Rescue of NY
Our Mission
Homeward Bound Dog Rescue is a no-kill, not for profit, dog rescue organization founded in 2004 and staffed entirely by volunteers. We rescue dogs that have been turned over to shelters, surrendered to us, and rescued from puppy mills. All dogs and puppies are placed in foster care to best prepare them for a permanent home and are fully vetted, spayed/neutered prior to adoption. Our mission is to provide care, rehabilitation, and placement - one dog at a time - for as many homeless dogs as possible, and promote lifelong happiness for our dogs and their adoptive families.
Adoption Policy
Adoption Requirements
Process:
1) Fill out an On-Line Adoption application. This should be completed with little or no omissions or incorrect data. Please understand that we cannot process your application if you do not take the time to fill one out properly. Please note that until we review your application and tell you that you are approved to adopt, you cannot adopt one of our dogs - the process does take a little while so it is good start early. For various reasons, we are no longer accepting "hand-apps."
Pay particular attention to your references and Veterinarian, including phone numbers. You will need to let your vet know that they can release information to us. We will be calling them.
Filling out an on-line application before you come to the Saturday clinic will speed up the process, and will go directly to the HB volunteers who manage applications. Please remember to click the "SUBMIT APPLICATION" button when completed.
If you are not within 40 miles of the Albany Airport, please do not apply. This a distance we decided upon and if you disagree with our definition for out-of-the-area, please feel free to look for a dog in your community.
2) Interview: Qualified volunteer (we are all volunteers) interviews you, for numerous reasons. First, we want to find our dogs the best possible homes. Second, we want to match personalities as much as possible. (We really don't want to see adoptions fail). Third, we get a kick out of helping to complete families, and who knows, you might get convinced to become a volunteer as well. We require everyone in the household to be present for the interview process, especially young children. We need to see the interaction between the dog and everyone in the family, and for that reason we NEVER do surprise or gift adoptions.
3) Reference Check: See the first reason for the interview.
4) Home Visit: We will do a home visit if you have animals at home that we feel our dog needs to meet before adoption takes place. Sometimes personalities clash, and somebody does not like someone else. This is especially true if you have cats and we do not know how the dog you wish to adopt will react to cats. We will also do a home visit for any potential adopter who requests it or if we feel there is a situation at home that warrants one. We have replaced the home visit for many of our adopters, by our interview, as we feel it is thorough and tells us what we need to know.
5) Contract: Once you are approved we will meet to handle the paperwork at our Saturday clinic. Once the contract is completed and your adoption fee is paid (cash or check ONLY) your new family member is turned over. We then hand over or mail you copies of everything we have about your new dog (medical records particularly).
6) Follow Ups: You may hear from us!! We will try to send follow up emails to check out how things are going.
7) Also, please send us pictures of your new family member whenever possible. We love to see success stories, so please keep in touch. You are very welcome to come to a later clinic with your new family member and show them off. We also love to get Alumni pictures and stories from the new family to post.
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day hours Monday Closed Tuesday Closed Wednesday Closed Thursday Closed Friday Closed Saturday By appointment Sunday Closed