When you inquire about a dog that is
at our rescue, you will see that there are steps you must go through before an adoption can be approved. We do this
to make sure all of our dogs find the safest, loving homes we can find. Some people inquiring feel that this is too
much to go through just to adopt a dog. Well, we don't think so considering there are people out there who are "Collectors"
(people who amass large quantites of dogs at their home with good intentions but cannot care for so many), "Bunchers" who
are people who collect free to good home pets and sell them for medical research or worse, dog fighting bait. There
are also those who feel that it's ok to keep dogs outside and we do not agree with this or chained 24/7 and we will not permit
that either. We want to make sure our dogs are safe and loved, many of our rescues have had a terrible start in
life and we never want them to go back to that kind of life. That is why if you adopt one of our rescues and cannot
keep the dog for any reason, at any time in it's life, it is to be returned to us. We make a lifetime committment
to care for our dogs, shouldn't you?
Step 1: The Pre-Adoption Application
This is a two page application that basically
lets you tell us about yourself. Using this we can see whether your family and the dog you are interested in are a good
match. If we think you are then we would go to checking your reference if you have one (we may pre-approve an applicant
based on the vet reference):
Step 2: Meeting the dog and Us.
We will then set a meeting up for you to
come and visit the dog you are interested in. If after the meeting we both agree it would be a good match than
we would move on to:
Step 3: The Home Visit
This is a visit to your home completed by either a representative
of The Lyons Den Rescue OR if you live too far, a fellow rescuer. This is a short visit, normally 45 minutes to an hour.
This is to see your home and make sure it is safe for the dog you have chosen to adopt. (Also to make sure you don't
have 50 dogs in your basement:) After this we go to:
Step 4: The adoption contract, Donation and Transport of adopted
dog
Our adoption contract is pretty basic. You agree to keep the
dog up to date on vet care, keep them as a companion in the house, return them to us if you can't keep them for any reason,
etc. Our Adoption Donation ranges from $125.00-$225.00. This really depends on the dog you have chosen.
The donation is at our discretion. We would then help transport your new companion to you.
Well, that's about it. Many people think this is a lot to
go through to adopt a dog, but you must understand these dogs are cared for in our homes. We love them as if they were
are own. They are socialized and most times trained in some manner and are completely vetted.
If you don't want to go through our adoption process, that's OK.
There are many, many dogs in need in our shelter system that do not require this type of process. We would encourage
you to look at your local shelter.
