Wren Yorkie Rescue
How It Works
Adopting a New Friend & Family Member
We carefully screen each adoption applicant using the given veterinary and personal references from people who know and have observed the applicant as a pet owner. We do telephone interviews and finally a home visit with a Yorkie or two--often a specific dog we may have in mind for that particular person--to observe the chemistry between dog and human. Applicants sometimes do not pass the home visit portion of the process if a particular dog doesn't "take" to them. Placement of our dogs happens only when the correct mutual match for the dog is found. Placement often takes 4 to 6 weeks or longer of living together to determine. We move as quickly as possible with adoptions, but WILL NOT RUSH into an adoption, as this rarely turns out well for the dog--and the dog's best interest and welfare is our bottom line! One notably choosey little Yorkie girl took three years and nine interviews before she announced quite clearly that she had finally met the woman with whom she wanted to spend the rest of her natural life.
* If you are interested in a dog, please first carefully read the profile on the dog and then email WrenYorkieRescue@AOL.com for an application form.
* We do not have a public facility. All dogs live with foster families in their homes. Arrangements to meet a dog occur AFTER an application is received, reviewed, and approved. Dogs left with you pending completion of the process DO NOT BELONG TO YOU until the final home visit and signing of the adoption contract transferring ownership.
* We prefer not to ship dogs, but if you seem like the ideal household for a specific dog, we can arrange with www.PilotsNPaws.org for a Rescue flight to a new home.
* Adoption fees for all dogs/puppies vary by individual, but we hope to receive between $200 and $500 for young, healthy dogs--less for seniors or dogs with ongoing medical issues.
Successful placements happen when the chemistry between dog and human is just right. We, therefore, try to get to know YOU as well as we know our dogs to ensure a mutually happy and lifelong permanent match. We can help you determine the personality type, gender, size, age, and activity level of the companion dog that will have the best chance of becoming a permanent and mutually loved and respected member of your family group. The questions on our Adoption Application are not intended to be invasive, but to help furnish those essential pieces of information.
We require you to sign a Foster Agreement before the dog can be left with you for a trial adoption period. The Foster Agreement stipulates that the dog in your possession DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU until the final home visit and signing of the adoption contract transferring ownership has occurred.
Please understand that because of the home visit part of our rescue protocol, which involves two or more visits, we prefer to place dogs within an hour or two driving distance of downtown Oakland. Exceptions can be made under certain appropriate circumstances.
The Adoption Process
STEP 1
An emailed request for an application to WrenYorkieRescue@aol.com. Your responses to the questions give us a beginning picture of your particular situation and expectations.
STEP 2
We chat with you by phone to hear your pet stories, learn more about your "ideal" canine companion, and to answer any questions or concerns you might have about adopting a Yorkie.
STEP 3
We have further chats with your vet, and the people you've indicated have known you as a pet owner.
STEP 4
We set up a mutually agreeable time to visit your home with a Yorkie, to see where your new dog would be spending his or her time, and to meet all the people and other animals that would be "regulars" in your new companion's life. We use the opportunity of the first site visit to walk what would be your usual dog-walking route, point out any features in the house, yard or neighborhood with potential for becoming an 'issue' with a particular dog. This step also allows you get to know and trust us.
STEP 5
If all seems 'right,' the visiting dog may be left with the applicant on a trial-adoption basis for 4 to 6 weeks or longer, to assess the compatibility of the applicant's lifestyle with the dog's needs. A check covering at least 50% of the agreed-upon adoption fee will be collected at that time, and a Foster Agreement stipulating that you understand the dog does not yet belong to you will be signed.
After the trial weeks are complete, if it is mutually determined that a particular dog or home is not a good match for whatever reasons, the dog will be returned to the Rescue. All but $25 will be returned to the applicant--unless the applicant wishes to donate funds already given. We always appreciate donations, which are tax-deductible when given to the Rescue Alliance.
STEP 6
The final step in the process is the payment of any remaining adoption fee and signing of the Adoption Contract during a final home visit. At that time, copies of all the dog's records will be given to the successful applicant, and ownership will pass to that individual.
Please understand that because of the home visit part of our adoption protocol which sometimes involves multiple visits to your home--we prefer to place dogs within an hour or two driving distance of downtown Oakland. All factors being equal, preference is given to local applicants, but exceptions are made when it seems in the dog's best interest.