WELCOME!!
Thank you for your interest in adopting with Almost Home!
Please email us at info@almosthomecaninerescue.com with any general questions.
All dogs are:
* spayed or neutered prior to adoption (including puppies)
* evaluated for temperament and trainability
* up-to-date on age appropriate vaccinations (DHPPC and Rabies)
* heartworm tested (6 months of age and older)
* Given flea, tick and heartworm preventatives
* treated for any necessary medical conditions
* microchipped
GENERAL ADOPTION FEES:
Adult dog: $250-500
Puppy: $400-600
*These are subject to change based on age, medical needs, and breed.*
Please do not hesitate to reach out about the status of your application via email: adoptions@almosthomecaninerescue.com
On average it takes our volunteers 7-10 business days to process the paper portion of your application.
We thank you for your patience.
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION
BEFORE APPLYING.
ADOPTION PROCESS
**Please note that we reserve the right to terminate an application at any point throughout the adoption process for any reason. Rude or inappropriate behavior towards our volunteers are not tolerated at any time.
WE NO LONGER ARE ACCEPTING GENERAL APPLICATIONS.
Please list a specific dog(s) that you are interested in adopting.
Please know that listing interest does not guarantee that you will adopt that animal. You may list multiple dogs.
VETTING
All current animals in the home MUST be up to date on all appropriate vaccinations (Rabies & Distemper/Parvo Combo) and be spayed or neutered unless there is a medical reason verified by your veterinarian’s office.
Please call your vet and confirm that your animals are
current on their vaccinations PRIOR to completing the application.
Any application that has current pets that are not up to date
(excluding medical reasons) will not be considered
and removed without notice.
**If your animals are not up to date but have a scheduled appointment please email us that information at adoptions@almosthomecaninerescue.com so we may confirm this with your veterinarian’s office.
REFERENCES
Contact your personal references to let them know we will be calling and to release information to us. Also be sure to list accurate telephone numbers of your references. This ensures your references call us back, which helps the process move along more quickly. We will attempt to contact your references no more than 3 times.
PRE-ADOPTION HOME VISIT
This home visit provides us an opportunity to get to know you and for you to get to know more about us and the rescue dog you are interested in adopting. This also helps us see if a dog would be a good fit for the energy and layout of your home. We are not there to judge your home; we just want to ensure our dogs will be safe in your home and be a good fit for your family.
All members of the household MUST be present at the time of the home visit.
WE DO NOT BRING DOGS ALONG TO HOME VISITS
You must be approved prior to meeting with a dog unless it is at one of our scheduled public meet and greets.
Once you are approved, you may meet the dog in private via the foster family.
You can apply for dogs if you live out of state, generally you must live within 5 hours driving distance to adopt one of our dogs. Exceptions may be worked out PRIOR to filling out an application by emailing us at adoptions@almosthomecaninerescue.com. People who live further than 5 hours away and do not get an ok from our team will not be considered and application removed without notice.
Due to Covid19 many of our home visits are being conducted electronically.
MEETING THE DOG/ADOPTION
Once the home visit has been completed, we get you in contact with the foster parents so you can ask questions and set up a time to meet the dog. We encourage you to have your current pets meet the new dog. Please note that it often takes time for dogs to get used to a new environment and your current pets and your new animals should ALWAYS have SLOW introductions. If you have any questions about this, PLEASE reach out. We have a basic trainer as part of our team who is willing to speak with anyone about this.
We expect an adopter to take possession of a dog as soon as it is ready to be adopted.
WE DO NOT HOLD DOGS FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME.
If you plan on moving, taking a trip, or have major life events coming up, please wait and apply AFTER those events have occurred. This is to ensure the dog's life is not disrupted more than necessary.
AHCR does NOT do a 2-week trial period unless pre-arranged with the Adoption Team. Certain dogs and families with specific needs may be able to have trial periods.
All of our animals are microchipped. Almost Home Canine Rescue registers these microchips so that both our information as well as the adopters' information is on the chip in case the animal is ever lost or abandoned. The adopter provides us with the names and phone numbers they would like on the chip, but does NOT register the chip.
We deposit any checks roughly 2 weeks after the adoption has taken place. It can take 3-4 weeks for the check to be deposited. If you do not want to wait 4 weeks, please make the adoption donation with cash.
Cash needs to be the EXACT amount as our fosters do not carry change for your convenience.
Thank you for understanding!
WE DO NOT REFUND ADOPTION FEES
Sometimes we have multiple applications for a dog. Please understand that we do our best to choose the home we feel is the best fit for the dog. This does not mean that you aren't a good adoptive family; we just may not think the dog would do well in your home. We may not decide until after we have done home visits for multiple families and we appreciate your cooperation and patience. Thank you for understanding.
- We will consider long distance adoptions, as long as a home visit can be completed and the adopter is willing to DRIVE to South Dakota to pick up their new dog. We do not allow our dogs to go to their new home via air travel or any 3rd party transporter.
- We do expect adopters to drive to the foster family's home to pick up their new dog.
- Our adoption fees are set so that we can afford to provide each of the animals in our case with the appropriate vetting they need to be healthy and happy and are non negotiable. WE DO NOT REFUND ADOPTION FEES
- We do not always require a fence, depending on the dog. If we require a fence, this will be noted on the dogs' description.
We expect that our dogs will be part of a family, not housed outside.
- Every dog will come with a Martingale Collar (included in the adoption fee) and is expected to wear that collar at all times after the adoption is complete. This is to ensure the dog's safety.
**If the dog you applied for was adopted by another family please know that we will keep your APPROVED application on file for a period of 6 months. Within that time frame if another dog comes up that interests you please email our team at adoptions@almosthomecaninerescue.com.
After 6 months a new application will be required.
We are always here to help!
We want this adoption to be successful, and we always are here to give advice and offer assistance. Please do not hesitate to email us at adoptions@almosthomecaninerescue.com with any questions or concerns.
** Please note that we reserve the right to check in on the animal, especially if we are concerned that they are not being taken care of properly. **
Please remember that we are all volunteers at AHCR and have other responsibilities outside of rescue. If you ever have any questions about your application, please email us at adoptions@almosthomecaninerescue.com and someone will respond to your inquiry within 24-48 hours.