VOLUNTEER

THE ADOPTION PROCESS - EXPLAINED

The Kentucky Mutts Rescue’s mission is to place homeless dogs into loving homes with amazing families. We take special care to match the right home with the right dog, ensuring a lifetime of love for both the pet and the adopter. To ensure the best matches are made, we have a process that has been proven effective in determining the best homes for our animals. Our adoption process may seem time consuming or unnecessarily complicated, but please understand that we have our dogs’ best interests at heart. We strive to find the best homes possible for our dogs, as well as find the right dog for you and your lifestyle.

The Kentucky Mutts Rescue’s mission is to place homeless dogs into loving homes with amazing families. We take special care to match the right home with the right dog, ensuring a lifetime of love for both the pet and the adopter. To ensure the best matches are made, we have a process that has been proven effective in determining the best homes for our animals. Our adoption process may seem time consuming or unnecessarily complicated, but please understand that we have our dogs’ best interests at heart. We strive to find the best homes possible for our dogs, as well as find the right dog for you and your lifestyle.

Our dogs have come into our program because they were in a shelter environment and were already at risk. Many of our dogs are accepted into our program within hours of scheduled euthanasia. We are their guardians and their voice. We have committed to ensure that they have the best possible “furever” homes, and we take that commitment very seriously.
Please understand that our organization is completely run by unpaid volunteers, who dedicate their free time to help the dogs. If your references are unavailable, it will delay the process, since those must be checked before moving forward. The entire adoption process takes time; we are unwilling to sacrifice being thorough when the dog’s future is at stake. We thank you for your time and patience throughout our adoption process.

Requirements for Adoption

  • You must reside within a reasonable driving distance from us.
  • In most cases; we are unable to adopt out of the State of Kentucky. The exception is dogs we have in out of state foster homes.
  • You must be at least 21 years of age to adopt one of our dogs.
  • Valid photo ID with a current address
  • Home Visit must be conducted for safety check, Condos and apartments with balconies are discouraged.
  • If renting, documentation to prove permission to own an animal by landlord is required.
  • Condo-owners and members of Home Owner Associations must be prepared to show us the covenants of the association allowing a dog to live on the property.
  • We reserve the right to verify that Home Owners Insurance does not prohibit the dog you are adopting.
  • Fenced Yards may be required for certain breeds deemed to be “runners”.
  • Electric fences will not be approved.
  • We do not adopt “outdoor dogs”.  We do not adopt dogs that you intend to keep chained outdoors. If you are not willing to have our dog live inside your home, please do not apply.
  • All adults in household must meet with our team member at the same time. Multiple meetings will not be set up.
  • At our discretion, some adoptions may require a background check
  • We do not process adoption applications for “secondary adopters”, an example of this is adopting a dog to be given to someone other than the applicant as a gift.
  • In those cases where there are more than one adoption application on a dog, we strive to place the dog in the home that is the best match for the dog.  We will attempt to contact you with regret letters when that happens and encourage you to apply to adopt another dog in our program. If you do not hear from a team member it is likely that another family was chosen for the dog.
FEES: Include all vaccinations to date of adoption. Spay/Neuter and Microchip. We disclose all known medical conditions and observed behavior issues. All dogs are adopted out AS IS, no post adoption costs will be covered by the rescue. Adoption Fees are payable by cash only. Sorry, checks are not accepted.

Adoption Fees are determined by the age of the dog.

$350.00

Puppy (Under 1 year of age)

$250.00

Adults 1 year to 8 years old

$150.00

Seniors Over 8 years old (or some “giant breeds” between 5 – 7 years old)

$75.00

Senior to Senior Program

Ready to Adopt?

This outline is a guide as to what to expect as you go through the adoption process. The steps as outlined may proceed in a different “order” as determined by our volunteer team member.
Kentucky Mutts Rescue, Inc reserves the right to deny any application, for any cause, at the discretion of the Board of Directors, because the individual animal is not suitable to your circumstances, or on a more general basis.

This application will tell us about you and your lifestyle, training beliefs and background with animals. You will find our Application online here.

One of our volunteer team members will contact you by phone to discuss your application, the dog you are interested in, and will determine if your expectations match the dog you are applying for.

Our organization does not have a shelter where the dogs can be visited. Our dogs are in foster homes. There is also the opportunity for you to meet our dogs at scheduled adoption events. We do NOT arrange meetings between interested individuals and our fosters until an Adoption Application has been submitted.  After submitting your application, a volunteer (usually the foster) will contact you about scheduling a time for you to meet the dog(s) you are interested in. This meeting may occur at the foster’s residence or your home, at an adoption event or a mutually agreeable location.

This is the portion of the process that can take the most amount of time. It is helpful if you contact your references and ask them to return our calls in a timely manner.

  • Our volunteers will contact your  personal references and ask them questions in regards to whether they consider you to be a responsible pet owner.
  • If you rent your home, your landlord will be contacted to make sure you have approval to have a dog in your home. We also ask about any breed or size limitations.
  • Our volunteers will contact the veterinary reference(s) you provided to determine if all your current pets are spayed/neutered and up to date on vaccinations. If you don’t have any current pets, we will ask about the veterinary care that your previous pets received. If you have never owned a pet, this step is skipped.

Our organization requires home visits to determine that the dog will be living in a safe environment. This is an informal chance for us to get to know you, your lifestyle, home environment and determine which dog(s) in our program might be the best fit. A volunteer will do a short walk-through of your home and yard to ensure its safety and to advise on any areas of concern.

Please remember, just because you are determined to be an approved adopter, you are NOT guaranteed a particular dog. For some dogs, we receive many applications. We may allow multiple applicants to have a meeting with the dog before we choose the home that we feel will be the best fit for the dog. Also, if the volunteer involved in the meeting with you and the dog, does not feel you are a good fit for the dog, you may be denied adoption of that particular dog but you may be allowed to adopt another dog.

If it is determined that the adoption should proceed, our volunteer team member will meet with you again to finalize the adoption of your new family member.  You will be required to sign an Adoption Contract and register the dog’s microchip into your name. We will also provide you copies of all veterinary paperwork we have for the dog.  With your permission, a “Happy Tails” photo will be taken at that time to post on our website and other social media outlets.  For safety, we do not post identifying information on the internet.

Adoption Trial Period/Foster to Adopt Program

The Adoption Trial period is for our harder to place dogs and cats, those with either behaviour issues or major medical problems (heartworm positive, impending surgery, etc.). Please discuss this option with our volunteers to see if this might work for you. At the start of the trial you are required to sign an adoption contract.

If needed, our organization can provide a kennel/crate, food/water bowls, leash and collar for you to use during the trial period. We may also provide a small supply of dog food that will allow you to transition the dog’s diet to another food. If at any time during the trial period you are having issues with the dog, please contact us immediately.

Post Adoption Follow-up Visit

Our adoption contract contains a clause that allows one of our volunteers or a representative the ability to perform a follow-up visit. We may require such a visit if we feel that the terms of the adoption contract are not being met. Kentucky Mutts Rescue is committed to the life, health and well-being of every dog we place for the remainder of that dog’s life. Should the adoption not work out or you need to re-home the dog, our contract requires that the dog be returned to the rescue.

Main location: Corbin, KY
Volunteers transport each week to Minnesota

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