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Ready to Adopt? Considerations and Steps

Adopting a pet is one of the most rewarding things you can do! But it is also a serious commitment that should not be taken lightly. Sadly, thousands of animals end up in shelters every year because people do not think through what it means to own and care for a pet. The result is the euthanasia of millions of perfectly adoptable pets. Don’t be one of these people. Take the time to think through this decision thoroughly. Talk to other pet owners about what it means to own a pet. Talk to vets about what it costs to properly care for a pet. Talk to trainers about what it means to train a pet so that the animal’s behavior is positive. Go into this decision armed with the knowledge and the resources to make pet ownership a mutually rewarding experience for your new pet.

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Are You Ready to Adopt?

Factors to Consider Before Adopting

Pet Insurance

Do you have a plan if your animal should become sick or injured? What will you do if such requires medical attention costing over $1,000? Have you researched pet insurance?

Adjusting to the Home

Are you willing to give the animal you adopt a solid 4-6 weeks to settle into your life and household? Whether puppy, dog, cat or kitten, animals (like people) take time to acclimate. Hyper dogs often settle once they feel safe and have a routine. Scared cats will come out from underneath the bed once they feel safe. Puppies will learn to sleep through the night and go potty outside if given the time. Abused animals will come around and learn to trust you if you give them time and reassurance. Do NOT expect miracles overnight. 

Training

Are you willing to pay and work with a trainer? EVERY single dog/puppy will benefit from training. Start out on the right foot and increase the bond between you and your dog by attending classes or working with an individual trainer. You owe it to the animal and you owe it to yourself. There is no such thing as the perfect dog

Are You Ready to

Make a Long Term Commitment? 

Puppies grow up to be dogs! Decide what size dog (not puppy) will fit best into your family. Keep in mind that with mixed breed puppies, it can sometimes be difficult to predict their full-grown size with 100% accuracy.

Kittens and puppies require hours and hours of attention as they grow. They often don’t sleep through the night. They chew. They bark. They climb. They nip. And they grow! Do you have the schedule to care for a puppy or kitten? Will you be able to part with your favorite shoes that one time you forget to put them away and arrive home to find them chewed to pieces? Will you have the time to properly train a puppy or kitten? The untrained pup/kit grows into an untrained dog/cat – and the longer you wait to train, the harder it gets!

Can you have/tolerate a dog that barks? A cat that meows a lot? Can you have/tolerate a dog that sheds and a cat that sheds? Do you require that your dog fit through a dog door? Must your cat stay off the counters? Can you adequately handle a fence-jumping dog? Do you need a dog that likes to ride in the car? Do you need a dog that is good in large groups? Think of your everyday life/environment and the things you like to do. Imagine your dog in all of those situations!

Puppies/kittens are expensive! They require at least 3-4 vet visits for shots in the first 3 months, food, toys, supplies, a crate and training.

Have you

Considered Your Circumstances?

Are you likely to be transferred in the near future? Will you be able to take your pet? Do you have a plan for who might be able to take your pet if you do have to move with little forewarning? Are you going to be deployed or transferred overseas? Too many animals are abruptly dumped at shelters when people move and cannot take them. Where would your pet would go if this happened?

Are you considering having kids in the near future? Are you willing to research the necessary steps for preparing a pet for a new child? Too many animals are dumped when people do not plan adequately for the arrival of a new child.

If you have kids, will you be able to spend the time necessary to make sure that your kids are treating the pet the right way? Animals mistreated by children often grow up to be aggressive and/or fearful of humans. It’s important to not only tell your children what is and what is not acceptable, but to watch them closely!

Are You Ready to Adopt?

More Things to Consider

If you work during the day, are you willing to arrange and pay for a dog walker? Dogs left alone and/or crated for too long are often hyper when you finally arrive home. They jump, bark and chew on things. After a long day at work, it is usually not what most people enjoy. Too often, animals are dumped at shelters because their owners realize they simply do not have the time to give them. So instead, the animals end up euthanized. You must make sure your animal will get adequate exercise and attention.

If you’ve recently lost a pet and are considering getting another, have you had enough time to grieve for your lost pet? Do you understand that the next animal you adopt will have different habits and quirks? Many people move too quickly to fill the void left by a deceased pet. Sadly, these animals are adopted and returned once the owner realizes he/she needs more time. Take the time to grieve and get ready for another pet. It’s only fair to you and the next animal you take in.

Are you prepared to have your new cat/kitten scratch the furniture? Will you be able to work with your cat/kitten and provide alternative scratching objects while teaching the cat not to scratch your furniture?

Are you ready to commit to addressing litter box issues?

Next Steps

The Adoption Process

Once you submit an Adoption Questionnaire, an HT volunteer will review it. If it looks like you and the animal are a good match, the volunteer will e-mail or call you to discuss your application further. Determining a good match takes into consideration the animal’s age, temperament, your schedule and experience. Our goal is to make the best match possible! If the animal you applied to adopt is not a good fit for you, the volunteer may make suggestions for other animals in our program that might be better fits.

Dog Adoption Form
Cat Adoption Form
Next-Steps-Side

We require vet references to ensure that your pets are spayed and neutered and kept current on their vaccines and that overall quality of care you provide is high!

We require landlord references for those people renting. This ensures that you are permitted to have a pet and clarifies breed and size restrictions.

After this process is complete, you will be give the green light to adopt your new family member!

Please note that adoption fees are non-refundable except for special circumstances considered by our adoptions team.

Note: Homeward Trails does not generally adopt out of the Mid-Atlantic area. Special consideration will be given on a case by case basis to applicants out of our area. When placing an animal outside of DC/MD/VA, the animal must be spayed or neutered before they can leave the area.

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More News from the Trail!

  • Saving 200 Lives – Our Biggest Event Ever!

    We are SAVING 200 LIVES THIS WEEK!!  Our biggest event ever! This time next week we have TWO Trails UP teams hitting the roads to save lives in this unprecedented effort! And we need your support to make it happen. We are sooo excited!! And to make it more fun for everyone, this effort is part of our Quarterly Raffle. For each $100 donor, we pick one winner at random to win a $350 Amazon gift card, a custom dog or cat goody basket and 2 free tickets to our Chili Bingo event in the fall – winner to be chosen as soon as we meet our $ goal. 120 DOGS WILL BE STERILIZED….. “I love this dog that wandered up to my house. But I’ve got a female dog inside and this dog is not neutered. The cost of getting him neutered is more than I can afford. But I hate to take him to the shelter. So for now I have to keep him chained up. If I can get him neutered and vaccinated then he can live indoors with us. I would love for him to be a real part of our family.” – Mr. Jenkell For the first time ever, Homeward Trails has organized a 120-dog spay/neuter event in Galax, VA, one of our most favorite Trails UP communities. We will be traveling to Galax where we have been working for months to secure 120 dogs who desperately need neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. These animals are loved but have owners who simply cannot afford their surgery. Without this event many would face becoming pregnant and ending up in the local shelter with puppies. Or possibly facing a life on a chain. This is no way for a family to live.  As much of our Trails UP spay/neuter efforts have focused on cats due transport options and surgical availability, our hearts have been hurting as we see the shelters filling up with dogs & puppies and so many people desperately wanting to get their dogs neutered. And so we have been working overtime to put together this major event. We will be partnering with several groups to bring a mobile unit to Galax and bring these lifesaving and lifechanging services to these dogs. We cannot WAIT. Every dog will be neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. And we hope to send all home with dog food, flea/tick meds and for those who need it – a dog house! The cost to us for this event comes to $120/dog  – as we are providing these services totally free to the community. PLEASE consider sponsoring a dog for this event and allowing us to truly change the life of a dog and the people who love him/her. A donation of any amount will truly make a difference! 80 CATS WILL BE STERILIZED The second half of our Trails UP team will be heading to Buchanan County to do free spay/neuter and Trap-Neuter-Return for 80 cats. The number of cat lives that will be saved from preventing unwanted kittens is often totally hard to digest. It’s HUGE. Just last month, we spayed almost 25 early pregnant cats – you can see how many lives that saved through prevention. It also means the world to the human caretakers of these kitties who so often struggle to feed their own families let alone the dozens of cats they care for. We will spend 5 days in the field working with community members in this very under-resourced communities. We will set traps in trailer parks, in yards and barns, on decks and in gardens – wherever we can – to get 80 cats sterilized, vaccinated and microchipped.    This will require not only 36 hours of trapping but more than 10 additional hours of driving to and from our surgical clinic. Our van will be loaded up with 80 cats (the very most we can fit) to make the 3.5 hour one-way trip to the surgical center. This is a huge undertaking each time we do it. But with no affordable large-scale spay/neuter clinics close by, we take what we can get. Our team is so dedicated! And so over a short period of just 5 days, we will sterilize, vaccinate and microchip 200 animals in two separate but equally under-resourced communities. And we are SO EXCITED. Please sponsor a dog or cat at just $100 and you can be a winner of a $350 Amazon gift card, a custom dog or cat goody basket and 2 free tickets to our Chili Bingo event in the fall – winner to be chosen as soon as we meet our $ goal.