Adoption saves lives. Thank you for considering welcoming one of our dogs into your home. If you are interested in one of our rescues the adoption process is outlined below.
1. Take a look at our available dogs
Please have a peek at the dogs we have available. If you see one that you feel would fit with your family, please download an application here.
2. Submit Adoption Application
Please be patient if we don’t reply to you right away as we are all volunteers and many of us work full time jobs, as well as working for Homeward Bound Rescue – besides, adopting a dog should never be a rush decision!
Please note that due to the high demand for our Bulldogs, applicants are placed on a waitlist for Bulldogs.
Applicants should fill out the online application stating that they are applying for a bulldog. They are then added to the Waitlist. Our Adoption Coordinator looks at the type of home, taking into consideration concerns regarding cats, children and their ages, dogs and experience. When a bulldog comes available, the Adoption Coordinator sends the bio to the most suitable candidate, based on the application.
3. Reference Check & Phone Interview
We will review your application, call you with some more questions and check your veterinary and personal references.
4. Home Visit
We come visit your family. Our home visit, is a mandatory step in the Adoption Process. Please ensure that all members of the family are home at the time of the Home Visit.
5. Meet and Greet
Meet your new friend! Be prepared to drive to the foster home. It may be 10 minutes or 3 hours away from your home. We promise your new family member is worth it! If the first dog you meet is not a match, that’s ok! There is sadly never a shortage of dogs. You will find one. Be patient. HBR will match you with another dog.
6. Adoption Fee and Contract
We will have paperwork for you to fill out and information on your new dog for you to keep. There is an adoption fee payable at the time of adoption which our Adoption Coordinator will discuss with you prior to the meet and greet. Our fosters do not handle cash, therefore our preferred method of payment is email money transfer.
PLEASE NOTE:
HBR does not adopt outside of Ontario and will not adopt to homes with Intact dogs (unless in a breeding contract or for medical reasons). Medical proof must be supplied.
Meanwhile….
During the adoption process, our dogs remain in foster care and have any necessary veterinary care completed. Please be aware that many of the brachycephalic breeds can have ongoing issues throughout their lives or in the future that you as the new family must be willing to take on! Please research conditions such as cherry eye, entropion, ‘corkscrew’ or tight tail, heart murmur, dry eye, chronic ear infections, food allergies, cruciate repair, heat exhaustion, bloat/torsion and so on. These are just a few common issues our breeds can have or may develop. It is wise to consider building up a ‘contingency fund’ prior to adopting any dog. Unfortunately our ‘fur babies’ are not covered under most benefit plans.
Our dogs come from many different circumstances: owner surrenders, puppy mills, shelters, and other rescues. We do not always have a clear history on each dog but we do our very best to disclose all information we do have to the new family regarding behaviour and temperament.
We are looking for homes that are safe for our breeds. Bulldogs and many other brachycephalic breeds should have a home with air conditioning in the summer! High rise condos or apartments may not suited to certain dogs. Pools can also be a hazard unless fenced from the rest of the yard as many of our dogs sink rather than swim!