How To Adopt a Collie from Collie Concern RescueFor the safety of the dogs, a fenced yard is required. This is a requirement that is listed in our policies.
Step 1. Examine your life. Is there enough room for a collie? A collie is a lifelong commitment and a member of your family. We will expect you to be able to afford vet bills even if they are unexpected and costly (a single illness can cost $1500). Talk to your family members and make sure they are on board with this commitment.
Step 2. Read our Policies. It has come to our attention that, although we previously stated in Step 1 that a potential adopter should read our policies, sometimes they are not being read before an application is submitted. Some applications do not get approved because, for various reasons, one or more policies cannot be followed. The dogs are our first priority and the policies that we have in place are to keep them safe, happy, and healthy.
Step 3. Register or Login to our site. You can do this by starting an Adoption Application, or going to the sidebar on the left side of the page that says "Member Login". If you have registered with us before, there is no need to do it again, you can update your information or have your password or username resent or reset if you have forgotten it or changed it.
Step 4. Fill out an Adoption Application.
Step 5. Pay the application fee when you fill out your application or contact us after you have filled out your application in order to get a mailing address to send in a check. Your application will not be processed until we have received your application fee. The application fee is $10.
Step 6. After we have received your application fee, we will contact your personal references and your veterinarian reference. If you have owned a pet in the last 5 years, we will ask your vet about this pet. Please list the vet that you used for yout last pets so that we don't have to contact you to ask for another vet reference.
Step 7. We will schedule a phone interview. This is as much for you as it is for us. We will ask you about what you wish for in a collie and you can ask us questions, too. This interview usually lasts about an hour. Please ensure that all adults are home for this interview.
Step 8. If all has gone well with the phone interview and your references have checked out ok, we will schedule your home visit. This allows us to verify that your home is appropriate for a collie. If we see anything that concerns us for any reason, we'll discuss it with you. The goal of the home visit is not to judge your housekeeping or decorating taste, but to ensure our collies go to a home we would be happy to live in ourselves.
Step 9. After the home visit, we will inform you via email if you have been approved to adopt. If your application has been approved, you will now be able to inquire about our dogs and officially be "in line" to adopt appropriate dogs. We do this by way of "meet requests". When you request to meet a dog, you will first talk or email with the Foster Parent. We match dogs to homes based on the interview with you and what we know about our dogs. We discourage potential adopters from meeting ALL the dogs in our program. Our program is more individualized to the dog and to the adopter.
Step 10. When you are first in line for a dog that you, your interviewer and the dog's foster parent think will be an appropriate match, we will set up a time for you to meet the dog. If the match seems to be made in heaven and the dog's vetting and paperwork is done on our end and everything seems to be a "go" then the dog may be able to go home that day if you are prepared with everything YOU need such as collar, leash, bowls, blanket, the specific food he is eating, etc. :) If you need more time to think about if you would like to adopt, more time can be given. If there are other potential adopters in line behind you to meet this dog, we ask that you make a decision within 48 hours.
Step 11. The adoption Contract is signed and the Adoption Fee is paid to the foster. The Collie goes home with an identification collar, but some collies need a stronger collar, so talk to your Foster Parent about what kind of collar and leash is needed to bring your Collie home. Your collie will have copies of all his vet work, his microchip ID, and the brand of food he is eating.
Step 12. Keep in Touch. Contact us if you ever need anything at all. We are always here to offer advice on any Collie-related subject. Our Fosters and Volunteers are a wealth of knowledge and we have access to a vet tech and a veterinarian for those involved and complicated issues affecting our alumni. In many cases we can offer a mentor to help if you have a difficult issue that you need to work through with your rescue Collie. Sign up for our Mailing list (in the lower left hand side of the home page). Consider volunteering for the BEST Collie Rescue there is and help us save more Collies like the one you just adopted. If you ever find that you absolutely cannot keep your Collie, please call us. We will stand by our alumni.
