WHERE DOES A NEW DOG IN RESCUE GO? By Marian Krueger IF YOU HAVE MADE THE DECISION TO SURRENDER YOUR DOG TO RESCUE OR ARE JUST CURIOUS WHAT HAPPENS TO A NEW DOG IN RESCUE, READ ON. PLEASE NOTE: To identify that you are actually working with SCBR, please read this information. *You will speak with an SCBR representative to answer specific questions about your dog. *You will be asked to have your vet fax your dog's medical records to us at 734-573-6450 *You will be asked to sign an owner surrender agreement that clearly states that it is from SCBR *Most importantly, your dog will appear on the SCBR web site. All rescue dogs appear on the rescue site. If your dog is not on the site, then your dog did not go to SCBR. If for any reason someone states they are from SCBR and you have doubts, feel free to contact us at 877-281-3146. We will answer any and all questions at that time. *PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR NAME, CITY AND STATE, EMAIL, PHONE NUMBER, DOGS NAME, AGE, SEX AND THE REASON FOR SURRENDER ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Second Chance Boxer Rescue (SCBR) makes every effort to help new dogs adjust while in rescue. Rescue is meant to be a temporary place for dogs to go while looking for their permanent or "forever" homes. Here are some of the steps that are taken to achieve our goal: Prior to arrival in rescue: We spend time assessing the dog prior to their arrival through our intake assessment. This is where we learn about the dog's likes and dislikes and personality. By being as honest as possible with us, the owner helps us place the dog. We need to know everything we can about each of the dogs we get into rescue. We have the owner speak with their veterinarian to have the dog's medical records faxed to us. No dog coming in from an owner surrender can come in unless this has been done. This allows us to have a complete medical history on the dog. If the dog is from a shelter, we try to get as much information as possible from the shelter. Every dog must go to a foster home. We do not board our dogs at kennels, veterinarian's offices, groomers, etc. We do not do referral rescue so we will not have our applicants go to an owner's home to get a dog. The purpose of fostering is to better have an understanding of each individual dog and their behaviors which cannot be done unless the dog is in our care. Transport is arranged between the owner and SCBR for an owner surrender or a CUR (Canine Underground Railroad) is set up. Volunteers come together to move the dog out of the shelter and into the foster home. The dog arrives at a designated foster home. All of our dogs are kept in pre-approved foster homes. Each foster family is screened in the same method that our adoptive families are which includes an application, interview and a home check. Our foster families are provided with support from other foster homes as well as trainers and veterinarians. In addition, we provide our foster homes with crates, dog food, heartworm preventative, flea and tick preventative, leashes and collars. We want them to be happy and focused on the dog in their care and not the expenses usually associated with rescue. While in rescue: The new foster dog is taken to the vet within the first few days of arrival into rescue. An exam, vaccinations (including rabies and distemper), spay or neuter and heartworm test are administered. The only time this is not true is when a dog comes into rescue that is spayed or neutered, up to date on shots, and heartworm tested. Then we won't have to take the dog to the vet again. Lots of pictures are taken of the new foster to put on our website! Dog is tested to see if it is already housetrained, crate trained and leash trained. If not, our foster homes work diligently to help the dog in these areas. The foster home will work on basic obedience skills with the dog such as "sit" to help make them more adoptable. The dog is tested with other dogs, cats and children as well as taken for rides in the car, public places and other types of tests for their basic temperament evaluation. The more thorough we are at evaluating, the more information we can provide to potential adoptive families. Remember, our goal is permanent placement! The foster family plays with the dog and treats the dog as if it were their own. Our interview team is busy interviewing applicants and our home check personnel are going out to people's homes and meeting with them to see if they are qualified candidates for a boxer from rescue. At any given time, about 20-25 homes are waiting on dogs. Remember, we are all volunteers in rescue so if you contact us, please remember that we may not be able to get back to you the same day. We all have families and jobs and rescue is something in which we strongly believe. Perhaps we are outside playing or walking our foster dog when you call! Older dogs, dogs with medical problems or pairs of dogs may take longer to place. These dogs are given the best care possible to make them feel comfortable while they await their new homes. We are committed to working with owners with the placement of their boxers. If we say we can place the older dog, sick dog or pair of dogs -- we mean it! Our review team will contact our foster home when a potential applicant appears to be a good match for a dog. Remember, we do not work on a first come, first served basis. We want to make a great match for each dog! When we contact the foster home, we will provide them with the information on the potential adoptive family (application, interview report and home check report) and then have the applicant contact the foster family. By the time we contact the applicant to call the foster family, we feel that this is a match and we are hoping the applicant will feel the same way. SCBR contacts the applicant to see if they are interested in the dog that is available for adoption to whom they match. The applicant calls the foster family to ask questions about the dog and his or her's everyday routine. Since the foster family is living with the dog, they know the dog better than anyone else. If this is the right match, SCBR makes arrangements for the applicant to go to the foster family's home to pick up the dog. We may contact them several days ahead or as late as the day before the pick up date -- things happen quickly in rescue! Prior to Adoption Day: A few days before the adoptive family drives to pick up their new dog, they are sent the adoption contract to read over carefully. We take our adoption contracts seriously. The adoptive family goes out and purchases those items such as leash, collar, food, toys, crate, etc. to help make their new dog feel at home. Appointments are made with the family's veterinarian for an exam to let their vet become acquainted with the new dog. In addition, the new family has already researched obedience trainers and will make an appointment to begin classes. Adoption Day: At long last, the day has come for the rescue dog to go to his or her new home. The adoptive family will be happy to have this wonderful gift, this new dog and member of their family go home with them. Although surrendering your dog may be extremely difficult for you to do, remember what an incredible thing you are doing. You are providing your dog with a "second chance" at a wonderful home. We work hard to ensure that the dog ends up in a permanent home and won't end up in a shelter. By allowing your dog to come into rescue, you are also giving a family who may have recently lost their dog the opportunity at boxer joy again. Thank you for giving them that gift! Please continue onto our Owner Surrender Form so we may contact you about your dog and answer any questions you might have. |
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