If you’re wondering How Long Does The Dog Adoption Process Take? It varies! The adoption procedure can take a while, depending on where you decide to adopt from. Depending on availability, the adoption process from a rescue facility whether you’re interested in adopting a dog or a cat could take up to a day, a few weeks, or even a few months.
To ensure you’re a suitable applicant for dog adoption or cat adoption, you may anticipate completing an online application, attending an interview, and carrying out a few other duties.
How Long Does The Dog Adoption Process Take?
The process usually takes an hour or two and many people can walk into a humane organization or shelter on the same day and take home a new furry buddy. You can typically anticipate filling out an application, going through an interview, meeting your ideal dog or cat, and then taking them home!
When it comes to adopting a dog, each shelter, humane organization, and rescue has its policies. So I can’t say if it will take a day, a week, or a month. The majority will first conduct a short interview or application, but the alternatives are nearly endless.
How Long Do Dogs Stay In Shelters Or Rescues?
While the time it takes to adopt a dog may seem endless to you, consider how long it must seem to the dog, who has a shorter lifetime and must deal with the stress and uncertainty of losing their home and living in temporary quarters.
Before they are willing to find new homes, dogs who are taken into a shelter or rescue need to be carefully cleaned and groomed, physically inspected, behaviorally assessed, vaccinated, and perhaps spayed or neutered.
The dog will be prepared for adoption in about a week, barring any particular issues requiring additional care. Most canines won’t need to leave the shelter much longer and find their ultimate homes. However, other dogs deemed less desirable because of their age, breed, or other characteristics can wait a lot longer. I’ve heard of dogs who spent up to five years in transitional housing before finding their new forever home.
While some shelters strictly adhere to the “no-kill” principle, others will euthanize dogs that cannot find new homes within a specific amount of time. Approximately 400,000 shelter dogs are euthanized annually, according to the ASPCA. No-kill shelters are not always superior to others, nor is this always unkind. Dogs may spend years in appalling conditions as a result of no-kill regulations.
How Long Does It Take To Find A Dog To Adopt?
When shelter dogs become available for adoption, they typically find new homes quickly. Most shelters will already be in contact with someone about adopting them by the time they have a profile on an adoption website.
If you reply to a dog’s online adoption profile, you will typically be informed that the dog already has a home. So why do rescue organizations and shelters even create these profiles? For starters, they spark interest and nudge people toward contacting each other about adoption.
When you get in touch with them, the shelter will advise you to register your interest in adoption by filling out an online form. You’ll be prompted to provide information about your personality, way of life, and the breed of dog you seek. This aids the organization in determining which canines will be the most significant matches for you and whether you are a fit pet parent for any of their animals.
Following that, they will keep a record of your registration for three to six months and get in touch with you when a suitable dog becomes available. Usually, within two months of registering with one or two local rescues and shelters, you will hear from someone with a potential puppy. Of course, you might have to wait a little longer if you’re looking for something specific, like a particular breed or a dog of a certain age.
How Long Does The Adoption Process Take?
There are still quite a few steps to take once you have been matched with a suitable dog before your adoption can be legally confirmed. For the rescue to learn more about you, your living environment, and your expertise with dogs, you must conduct a phone interview with them.
If all goes well, the rescue may also want to visit your home to confirm the details you’ve given and ensure it’s a good fit for your new puppy. Depending on your availability, the agency will want to move on this relatively fast. To ensure that you get along with the dog and that you are prepared to bring it home, you should visit the place where your potential pet is staying at the same time.
The foster parents who are temporarily caring for the dog are usually accommodating and available to make these visits happen, so the length of time will mostly rely on your availability and schedule. Your dog can be given over to your care once everything has been completed, everyone is satisfied, and the fees have been paid.
The length of the adoption procedure will vary depending on who you are adopting from. Depending on your availability, a big organization like the Humane Society might be able to finish all of this in a few hours. Due to their more constrained resources, volunteer-run organizations may take a few days to a week to complete the same task.
Remember that the shelter or rescue may feel you are not a good match for the dog if you make the adoption process difficult or have minimal availability. After spending time at a shelter, dogs usually require more care during the first week in their new home than they will later. The agency will want to know if you have the necessary time to devote to the application procedure. You may read our article comparing buying from a breeder to adopting from a shelter here.
How Long Do Rescue Dogs Need To Adapt?
Your rescue dog may need some time to adjust to their new environment and begin to feel like a member of its new family once you bring them home. Shelter dogs typically need six to eight weeks to return to their new home. Some people will go more quickly than others, and vice versa. It depends on the breed of dog, their age, and the environment they were raised in.
The good news is that there are some things you may do to assist them in adjusting more rapidly. To start, you can prepare everything you need to make it feel safe. This consists of a cozy bed, a few toys, and a dish just for them. To make their new bed smell more like their own, the rescue may give you anything they were sleeping in.
Additionally, they ought to provide you with a sample of the food your dog has been consuming. Maintaining their current diet while gradually transitioning them to the food you intend to feed them in the future. For two to three weeks, slowly raise the ratio of new food until they can eat without experiencing any stomach disturbances.
It is crucial to understand that your new rescue dog could be anxious in its new environment. It’s critical to provide comfort to them now to calm them down and develop a relationship with them. The most important things to do are soft stroking and soft chatting. While your new pet adjusts, keep your home as calm, non-chaotic, and silent as possible.
Furthermore, waiting until they are comfortable with any direct family members, they will be living with daily is crucial before exposing them to others. They might find it stressful to meet so many new people, and you might not yet have enough power over them to govern their conduct.
Can The Adoption Process Be Too Fast?
The adoption procedure can move too rapidly, even though you will undoubtedly want to bring home your new canine family member as soon as possible. It should be a warning sign if the adoption process moves too quickly.
It takes time to thoroughly evaluate dogs, get them ready for adoption, and determine if you are a good match for the dog. The agency may omit some crucial procedures if the adoption process moves too quickly. Is it that important? Yes.
For instance, you can wind up bringing home an ill dog that passes away quickly, which can be a traumatic event for young family members. Alternatively, you can get a dog with unrecognized behavioral issues that can wreak havoc in your house.
To give you a chance to “cool off,” agencies will occasionally ask you to wait a few days before bringing your dog home. Although the decision to acquire a dog may be spontaneous, your relationship with the dog may last up to 15 years (or more!).
The last thing they want is the puppy they adopted to return to the streets because their new house was inappropriate. So even while the wait could be annoying, it’s vital to remember that many valid reasons for adopting a dog from a rescue or shelter need to take some time.
Conclusion
While it takes you a month or two to locate a dog at a local shelter or rescue that is suitable for you, it should only take a few days to a week to complete the adoption procedure and bring your dog home once you have found a match.
Since most medical and behavioral examinations take a week or longer, your dog has likely been at the shelter by the time they contact you. Before confirming the adoption, they will want to interview you and let you see the dog in person.
If an organization doesn’t take the time to complete these tasks, consider it a warning sign that the dogs may not receive the proper care. I hope you understand all about How Long Does The Dog Adoption Process Take?
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it hard to get agreed to adopt a dog?
It may seem like there are many restrictions for adopting a dog from a shelter or rescue, but there is a logical reason for this, given that we are talking about dogs that need homes. These dogs require someone who has time, patience, and perhaps experience to care for them because they frequently originate from challenging backgrounds.
Because of this, breeders tend to ask less about your lifestyle than shelters and rescues. They know these are unique puppies that require the ideal environment to flourish.
How considerably does it cost to adopt a dog?
Since dog rescues and shelters must cover the price of caring for the dog and other necessities like vaccinations and spaying or neutering, adopting a dog is not free. For the typical shelter dog, you should budget $500. This might apply more to puppies and less to adult dogs. Although it may appear pricey, it offers exceptional value because you won’t have to pay for your dog’s immunizations and emergency care.
At what age can you adopt a puppy?
You typically have to wait until a puppy is a little older before taking them home because puppies usually stay with their mothers until they are 8 to 10 weeks old. Occasionally, rescues might let you take it home sooner if a puppy is not with its mother. Shelters however usually only give away very young puppies to knowledgeable dog owners.
