If you are considering offering a forever home to one of our dogs you will need to complete a Pre-Adoption application in the first instance. You can do this online or download a copy and email back to us. Please read the following information carefully before applying.

​

This can be for a specific dog or just to register an interest in adopting a Arundawn Dog. 

​

IMPORTANT INFORMATION 

​

Current Compulsory Minimum Adoption Donation

Puppy1 - Up to 16 weeks old - £450

Puppy2 - From 16 weeks to 6 months - £375

 Juvenile - 6 months to 1 year - £325

Adult - 1 year to 8 years - £295

Oldie - Over 8 years - £150

​

Your adoption donation does not mean you "buy" your dog - your donation is a contribution to the running costs of the rescue and pays for the next dog's neutering, medication, food and accommodation.

​

---

Our aim and goal is to find the BEST home possible to suit each and every dog – this takes time and effort and some of you will be disappointed as we may not feel that the dog is appropriate for your situation. 

 

Adopting or Fostering can be challenging and requires hard work and dedication.  With that in mind these are the qualities we expect from our adopters.  Please read them through and consider if you think you have all of these qualities before you apply.  

 

• Time 

• Honesty 

• Integrity 

• Empathy 

• Understanding 

• Patience 

• Kindness 

• An open mind 

• Flexibility 

• Willingness to listen to us about the dogs, even if against what you are used to, and work with us on this journey.  We are here to support you.  

• Willingness to learn about NATURAL FEEDING which is so important to Arundawn and our dogs’ wellbeing. Here is  a PDF link for a guide to raw feeding for you to read in advance.  We strongly advocate raw feeding and are happy to discuss the benefits for our dogs if you have any further questions.

 

It is also really important that you are fully committed before we begin the process to make sure our volunteers time is not wasted, but more importantly so that the dogs are not put at risk.  So ask questions now if you are not sure.  

​

---

 

We fully appreciate that life can happen and things don’t always work out the way we want, but we also need to make you aware that if you have seen a dog with us and you start the process it’s really important that you don’t change your mind at the last minute.  The dog’s wellbeing is paramount and they may have missed out on another home because they were reserved to you and extra time in kennels can be both stressful and damaging to them.

 

Please also note we cannot (except in very exceptional circumstances) complete home checks on behalf of other organisations.  Please with that in mind do not ask us to do so.  

 

We respect that sometimes when the dog first enters your home there can be challenges.  Settling in, and of course, sometimes we do not know what their trauma has been nor if they will behave as we expect when they arrive with you.  If this is the case we ask that you let us know and allow us to work with you to help you and the dog acclimatise.  Time is really important and we are here to help you.   You may have had dogs before, all your life maybe, but these dogs have been through it, and we are still learning, so you may need to adapt what you thought you knew.  Times have also changed and we understand dogs so much better now than we did 20 years ago, so please be open minded and prepared to try new things.    

 

We will also need to give you a lot of information, and it can be a lot to take on all at once. If you are worried or have forgotten something we have said, no worries at all please just call us, we are here to help you.  We may feel we need to remind you of something we said.  Please do not take this personally, we just want to help it work for you and the dog.  

 

Also please note, if for any reason you need to change plans, cancel our appointments, or just simply have changed your mind please let us know with urgency.  These dogs are special, and they deserve the best life someone can give them, and our volunteers need to be maximising their time with the people who can give the best life to one of our dogs.  

 

A dog’s love is the one of the very best kinds of love you can find, but it isn’t instant and they need to learn that you are their person/family, that you have their backs, that you are safe and will love and respect them.  They are a new personality also in a new home with everyone needing to adjust and settle into the new rhythm.  This takes time, but once you get there you will never look back.   Most people with our support have few worries or problems.  We just ask if there are issues, you work with us and remain open minded and willing to adapt.  We have an amazing network of volunteers and we will help you to get there if you let us.  

 

Read all of that and still want to continue then keep reading for the application process below.

​

THE APPLICATION PROCESS 

 

We will go through your application thoroughly in the next few days and will be in contact if we have any further questions or to advise on the next steps.  We aim to complete this process within 5 days of receipt of the application.   

It is worth noting at this time that we DO NOT home on a ‘first come first served’ basis and in the case of a ‘popular’ dog – the process can take anything up to a couple of weeks to complete.   

 

We are only a small team, made up of volunteers and it would be virtually impossible to homecheck every potential home for one of our dogs, so during Covid we have implemented a new stage in the adoption/fostering process pre-homecheck which has been very successful. 

 

This stage involves us shortlisting a number of applicants that match most, if not all, of the requirements needed by the specific dog/s and asking them to submit a short video or videos of their home and garden.   

 

Once we have assessed all the videos we will again shortlist and homecheck one or two prospective adopters. 

 

Once a homecheck is confirmed we ask that ALL members of the household are present.  If there are specific times that are better than others, it would be helpful for you to let us know.  We will not be able to go ahead with the appointment if not everyone can be present.  

 

The homechecker will need to see some photographic ID, a utility bill or equivalent or correspondence stating your residency and, if you are renting, will also need to see your tenancy agreement allowing pets.  PLEASE NOTE – you will NEVER be asked to pay for the homecheck or for a deposit in advance to secure a dog.  If you are asked to do something that does not follow our process, please do call us immediately. 

 

Please note that the homechecker is an impartial volunteer and will not be able to advice you on the outcomes of the visit nor speak on behalf of Arundawn Dog Rescue.  With this in mind we politely ask you not to put them in this position.  For an outcome of the visit, please allow 48 hours for the report to be returned to us and then call us directly for an update if we haven’t been in touch already. 

 

It is only then after a successful homecheck that we can arrange for a meeting with the dog(s).

​

Arundawn will carry out random follow-up visits after adoptions.

​