Our application process is not a judgement on YOU, rather we are trying to find a home that matches this dog's unique personality and needs.

We follow up on just the most promising lead first.

The adoption process has 4 steps

• veterinarian reference

• phone calls with our adoption counselor

• a meet and greet (often in the foster's home)

• a home visit in the adopter's home

If at any point in the process that lead fails to match, only then will we move on to the next lead. 

This process is lengthy and can seem slow from your end as we only follow up on one lead at a time.  You may hear from us in a few days, or it may take a few weeks.

This process is lengthy and can seem slow from your end as we only follow up on the most promising lead first.  If that lead fails to match, only then will we move on to the next lead.

You may hear from us in a few days, or it may take a few weeks.

Our application process is not a judgement on YOU, rather we are trying to find a home that matches this dog's unique personality and needs.

Applications with thorough answers that address this specific dog’s personality catch our attention!

If you think of more information you'd like to add to your application, you're encouraged to do so by replying to the email you received after applying.

Adoption fees only cover a fraction of our actual cost to rescue and care for each animal.

Our animals receive all their vaccinations, are spayed or neutered, and receive any additional necessary care. It is common for our animals to cost more than $1,200 to care for.

Our current adoption fee schedule can be found here.

No. Not having a fence is not a deal-breaker for us. We know many wonderful dog owners who don’t have a fenced in yard.

However, some dogs will require a fence depending on their unique personality. Check each dog’s bio to see what they require.

It helps to be specific in your application. Some dogs require a 6 ft fence and others just a 4 ft fence.

Please note that an “invisible fence” is not the same as a physical fence, so please specify this as well.

We don’t have a hard rule on this, but it would be difficult beyond a 90 minute drive from Rochester.

In cases where a dog is receiving many applications, it is unlikely we will consider an out-of-town application. But for hard to place dogs, we may need to go the extra mile.

All of our dogs are fully vaccinated and spayed/neutered before their official adoption. For foster-to-adopt families, all vetting would need to be completed in our Rochester-based network.

Our animals have all of their vaccinations and are spayed or neutered before being officially adopted. Sometimes this takes longer than we’d like to get those final veterinary appointments. This doesn’t mean they can’t join their furever family before that official date!

Foster-to-adopt means they will join their furever family while they wait for their final vet appointments. Once their vetting is complete, the adoption paperwork can become official!

No. Meeting your dog is just one step of our adoption process.

The adoption process has 4 steps

• veterinarian reference

• phone calls with our adoption counselor

• a meet and greet (often in the foster's home)

• a home visit in the adopter's home

Our adoption events are an opportunity to skip the line and meet our adoptable dogs in person!

Sometimes the in-person chemistry between you and our dog causes your previously un-noticed application to go to the top of the pile!

It’s not uncommon for our dogs to meet their furever family at an adoption event so we encourage you to attend.

Short answer - no. If you see another dog that you’re interest in, you can simply respond to the email you received and we can inform their adoption team.

HOWEVER - we are trying to find a home that matches this dog's unique personality and needs, so when you write a new application with this dog in mind it is more likely to be noticed!

Our application process is not a judgement on YOU, rather we are trying to find a home that matches each dog's unique personality and needs.

For example - Some dogs require a six foot fence, while others would love apartment life. Some dogs prefer a life of lounging and others would love to be your running partner.

Each dog is unique and we encourage you to write your application with a specific dog in mind.

We follow up on the most promising lead first. If that lead fails to match, only then will we move on to the next lead.

So not everyone will get a phonecall. A call will only happen if you’re the next most promising lead.

Check your spam folder. We reply to the email address you provided in your application.

Every applicant gets an email with “next step instructions” within a few days of applying for a dog.

This is the email address you should reply to in order to communicate directly with our dog team.

A short list of our adoptable dogs is here on our website.

However, many of our dogs (and cats) are adopted quickly from Facebook and aren’t with us long enough to post to the website. We encourage you to follow our Facebook page to be the first to know when a dog becomes available.

We do not have a physical location, like a shelter. Instead all of our animals are in individual foster homes “on couches instead of in cages!”

It’s not possible to schedule a myriad of meetings in people’s private homes, so filling out an application is the first step to meeting a pet.

However, we regularly have adoption events in the community. You can check our calendar for scheduled events, but often more impromptu events are announced on our Facebook page.