Am I ready to Adopt?
Choosing to add a pet to your household takes careful research and planning. A pet requires more than adequate food, water and shelter. This is an important decision so take your time before deciding to bring a cat, dog or any small animal into your home.
Having a pet is a long term commitment.
Your pet will be with you for many years, so you must think carefully and seriously before choosing to become a pet owner. Pets bond deeply with their humans and will quickly become a member of your family. Adopting means making a life-long commitment which may last 10-15 years for a dog and perhaps 15-20 years for a cat. Some birds and reptiles have even longer lifespans!
Caring for this animal must remain a priority even when your life changes. Consider your pet(s) when you redecorate your home, take a new job, move to a different city or decide on changing your family status.
Pets depend on you to look after their health and safety. Proper veterinary care, healthy food and fresh water, toys and other items are needed for their comfort and welfare.
Be sure you understand what you are getting into!
YOU ARE HERE
STEP 1: Understand the responsibility
Make sure you understand how adopting a pet will impact your life.
STEP 2: Apply to Adopt
STEP 3: Take them home
Once we agree you’ve found your new pet, pay your adoption fee, and take them home!
STEP 4: Love them forever!
We have some great resources to help smooth the transition, and keep your pup happy and healthy!
Are you ready for a dog?
When considering adding a pet – especially a dog – to your home, there are some commitments and sacrifices you need to be willing to make, including but not limited to:
- Taking your dog for a walk at least twice a day for 30 minutes.
- Going for walks even when it is raining.
- Going for walks even when you really don’t feel like it.
- Cleaning up after your new pet in your home.
- Engaging in stimulating activities with your dog – giving attention, throwing balls, belly rubs, walks, etc.
- Coordinating pet care when you travel.
- Taking financial responsibility for regular vet checks, emergency vet visits, preventatives, food, beds, bowls, leashes and other supplies.
- Making a 10-12 year commitment depending on breed and age of dog at adoption.
- Making a commitment to training and meeting your dogs needs.
Special Considerations for Shelter Dogs
Shelter dogs are special creatures – they may have come from a very difficult situation and need lots of love and patience.
- Most come in as strays, so we do not know anything about their background. In addition, they may:
- Have never walked on or seen a leash.
- Have never spent time in a crate.
- Have never had a regular meal.
- Have never had to potty outside or learn where to potty.
- Have never had a dog bed or the safety of a home.
- Have never had consistent human interaction.
- For many, they are learning or relearning everything
- They need consistency, routine, training, grace and lots of love.
There is no crate-trained, potty-trained, walk on leash-trained, house-trained shelter dog. You will have to invest time and energy toward creating positive routines and consistent expectations.
In addition to being shelter dogs, many of our dogs have additional needs:
Puppies
Puppies are cute, but can be noisy, messy, and a bit destructive until they get some training and grow up a bit. Are you and your family up for this kind of challenge?
Older Dogs
A dog who is beyond its puppy phase can be a great option for many situations. Most have outgrown their pupy habits and ay already be housebroken and mostly adjusted to people and home life.
Heartworm-Positive Dogs
Many dogs that come to Saving Grace have heartworms. After Saving Grace's heartworm regimen, these dogs make great, healthy pets!
Dogs with Physical Challenges
A dog may have an injury or medical condition that can be treated or repaired.
I think I'm ready - let me start the process
Return policy
We understand sometimes an adoption doesn't work out and we will take back our adopted dogs. We are here to support you in this process and need you to partner with us and begin communicating early if there are any concerns. Each return is handled on a case-by-case basis. The more information you can provide for us, the better decisions we can make about his/her viability within our program.
Please follow these steps:
- Begin email communications with the Adoptions team as soon as possible. (Adoptions@savinggracenc.org)
- Request and receive a scheduled, confirmed appointment to return your dog.
- Complete a relinquish form and bring with you:
- the original medical sheet
- adoption packet including rabies vaccination certificates and tags and microchip information
- UPDATED medical record information from your vet
- Remember- a partial refund of your adoption fee in the amount of $295 is offered within 7 days.
Please note: While we accept our adopted dogs back, we will not knowingly place aggressive animals into another home. In these instances the dog will be fully evaluated and observed once returned before acclimating back into our program.
FAQs to Consider Before Adopting
Are you adding a dog to a home with existing pets?
Saving Grace offers the option for owners to bring their current family dog(s) to their appointment to view the interaction between potential new additions. Saving Grace does not have an off-leash meeting area, so all interactions are done safely on leash.
Beyond Heartworm Positive dogs – What other types of cases does Saving Grace help with?
The Saving Grace program strives to assist any animal with a wonderful temperament find a forever home despite possible medical barriers. Of course, we cannot help in every instance which is heartbreaking but if a dog can be saved, we work to find a way.
Can I adopt a pet for someone else?
The person who will be caring for the pet should be the one to sign the contract and adopt. This is in the best interest of both the pet and the adopter.
Can I adopt more than one dog at my visit?
Adopters may adopt more than 1 dog at their visit, although in most cases it is not recommended.
Does Saving Grace keep a wait list for specific types of animals?
Our Saving Grace team is a small group of volunteers dedicated to helping our current group of available animals find their forever home. Our team does not have the manpower, beyond caring for this current group, to keep a running list of adopters’ specific requests. We recommend checking our website often if you’re looking for a specific type of dog.
Does Saving Grace offer Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) or Therapy Dogs?
While we appreciate your desire to adopt, Saving Grace is not able to provide this service and cannot guarantee that our dogs would be successful as emotional support animals.
I live out of town, does Saving Grace ship dogs?
Thank you for considering adoption through Saving Grace where we always have great dogs waiting for homes. We are happy to help out of state adopters and want to provide appropriate expectations for long distance adoption. We do not ship or offer transport for adopted dogs.
Is there a trial period to take the pet home and see if it ‘fits’ with the family?
Saving Grace makes all efforts to make sure that a good match is made between adopters and dogs before adoption.
Why are some dogs prepared for adoption more quickly than others?
Saving Grace works with a variety of different Veterinary practices based on the care needed for each particular animal in our program. Saving Grace works to plan in advance the care that will be needed at any particular time. Each of the practices we work with specialize in a certain type of care and assistance with various needs.
Why does my pet need to be spayed/neutered? Can I adopt an intact animal?
Spaying and neutering helps stem the tide of overpopulation. We spay and neuter all of our animals prior to adoption for a healthier animal and Saving Grace is committed to reducing the population of unwanted animals.
Meet Our Dogs!
These are some of our dogs currently available at Saving Grace in Wake Forest, NC. They are just waiting for you to give them the wonderful home they deserve. Click on their picture to learn more about each one.
Don’t see exactly what your looking for? New dogs are arriving at the farm everyday. It can take several days for their profiles to be completed and added to our site.
