HART's
Adoption Process
By adopting a HART animal, you will provide a home for a dog
or cat that is in need of a loving, caring family. By visiting our website,
you have already shown that you are a loving, caring person or family to
consider taking in an animal that someone else has either not cared for
or given up. You and your family will have as profound an impact on the life
of your new pet as they will on yours.
Because our animals are homeless and have had
less-than-ideal lives to date, HART is very careful to ensure a wonderful
future life for them.
Before we place an animal, there are certain steps to be
taken. While at first, you may feel that these aren't necessary, upon
further reflection; we hope that you will understand, support and
appreciate our reasoning.
First and foremost, we look
for the best fit for the animals. As such, we do not place the animals on a
"first come, first served" basis. HART absolutely wants you to have a
wonderful pet; but our first obligation is to ensure that the animals in our
charge are placed in loving and safe “forever homes.” Therefore, we review
all applications for the animals and try to affect the best match. This
means sometimes we have to decline applicants. We apologize for any
inconvenience this may cause, but reserve the right to do so to ensure the
happiness and wellbeing of the HART animals. Here is how the process works:
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First,
the prospective adopter must complete an application to start the process of making a good match.
You may submit an application online for
speedy consideration and you are provided with a direct email point of
contact for each animal online. You may also fill out an
application at one of our Adoption Events.
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Next,
HART associates will interview the prospective adopter at
one of the Adoption Events.
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Then we conduct a
vet check with your present or former vet clinics to ensure that any
current or previous pets were kept up-to-date with shots, exams, etc.
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Next, HART must
complete a home inspection to ensure that the prospective adopter can
provide a safe, nurturing family for the new pet.
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At the time of placement, you must
complete an adoption contract, which confirms your careful consideration
of and adherence to those things, which are necessary to ensure a safe
and loving life for your pet. It also binds you to an agreement that
you will return the pet to HART if you are unable to keep it for ANY
reason.
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A minimal
dog adoption fee or
cat adoption fee will be collected at the time of placement. This fee helps to
defray the costs of keeping the animal in either a foster home or a
kennel and any medical expenses that have been incurred.
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Please understand that we place over
1,000 dogs and around 400 cats per year! Naturally, some animals come
to us with health problems and we provide vet care for them. HART is a
no-kill organization.
We provide the best medical care for
our animals; a large portion of our budget is spent on same. Additionally,
animals leave us with current vaccinations and we have a
spay/neuter program as
outlined below.
By
state law, all animals that are adopted out by a licensed rescue
organization must be spayed or neutered by the age of six months, or upon
adoption if older. HART supports and complies with this requirement.
Puppies are spayed/neutered as soon as they are old enough. All adult
dogs are spayed or neutered as soon as they come under HART's care, medical
condition permitting. If, in rare instances,
a dog or puppy is placed in foster or adoptive care without having been
spayed or neutered, the foster or adoptive parent signs a binding contract
requiring the spay/neuter as soon as medical condition or age allow.
HART provides a spay/neuter certificate that covers the cost of the
requisite spay/neuter as part of the adoption fee.
Once you have taken possession of your
new family member, your relationship with HART is not over. We forever
consider them part of our family. We would love to hear from you about how
your new pet is doing and even better, would love for you to bring them to
adoption events so we can visit. Also, we like to keep you up to date with
what's going on with HART and with our fundraising ventures. We have great
fun at our art auctions and wine tastings. Please keep close tabs on the
website for upcoming events.
Additionally, if your pet should
become lost, we provide a mandatory
HART tag, to be worn by the pet at all times, with phone numbers to be
contacted when the animal is found. We track the numbers on the HART tag to
identify the owner to facilitate a speedy reunion. We can also offer advice
on how to effectively look for your lost loved ones.
There are other important things that
will be covered during the adoption process such as house-training
techniques and feeding regimens, as well as any questions you may have. We
truly want your adoption to be as smooth and harmonious as possible. We will
always be available to you for concerns and joys. You will be provided with
additional contact numbers upon adoption.
To see the animals that we currently
have available, please see the
HART Animals Page. To see when and where we are having our adoption
days that will allow you to meet your prospective new pet in person, please
see the
HART Adoption Days Page.
Due to our home check requirement,
except in special circumstances, HART can only adopt to people in the Washington, DC Metro Area (VA, MD, DC).
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