Homeward Bound is a not for profit volunteer organization.
Our volunteers come from all walks of life and share one
common passion - we love dogs, all kinds of dogs. We were
formed because we saw many young, happy, healthy puppies
and young dogs being euthanized in shelters because there
was no foster space or other rescue groups with room to
take them until their forever home could be found. Our focus
is finding those family dogs who just need a little more
time and exposure, and helping them find their way home.
Where are you
located?
We do not have a facility which houses our dogs during the
week. Our volunteers live all over the Capital District
of New York State. All of the dogs in our program reside
in a foster home with a Homeward Bound volunteer. We take
our dogs into our homes and care for them as if they were
our own until they go to their forever homes. This serves
several purposes: Many of our dogs have been in shelters
and time spent in a loving home will help them begin to
feel safe, comfortable and allow their true personalities
to emerge. Also, the time we spend with them helps us to
learn more about them, which allows us to be able to provide
applicants with an accurate assessment and the dogs individual
strengths and needs.
Why do you charge
an adoption fee, and what is it?
$295 for
dogs over two years old
$395 for
dogs/puppies (under two years)
The adoption
fee is not a purchase or sale price and is not refundable.
There are
multiple costs involved in running a dog rescue. Most
of our dogs come from shelters which charge us a fee for
each dog surrendered to us to cover the costs they incurred
while the dog was in their care and/or for transporting
the dog to us. In many cases, this fee exceeds 50% of
our adoption fee. Then there are the additional costs
incurred after the dog reaches Homeward Bound, such as
additional veterinary care, training, transportation and
shelter fees. In some cases, these costs will exceed the
adoption fee received for a particular dog. We do not
raise the adoption fee in these cases. Also, there are
the costs of advertising the clinics, transportation,
maintaining the website, post office box and hotline telephone
costs and insurance. All of these costs are paid by the
collection of adoption fees with shortfall met through
donations, grants and gifts from our volunteers. For more
information CLICK
HERE
Homeward Bound
dogs are adopted out "fully vetted". What does
that mean?
All of our dogs are spayed or neutered. This includes most
of our puppies also provided that they are at least 8 weeks
of age. They are generally vaccinated for distemper/parvo,
rabies and if from a shelter, bordatella. They are also
tested for heartworm and in some cases, lymes disease and
erlichia. We will provide you with copies of the medical
records for your new dog. You will be expected to continue
providing them with appropriate medical care. We also recommend
that adopters in upstate New York get their dogs Lyme vaccinated
and use a flea/tick repellant on their dog.
Do you ever
take dogs back?
Yes, we will take a Homeward Bound dog back into the program
as long as we have an appropriate foster home open for the
dog. We do reassess the dog before taking it back into our
program to insure the safety of our volunteers. In fact,
our adoption contract states that you are obligated to return
the dog to us if you decide, for any reason, that you cannot
keep the dog. As we have a thorough adoption approval process,
we have never had to enforce the provision which is also
in our contracts which allows Homeward Bound to reclaim
a dog if the owner fails to comply with the terms of the
contract, however if Homeward Bound had reason to believe
that one of its dogs was not being properly cared for, this
provision would be invoked.
Do you place
dogs with renters?
Yes, provided you have landlord approval to have a dog live
in the rental property. We will contact your landlord to
confirm his or her approval prior to finalizing the application
process.
Will you place
a dog with an inexperienced dog owner?
Yes, however we will discuss with you the huge responsibility
of owning a dog and how you can educate yourself in order
to give your dog the care and direction that he/she needs.
We may require a first time owner to take part in obedience
classes to assure that the owner obtains that first level
of instruction. You will see questions on our application
form about your level of dog experience and we ask that
you answer those questions honestly so we can better provide
the support you will need as a first time dog owner.
Will you accept
a dog into your program who is surrendered to you directly
by the owner?
We will accept owner surrenders under the following conditions:
1. The
dog has been spayed/neutered and is up to date on all vaccinations.
2. The dog passes our temperament evaluation and
3. The dog is type of dog which we normally accept into
our program.
4. We have a foster space available to accept the dog.
5. There are no other re-homing possibilities for the dog.
6. We will also require the owner pay a $200.00 surrender
fee to help offset any additional costs with bringing a
new dog into the group.
Homeward Bound Dog Rescue of New York, LLC.
P.O. Box 5782
Albany, NY 12205
518.424.1738
