A question about out of state adoptions

[auburngrad82]

I know that a lot of you guys do animal rescue and fostering. We joined PetFinder about a month ago and we're beginning to get a fair amount of out of state requests. We never had to deal with this before since all of our adoptions were on a local basis.

The question is, how do you guys handle out of state adoptions? All we know so far is the animal has to be sterilized before the adoption can take place and the transportation is the responisbility of the adopter.

We're putting a moratorium on out of state adoptions until we can come up with a specific policy on how to handle them.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[ehrnst]

1. Our group makes certain exceptions for known pet owners

But most of the time, we only adopt locally, due to the fact that we want them to return the pet if it doesn't work out - and that's more than likely to be known in the short term.

People won't be as willing to travel to return a pet to us.

[auburngrad82]

2. That's kind of what we're thinking

As part of the adoption contract if it doesn't work out the adopter is supposed to return the animal to us. Kind of hard to follow up on from hundreds of miles away.

We've got one we're pretty confident of, but we feel like we need to have a policy regarding this for future events.

I think there'd have to be exceptions to the rule, but living locally doesn't guarantee you are able to adopt a pet from us any more than living in another part of the country should be automatic an disqualification.

Just trying to see how everyone else handles the situation.

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

3. We do out of state adoptions all the time

We do a vet reference check on all of our adoptors and they have to have a home visit. If we don't have a member in the area, we reach out to other rescue groups to do the HV for us. We also arrange the transportation if the adoptor can't come to where the dog is being fostered. Of course, all dogs are sneutered before placement

It is easier to adopt locally, but if you can't find a good home locally, going out of state makes sense. You may want to limit to adoptors within a certain distance though. I've seen some groups do that.

[ernstbass]

4. The group that I'm involved with

has several specific affiliations w/ local rescue groups in other states and they post our animals on thier sites. The Redtick hound I've been fostering in VA is going 300 miles away to MD next week. Adopter will transport. They also list pets on Petfinder and I'm not sure how that works.

[IndyOp]

5. When I adopted from an out-of-state rescue they

contacted my local rescue and had them do the home-visit. Since my state Golden rescue did not have a Golden that fit my household, they did a home-visit on behalf of the Ohio rescue. It seems to be a 'professional courtesy' that is extended from one rescue to another.

If you want to increase the likelihood that the adoption will stick charge more for out-of-state adoptions and require them to send you a bill from their first visit to the vet with their new baby. If someone agrees to those requirements they are likely going to be a responsible pet person.

:bounce: