We are an animal rescue, as such, our interest is in finding the best possible forever home for our foster dogs. We will help you find a dog which will make a wonderful addition to your family. However, it may not be the dog you apply for. Our dogs are all in foster homes. They live as part of our family, so we get to know each dog as an individual. We know what type of family they will fit best in. After many years and hundreds of successful adoptions, we have developed the following adoption process. We DO NOT deviate from this process.

Our dogs are all spayed or neutered; heartworm tested and on preventative; have been wormed and have age appropriate vaccines. Each dog is crate trained; house training and basic obedience training are started. We use Doggy Doorbells to aid in house training. These bells are hung on the door where the dog is to go outside. When the dogs need to go out, they will ring the bells. This almost always eliminates any house training issues that normally happen in adoptions. Each dog brings a bag of good stuff along, too. The bag contains; their favorite blanket or quilt (so it smells like home), a 17# bag of Nutro Max food, toys, rawhides, bones, their favorite cookies, Doggy Doorbells, and a couple of cans of their favorite food (to entice eating in a new home). We also send an information sheet which contains eating and sleeping habits, commands we use, the pet's history and other useful information.

First Step- Application

You'll see a dog on line, or at a Meet and Greet. If you are interested in adoption, you'll need to complete our adoption application. This application will ask about your home, your family, your schedule, current pets and other information which will help us get to know you.

Second Step- Meeting

Once we have the application, you will be contacted, either by phone or by email. If your application is accepted, we will make arrangements for you to meet the dog.  That visit may be at the dog's foster home, or at a Meet and Greet. If you like our dog and he/she likes you as well, we move on.

Third Step- Visit with the Family

We will arrange a time to visit your home with our foster dog. During this visit, we will want all family members to meet and spend time with the dog. We will also carefully introduce your current pets to our dog. We'll explore your yard to make sure it is safe and secure. This gives the dog time to get to know you without the stress of a Meet and Greet, or competition from other foster dogs in our homes. If everything goes well, we schedule an adoption day.




Last Step- Adoption

We will make arrangements for you to pick up your new companion (usually on a weekend). All dog are picked up from their foster homes, we do not deliver dogs.  You will sign an adoption contract, pay the adoption fee (which is mostly tax deductible), be given all the dogs medical records, and of course the "goody bag".

Happily Ever After

We will keep in contact with you. Almost daily for the first week. We have found that by keeping the lines of communication open, we can help ease the settling in process, for everyone. We are always available by phone to our adopters, in fact you are put on our speed dial! Asking questions early helps you understand your new pet. We want the adoption to succeed, we want you to be the forever home for our special foster dogs.

We also have reunions during the year, we meet at dog parks and best of all we walk in a parade in Birmingham, MI each May. That parade is one of our best fund raisers of the year. Meeting with other adopters is a great way to compare notes, trading stories and really is just a lot of fun.

Explanation of the Process

We have found this process works best for our dogs. They settle in faster and become a cherished member of your family very quickly. As you go through our adoption process (which can take 7-14 days), we are always thinking of what is best for the dog. By the time you actually take your new pet home, he has met with you at least twice, he's spent and hour or more with your family and pets and at your home. We do this so we are not sending our foster babies into strange homes with strangers. By the time you pick up your new pet he/she is so excited to see you, it's a great way to start a relationship. We try to schedule the adoption for a weekend, so that you'll have two full days to spend with your new pet, before returning to your normal work schedule. If we dropped the dog off, they would be waiting for us to come back. In their mind, they have been abandoned again. This creates separation anxiety. You picking up the dog means an adventure!  It's a wonderful time.