Adoption Application

Dear Westie Friend:

Thank you for inquiring about adopting a rescue dog. Each Westie which comes to us is very special, with a unique background and needs. We are very careful in placing the dogs, so please be patient with us as we ask questions that will help us determine which dog may be right for you and which home is best for the Westie.

Some of these dogs have come out of traumatic situations. For all of them, it is stressful to lose the home they have known. This does not mean that they will not make wonderful pets. However, just as you may have certain desires about the dog you want to adopt, so each Westie also has special needs, which we try to determine through an initial health, background, and temperament evaluation. This is never easy. Therefore, we ask you to be as thorough as possible in answering the questions on this Adoption Application. Please remember that the broader your thinking on the Westies you are willing to consider, the greater the chance there will be a match.

Some of the rescue dogs are released to us from Shelters or Animal Control organizations. When a dog is released to us from an individual, we require that the person giving up the dog sign a Release form to protect the person adopting the dog. We will also require you to sign an Adoption Agreement form to protect the dog. In the event you are unable to continue to give the dog a good home, we require the Westie be returned to us. Our policy also requires that every dog adopted from our program be spayed or neutered.

Our foster care facilities are limited. When we are contacted by an owner who needs to find a new home for his or her Westie, we frequently try to arrange a "home-to-home" adoption. We use the same active file of prospective adopters for these placements as for Westies in our foster care. In a home-to-home adoption, however, we put screened adopters directly in touch with these owners.

We look for the best home available for each Westie. The program is run entirely by unpaid volunteers. We are a Texas Non-profit corporation, certified as 501(c)(3) by the IRS, and our finances are available for review. We subsist entirely on adoption fees and voluntary donations to pay out-of-pocket expenses. Our veterinary expenses can be substantial, even with discounts, for dogs from shelters, or others which come to us with medical problems. We also incur boarding costs on some dogs. We must ask for a contribution to our Rescue Fund of about $200 per placement, including home-to-home placements, to pay these bills. These adoption fees may vary somewhat from dog to dog, and are used exclusively for care of the Westies. Our small administrative costs are either absorbed by our volunteers, or covered by contributions other than adoption fees.

This website reviews who were are, how we operate, and talks about dogs we have placed and those available for placement. There is a lot of good information on Westies, with a discussion of behavioral characteristics, potential health problems, training methods, and club contact information at the national Westie club website, at www.westieclubamerica.com . Additionally, the book, "Westies from Head to Tail" by Ruth Faherty is an excellent reference book on Westies.

Your application will be reviewed and placed in our active adoption folder, where it will remain active for one year or until you adopt a dog. We will contact you if and when we have a Westie that might be a good match with you and your home.  We normally have an extensive "active list" of people who have expressed interest in the possibility of adoption, but many have specified criteria that rule out consideration for many dogs. All applicants are considered for each available dog. It is not uncommon for a recent applicant to be the best match for a dog. The only applicants given preferential treatment are those who have previously provided a good home to "hard-to-place" Westies, either Senior dogs or those with significant medical problems.

Thanks again for contacting us.

Marvin L. Katz 
Westie Rescue of North Texas 
214-432-7541

Instructions

Please complete all fields to the best of your ability.  Any fields you choose to leave blank may negatively impact our ability to process your application.  You will be contacted by a WRNT volunteer shortly after submitting your application.  Thank you!

ADOPTION APPLICATION

Applicant:
Age:

Occupation:
Co-Applicant:
Age:

Occupation:
Relationship to Applicant:
Address:
City:

State:

Zip:

Phone-Home:

Phone-Work:

Phone-Cell:
e-Mail Addresses:

I/We prefer a:

 Male Female Will consider either sex

Dog age restriction?:

 Yes No

If so, what?

 Puppy Young Adult Senior
Personal Reference: (Someone not related to you and not living in the same home with you)
Name:
Relationship: (e.g. Coworker, Neighbor, Friend, Veterinarian, etc.)
Phone-Home:

Phone-Work:
Tell us about where you live:
Do you live in a: House Apartment Other
Do you: Own Rent

          If renting, do you have the landlord's permission to own a dog?

 Yes No, not yet N/A
Do you have a fenced yard? Yes No Type of yard fencing?
Do you have a pool? Yes No If so, is the pool fenced separately? Yes No
Do you have children living at home? Yes No If so, what are their ages?
Will the dog come into contact with other children? Yes No What ages?
Where will the dog be kept during the day?
Where will the dog be kept at night?
How many hours will the dog be alone during the day (weekdays)?
Who will care for the dog when you are out of town?
What other breeds might you consider?
Will you consider an older, or Senior, Westie if it appears to be in good health? Yes No
Will you consider a Westie with significant, but treatable, medical problems? Yes No
Will you consider a Westie mix that looks somewhat like a Westie? Yes No
Will you consider a pair of dogs that need to be placed together? Yes No
Will you consider being a Foster Family for Westie Rescue? Yes No
Please list all the pets you currently own:
Type (dog, cat, bird, etc) Breed (Dogs Only) Sex (M/F) Age

Spayed or Neutered (Yes, No, NA)
Have you ever owned a Westie before? Yes No
Have you ever owned other dogs? Yes No
If so, what happened to them?
Why have you chosen a Westie as the breed you want to adopt?
Tell us about your veterinarian:
Name: Clinic:
Phone: Address:
How much do you think it costs to maintain a healthy Westie for a year? (Round to the nearest dollar, no cents)
Westies, particularly younger ones, tend to be active dogs, needing some exercise to stay in the best of health.  How do you plan to provide such exercise? (e.g. regular walks, playing in fenced yard, etc)
What other information would you like us to consider in matching your application, as a prospective adopter of a Rescued Westie, with the needs of a Rescue dog?
Is there a specific dog in which you are especially interested? (Enter the dog's name, if any)
Terms and Conditions:
Please note that your application will be considered for the dog you requested (If one was specified).  We cannot guarantee that a given dog will be available.  We will match the needs of the dog to the most suitable applicant.  Your application will be kept on file for one year, in the event your requested dog is not available.  During this time, we may contact you if we have another Westie that may be a good match for you.  WRNT makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of our website, but events outside our control may change the availability of a dog at any time.  Thank you for your understanding.
eSignature:

Date:
(Type your full name as your eSignature) Today's Date

Click "Submit" to send your application to Westie Rescue.  A volunteer will contact you shortly.  Thank you!