How to Place a Pet in the Right Home

Make sure the pet is examined by a veterinarian and updated on vaccinations. People are much more apt to adopt a pet that is healthy with current shots. By the same token, if there is a specific health condition, you want to be upfront so there are no surprises or chance of the dog being returned to you or dropped off at a shelter. Even if it's a minor condition, you want the prospective owner to be aware in order to ensure the best possible care. Also, some people have experience caring for animals with specific health conditions, such as diabetes, and may want to specifically adopt pets with these conditions in order to provide them with the proper care.

Have the pet spayed or neutered. Spaying/neutering before adopting a pet out to a new home is the only way to help control pet overpopulation. It also helps prevent certain cancers and controls aggression in males. The large majority of people who adopt pets want them to be spayed or neutered because they are not planning to breed them. If they want the pet for breeding, move on to the next adopter.

Screen the potential adopter with the following preliminary questions:
• Do they have identification showing their present address?
• If they live in an apartment, do they have the consent of their landlord for this type of pet?
• Are they at least 21 years of age? (You may want to make an exception if they are younger, but being 21 or older should be a general qualification.)

Ask some important questions such as: Who will be living in the home with the pet? If there are children, what are their ages? Are there other pets in the home? If so, are there certain types of animals they don't get along with? Do they have experience with this type of pet? What type of house do they live in? Is there a fenced yard? Will the pet be spending a lot of time outdoors? (Certain shorter-haired dog breeds, for instance, don't do well spending prolonged periods outside.) Will the pet live indoors or outdoors? Do they work full time? Will they provide training for the pet if necessary? What provisions will they make for the pet if they work long hours? If they have to leave town? Who will take the pet if something happens to them? (This is especially important if the person has an illness or is a senior.)

If you are satisfied with the answers, have the prospective adopter fill out an application with their name, address, phone number and other pertinent information and references (including their veterinarian), as well as answer some important questions including the ones you may have already asked. You can find application forms online. If you are an individual rather than a rescue, you may not need to use a formal application, but still get their name, address, phone number and other pertinent information.

Inform them there is an adoption fee to help cover the cost of spay/neutering, vaccinations and food. As a rule, you don't want to charge too little because you don't want the pet to be just an impulse buy, or even worse, fall into the hands of someone who wants to profit off of the pet or harm the pet in some way. A $100 to $250 adoption fee is average and reasonable for most rescue groups. In some cases you may need to charge more if your expenses were higher and need to be reimbursed. You may choose not to charge an adoption fee, but in this case you should be absolutely certain that the pet is going to a good home.

Have the prospective applicant agree to a home check before you allow them to adopt the pet. They may seem like pet lovers and nice people, but you can never be assured of the living situation until you visit their home in person. It's also a good idea to do a home check a week or two later just to make sure the living situation hasn't changed and the pet is adjusting well to the new home.

Ask the applicant to sign a contract stating that they will return the pet to you if it doesn't work out, unless they can find a suitable home and notify you. You may prefer to just tell them verbally that they can bring the pet back to you if it doesn't work out. Knowing they have this option will hopefully prevent them from giving the pet to the wrong home or a shelter. Unfortunately, pets are returned to rescues quite often, which is why it may seem like they're being overly picky with the screening process, when they're really only trying to prevent this situation from occurring. Although some rescues do tend to be overly picky, which isn't always a good thing, considering all of the pets that need homes.