Fetch 11 Humane Society, Inc.

"No-Kill Shelter for Dogs Less than 40 Pounds in Weight" ™

How to Place a Dog with Us

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Already Adopted!

Archer

Arum

Athena

Baby's Breath: He wasn't breathing when he was born, and we had to give him CPR to get him breathing on his own.

Bijou

Bobbie Lee

Bonnie, Brennan and Brody: They were 3 abused McNabs pups who came to us form a shelter that was running out of room.

Brandeen

Bandywine

Bugbane

Cappuccino

Cherub.  She had been abandoned by her mom, and another dog adopted her, fed her, and got her healthy again!

Chubacca, a purebred Welsh Pembroke Corgi

China Rose

Chuchip.  He and his siblings were found starving and covered with ticks on the side of the highway.

Chucho

Cissie

Cletus and Linus

Cornelius

Crumpet: She proved herself a hero when she saved a toddler from running out into the street!

Daniel Jackson

Dinah

Dolly: She was so mellow, we called her "The Dolly Mama"

Dottie

Drysdale: He was the only boy in his litter and had 6 sisters!

Dusty Farmer: He came to us as a fear-aggressive boy with a smashed jaw and a withered hind leg.

Elaine

Elijah

Gaiten-Phoenix

Georgia May and her sister Dixie

We have a specific process we go through with every dog placed in our agency.  Although we understand that sometimes you may feel that your circumstances are "urgent", we will not rush the process, so bear with us.  CLICK ON any of the link below to read more about our process and to fill out the required questionnaire: 

If You Have Found a Stray Dog

To Help Improve The Odds That the Dog Will Be placed With Us

Dogs We Will Not Consider for Placement

If the Dog Has Been Accepted for Placement

Placement Fees

If the Dog Has Been Rejected for Placement

We Need Photos

Fill Out the Intake Questionnaire

If You Are Returning a Dog You Adopted From Us

IF YOU HAVE FOUND A STRAY DOG:

If you've found a stray dog, you may be required by the laws in your area to make an effort to find its owner before taking it to a pound or shelter facility.  If you're not sure what the laws are in your community, it's always safest to make an effort to locate the dog's owner, just to make sure your own legal obligations are covered. 

• Call the local pounds, shelters and rescue groups to let them know that you've found the dog, and ask if they have had any calls for "lost dogs" meeting the dog's description.

• Call the local veterinary offices and ask if they have had any calls for "lost dogs" meeting the dog's description, too.

• Post "Found Dog" flyers in your local area, especially around supermarkets, pet shops, and schools.  (Kids are great at recognizing and locating lost dogs.) 

  • Take photos of the dog to put on the flyers (digital camera are great for this purpose.

  • You can download a letter sized fill-in-the-blanks flyer from our website by clicking on the links below.

Found Dog Flyer - WORD "doc" format (30 kb)

Found Dog Flyer - PDF format (25 kb)

• If you can afford it, post a "found dog" ad in your local newspaper.

• If you have made attempts to find the owner, but have had no response to your inquiries, then you are free to put the dog in a pound or a shelter.  For the dog's sake, please try to place it in a no-kill facility or with a rescue group that specializes in the dog's particular breed. We may be able to help with placement.

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STEP ONE, The Basics:  If you have a dog, or multiple dogs, that you would like to have placed in our no-kill facility, please fill out our intake questionnaire and send us at least three (3) good photographs of the dog.  We will not accept any dog for placement that we haven’t seen (in person or in photographs.)

Keep in mind that because we are “no-kill” shelter, our facility fills up quickly and sometimes we simply do not have room for new placements; and because our available space is at a premium, we are very selective about the dogs we will accept for placement.

To help improve the odds that the dog will be placed with us:

Because veterinary expenses consume a good deal of our budget, the less we have to spend on basic veterinary care, the more likely it is that we will accept the referred dog for placement (especially if the dog is one that may need on-going more focused veterinary care, or emergency veterinary care).  Further, if you can transport the dog to us to help us conserve travel expenses, the dog will move up on our placement list. 

• Whenever possible, see to it that the dog is current on its DHLPP (combo) vaccinations, or at the very least has been vaccinated for Distemper and Parvo.  We will require proof of the vaccination(s).)  Dogs that are already vaccinated move up higher on the placement list than dogs who still need their vaccinations.

• Whenever possible, see to it that the dog is current on its rabies vaccination. We will require proof of the vaccinations from a licensed veterinarian. Again, dogs that are already vaccinated move up higher on the placement list than dogs who still need their vaccinations.

• Whenever possible, see to it that the dog comes to us already spayed or neutered.  This, of course, will not be possible if the dog is less than 6 months old, pregnant or still nursing a litter of pups.  Dogs that are already altered move up higher on the placement list than dogs who still need to be altered.

• Whenever possible, have the dog tested for heartworm.  We do not reject dogs simply on the basis of a “heartworm positive” diagnosis, but we do like to know in advance whether we’ll be dealing with heartworms or not.

• Provide transport of the dog to our facility (if it’s placement is approved).  Anything that helps our agency conserve funds moves the dog further up on the placement list.

• Don’t wait until the last minute.  Do not wait until the dog is in “urgent!” need of placement before contacting us.  We will not rush a placement or take a dog in simply because it has been placed on the urgent-status list elsewhere. 

• Dogs need not be microchipped.  In fact, we prefer dogs that aren’t already carrying a chip from some other shelter or private party.  If the dog does have a chip, we’ll need a copy of its registration to have it transferred over to us.

Dogs we will not consider for placement include: 

• Dogs over 40 pounds in weight (unless the dog is pregnant or is coming to us with a litter of un-weaned pups)

• Dogs with communicable diseases (including Kennel Cough)

• Dogs with parasites (including fleas, ticks, and/or intestinal worms).  Please see to it that any dog coming to us has been treated for parasites.  (We understand that this may not be possible if the dog is a pregnant female or a mama dog that is still nursing her puppies.)

• Dogs with a history of aggression, biting, or killing (with the exception of fear-aggressive Chihuahuas).  The way our facility is set up, dogs are placed in common room with other dogs, and so we will not take into placement any dog with dog-on-dog aggression issues.  And because we cannot ethically put a dog with dog-on-people aggression issues into an adoptive placement, we will not accept those dogs either.

  • Keep in mind that it is illegal to fail to disclose the aggression history of a dog if you know what the history is. 

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STEP TWO, The Questionnaire and Our Review: Once you have filled out the required intake questionnaire and sent us photographs of the dog, we will review the materials and let you know our decision. We can usually let you know the same day if the dog will be accepted or not.

• If the dog has been accepted for placement, an appointment for transfer will be set up, and some transfer paperwork will be forwarded to you for signature.  The transfer paperwork relinquishes ownership of the dog to Fetch 11.

  • Appointments are usually set up on WEEKENDS between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm, but we can try to accommodate a transporter’s schedule whenever possible.

Fees: We do not charge non-profit private rescue groups, shelters or municipal pounds a fee for placement, but we do charge for-profit organizations and individual dog owners a nominal fee of $50 to place a dog with us.  This helps to cover the cost of the dog’s initial veterinary exam and our intake process during which the dog is bathed, groomed and given it initial physical, and receives an initial behavioral assessment.  This fee can be paid on-line by clicking on the DONATE button on any page of our website. Do not pay the fee until after the dog has been approved for placement. Paying the fee in advance will not improve the dog’s chances of being placed with us.  If you pay the fee, and your dog is rejected for placement, you forfeit the fee.   

• If the dog has not been accepted, we will give you a reason why it was rejected.  It may be that we don’t have room, or that the dog does not meet our criteria for placement. 

• If the dog is rejected for placement, we may still be able to help you by:

  • keeping the dog on our Waiting List (if it qualifies), or

  • by posting adoption listings on various websites for you (at no charge to you). See our Re-Home Your Dog page for more information on this process.

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E-MAIL US PHOTOS

We need to see at least 3 good photographs of each dog you would like to place with us. A head shot, a full-body shot, and a shot where the dog is standing or sitting next to a human (so we can get some size perspective on the animal) are always best.  (We will, of course, accept any photos you're able to take of the dog regardless of how they are posed.)

• All photos must be in the JPG or GIF format, and can be no larger than 500 pixels wide.  If you send us huge images that take "forever" to download, your application for placement will be rejected.

• Putting the images in a ZIP file is fine, but not a requirement.

• E-mail the images to: fetch11hs@peoplepc.com and make sure you put the dog's name in the "Subject" line so we know what photos go with what placement questionnaire.

Here is a sampling of photos that seem to work best for our purposes:

These show us the dog's face, the dog's whole body, and the dog in comparison to an adult male.

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IF YOU ARE RETURNING A DOG YOU ADOPTED FROM US

Although we screen potential adopters very thoroughly, sometimes the reality is that the adoption doesn't work out.  Maybe the adopter over-estimated his/her abilities to properly care for the dog, or family circumstances changed, or one of the family members doesn't get along with the animal...  If you feel you need to return a dog that you adopted from us, contact us before you bring the dog back to our facility.  We may be full-up and not able to immediately take the dog back in, or may have to arrange for a foster placement.  If the possible return is due to a behavior issue, we may be able to help you with issue so the dog doesn't have to be returned at all and can stay with you.  Persons returning dogs to us do not need to fill out an intake questionnaire, because we already have information on the dog's history on-file, and there will be no placement fee charged.  But keep in mind that the adoption fee you paid will not be refunded.  We do not refund adoption fees because we want the dogs to go to adopters who are willing to make a permanent, long-term financial and emotional commitment to the dogs.  We will not permit the dogs here to be "bought" and then "returned for a refund" as though they were a piece of furniture.
 

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INTAKE QUESTIONNAIRE

We need one questionnaire filled out for each dog you wish to place with us.  The only exception is if you want to place a litter of abandoned pups or you want place a mama dog with her litter of pups; these family groupings can be submitted for approval with a single questionnaire form.  Fill out the following form in full and then press the SUBMIT button. Some of the questions asked below may seem "redundant", but please answer every one of them; you can use "N/A" in the answer field if the field is not applicable to the dog you want to place with us. Incomplete forms will be rejected.

This website, its contents, text and images are the property of  Fetch 11 Humane Society, Inc.  and Mary K. Hanson.  Copyright (c) 2008, All Rights Reserved. For problems with this website contact the webmistress

or e-mail F11.

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TO MAKE A DONATION or PAY AN ADOPTION FEE
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where you can make a payment securely on-line by check or credit card.