Adoption Process
Pug Rescue of Austin is committed to the life, health, and well-being of every dog we place.
The following is an outline of our adoption screening process and the steps it takes to complete.
The entire process from application to approval takes an average of 1-2 weeks to complete. There are several issues that may delay the adoption process, however. For example, if your references are unavailable, we will be unable to continue the screening process.
Please help our volunteers and ensure a timely approval by reviewing this process.
Adoption Process FAQs
Step 1
Complete Adoption Application
The first step in the adoption process is filling out the application on our website.
This application will tell us about you and your lifestyle, home environment, and experience with pet ownership. This information allows us to gauge the fit between the applicant and the dogs in our rescue program. The happiness and well-being of our rescue dogs is our priority. As such, we do not select adopters on a “first-come, first served” basis.
PRA does not accommodate introductions with one of our dogs without this first step being completed, with the exception of our public adoption events where we invite you and the public to come out and meet the dogs in our program as well as our volunteers.
Step 2
Application Preliminary Review
Our Adoption Coordinator will screen your application to determine if the necessary information was provided.
If not, you will be emailed to provide additional information. Most of our communication is done via e-mail. Please allow 24 – 48 hours for our Adoption Coordinator to get back to you.
If there are any major concerns based on information provided in your application, your application will be denied at this point in the process.
Step 3
Veterinary References Contacted
A volunteer will contact your veterinary references to determine if your current pets are spayed/neutered, kept up-to-date on vaccinations, maintained on monthly heartworm preventative, and generally well cared for on a consistent basis.
If you do not currently have pets, we will ask about the veterinary care that your previous pets received. If you have never owned a pet, this step is skipped.
If your veterinary reference(s) cannot verify care history, spay/neuter, and vaccination status of your pet(s), processing of your application will be held until you can provide this information. Exemptions to our spay/neuter policy are granted on a case-by-case basis if there is a veterinary recommendation to not spay/neuter based on health status.
Step 4
Landlord Approval Verified
If you rent your home, your landlord will be contacted to make sure you have permission to have a dog in your home.
If your landlord does not allow for a dog in your home, your application will be denied at this point in the process.
Step 5
Background Check
We require permission to run a criminal background check on every applicant. We reserve the right to deny your application based on the results the background check.
If the background check reveals that you are currently on probation, have a pattern of criminal behavior, have a history of violence, and/or have had recent instability in your life that would not be suitable for adopting a dog, your application will be denied at this point in the process.
Step 6
Personal References Contacted
A volunteer will contact your 3 personal references and ask them questions in regards to whether they consider you a responsible pet owner. This step in the process can take the most amount of time. It is helpful if you contact your references and ask them to return our calls in a timely manner.
If we have any major concerns about adopting a dog to you based on communication with your references, your application will be denied at this point in the process.
Step 7
Home Visit
PRA requires home visits to determine that the dog will be living in a safe environment.
Once your application has passed the initial screening and reference checks, a volunteer will contact you to schedule a time to visit your home. This visit may be a virtual 'screen-share/Facetime' visit.
We ask that each family member and other pets be present during the visit. We do not allow “surprise” adoptions, or adoptions on behalf of a friend or family member. This is an informal chance for us to get to know you, your lifestyle, home environment, and help our Adoptions Team determine which dog(s) in our program might be the best fit. Our home visit isn’t intrusive; we aren’t there to inspect every inch of the home. We’re there to meet everyone in the home, view the main living areas, view the yard, and to speak with the entire family in regards to their knowledge of and interest in the joys and the challenges of bringing a rescued dog into the home. The home visit volunteer’s purpose is to gather information, ask and answer questions, and provide their observations to our Adoption Coordinator.
If you live outside the Austin area, we will make every effort to network and find a local volunteer to conduct the home visit. Distance is a factor in whether or not the required home visit can be completed. We are a 100% volunteer-run organization. Although we do have volunteer contacts in many areas, some areas may be difficult for us to locate a volunteer to conduct the home visit.
If our home visit volunteer has any major concerns about your home environment, or if you refuse a home visit, your application will be denied at this point in the process.
Step 8
Approval/Denial
Our Adoption Coordinator (and other Board members as necessary) use the information provided on the application, background check, interviews, vet/reference checks, and home visit to determine an applicant’s suitability for adopting or fostering a dog.
Our Adoption Coordinator will notify you of your status. We reserve the right to refuse any applicant for any reason if we feel the needs of the dog will not be properly met or the adoption is not in the best interest of the dog.
Step 9
Matching
Once an application is processed and approved, now comes the fun part!
While it’s easy to fall in love with a picture, it is the dog’s personality and temperament that determine whether it may make a great match for you.
We work hard to match your desires with the traits and personalities of our dogs. Please understand that we only want what is best for our dogs, so if we don’t think a specific dog is a good fit for you, we’re not passing judgment on you or your family but are drawing on years of experience with pugs, and, more importantly, experience with the dogs in our program.
“First Come, First Served” doesn’t apply here, as we match each dog in our program with the most appropriate home for him/her, whether that home comes next week or next year! Submitting an application for a specific dog does not guarantee your ability to adopt.
Step 10
Arranging a Meet-and-Greet
All of our dogs live in private/volunteer foster homes until adopted. We do not arrange meetings between interested individuals and our dogs until an applicant has been approved via this adoption process.
Once you are approved to adopt from PRA, our Adoption Director will “match” you with dogs in our program that meet your criteria and that we believe may be suitable for your family and lifestyle.
You will receive an email with contact information for the foster home(s) of interest. You may contact the foster family at this time to talk about their foster pug, ask questions, and arrange a meeting.
Foster families are the backbone of our organization; they have the best understanding of a dog’s temperament, personality, and needs. Please keep in mind that our foster families are volunteers with families, pets, jobs, school, and obligations of their own in addition to their volunteer commitment.
If the meet-and-greet goes well, we encourage all adopters to take the pug on a 5-7 day trial visit before deciding whether to adopt. This trial period is to help you determine whether the pug is a good fit for your home and lifestyle to ensure that you are making a well-informed decision prior to adoption.
Step 11
Finalizing the Adoption
Once an adopter takes the pug on a trial visit and then decides that the pug is right for their home, our Contracts Coordinator will email the necessary paperwork. The adopter is required to review and sign an adoption contract and submit the adoption fee via money order or credit card (additional fee is required for credit card payment) within one week of receiving the paperwork.
Once the adoption is finalized, you may request all available veterinary records to ensure continuity of care.
Please note, as we rescue the majority of our dogs from shelters, we do not know a lot about the dog’s history, genetics, age, or behaviors. We are able to share information we gather based on what we learn about our dogs during their time with us in foster homes and based on their wellness exams by veterinarians.
Step 12
Trip to the Vet
It is recommended that you make an appointment with your vet as soon as possible after adopting a dog from our program.
While every effort is made to provide the best possible care once these dogs come to us, we cannot guarantee their health.
Additionally, if at the time of adoption, your dog was not already spayed/neutered, our adoption contract requires that s/he be spayed/neutered within one month of adoption or when age-appropriate. The cost is covered by PRA, and you are asked to notify us when this surgery has been performed at either Westlake Animal Hospital or Emancipet. A volunteer will verify that the dog has been spayed/neutered.
If you fail to spay/neuter, as outlined in the adoption contract you signed, our organization will take appropriate measures to reclaim the dog.
If your adopted dog is Heartworm positive, our Medical Coordinator will work with you to schedule their treatment within a few months of adoption. The cost is covered by PRA.
Step 13
Post-Adoption Follow-up
To ensure a successful adoption, we have a network of volunteers happy to answer any questions and help you work through issues that may arise while your new dog is transitioning into your home, or 10 years down the road! We are committed to each and every dog we rescue for the rest of his/her life, so please stay in touch with us, as we love getting updates!
Additionally, our adoption contract contains a clause that allows one of our volunteers or a representative the ability to perform a follow-up visit. We may require such a visit if we feel that the terms of the adoption contract are not being met. Pug Rescue of Austin is committed to the life, health, and well-being of every dog we place for the remainder of that dog’s life. Should the adoption not work out or you need to re-home the dog, we require by contract that you make immediate contact with us and return the dog to our care.