Adoption Process

If you have a question about anything on the application, email us at adopt@germanshepherdcenter.org and we will guide you through it.

Our Adoption Process

To be considered for a GSD in our Rehome Program, you must:  

1. Live in New England.
2. Complete an Adoption Application. If you do not own your home, you must have your landlord’s approval and letter from him or her stating the approval.
3. Be interviewed by telephone by a GSR&RC volunteer.
4. Allow a home visit, conducted by a GSR&RC volunteer.
5. Sign our Adoption Contract and Release Form, (available from our volunteers), and pay the associated adoption fee.

Once approved, we evaluate the rescue dog that you are interested in to see if she or he matches your preferences and lifestyle. If it’s a match and you want to meet him/her, then we schedule a visit with the foster home for you to meet the dog.

If the rescue dog is not suited for your family, we will then look at the GSDs in our Rehome program and those being evaluated to see if any of them are a match.

We work on a best match basis, not on a first come first serve basis. Our goal is to find the best home for our rescue dogs and the best dog for our adoption applicants. If we find two or three homes that are equally suited for the same rescue, we would proceed with the applicant who submitted their application on the earliest date.

Get Pre-Approved!

It is a great idea for adoption applicants to apply and to be pre-approved adopters. GSR&RC is constantly evaluating GSDs for our Rehome program and we usually have several GSDs in process.

If we have a rescue dog that is a match for your family, and you are already approved, we will immediately contact you with the GSDs profile to see if you are interested. One of our res cue dogs could be your next best friend!

Even if you are not ready to adopt, we will complete the process and keep your approval on file until you are ready. Once you are ready, we will review any changes to your lifestyle since you were approved and start the process to get you a GSD.

How Long Does it Take?

GSR&RC is staffed entirely by volunteers. All of us have families, and animals of our own and most of us have full time jobs. Many of us work more hours doing rescue work than we do at our full-time jobs.

While we make every effort to process applications and return emails and phone calls immediately, this may not always happen. We ask for your patience. We will do our best to review your Adoption application and contact you as soon as possible.

Application processing time averages 2-3 weeks depending on the volume of applications received.

Arranging schedules for you to meet our dogs takes time too. You may have to travel to meet one of our dogs as our foster homes are located in all of the New England States.

Homeless GSDs with a time limit, dog evaluations, emergency medical calls and calls about the safety of our animals take priority.

Consider volunteering with us; this will help us shorten our response time to both GSDs in need and adoption applicants. We’d love to work with you!

Our Adoption Fees

Effective January 1, 2012 our adoption fees are:

$350 for puppies (up to 12 months)

$250 for adult dogs (1 to 8 years)

$150 for senior dogs (over 8 years)