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Questions and Answers

  • What is Homeward Bound Dog Rescue of New York?

    Homeward Bound is a not for profit volunteer organization. Our volunteers come from all walks of life and share one common passion - we love dogs, all kinds of dogs. We were formed because we saw many young, happy, healthy puppies and young dogs being euthanized in shelters because there was no foster space or other rescue groups with room to take them until their forever home could be found. Our focus is finding those family dogs who just need a little more time and exposure, and helping them find their way home.
  • Where are you located?

    We do not have a facility which houses our dogs during the week. Our volunteers live all over the Capital District of New York State. All of the dogs in our program reside in a foster home with a Homeward Bound volunteer. We take our dogs into our homes and care for them as if they were our own until they go to their forever homes. This serves several purposes: Many of our dogs have been in shelters and time spent in a loving home will help them begin to feel safe, comfortable and allow their true personalities to emerge. Also, the time we spend with them helps us to learn more about them, which allows us to be able to provide applicants with an accurate assessment and the dogs individual strengths and needs.
  • Why do you charge an adoption fee, and what is it?
    • $250 for dogs over two years old
    • $350 for dogs/puppies (under two years)

    The adoption fee is not a purchase or sale price and is not refundable.

    There are multiple costs involved in running a dog rescue. Most of our dogs come from shelters which charge us a fee for each dog surrendered to us to cover the costs they incurred while the dog was in their care and/or for transporting the dog to us. In many cases, this fee exceeds 50% of our adoption fee. Then there are the additional costs incurred after the dog reaches Homeward Bound, such as additional veterinary care, training, transportation and shelter fees. In some cases, these costs will exceed the adoption fee received for a particular dog. We do not raise the adoption fee in these cases. Also, there are the costs of advertising the clinics, transportation, maintaining the website, post office box and hotline telephone costs and insurance. All of these costs are paid by the collection of adoption fees with shortfall met through donations, grants and gifts from our volunteers. For more information CLICK HERE

  • Homeward Bound dogs are adopted out "fully vetted". What does that mean?

    All of our dogs are spayed or neutered. This includes most of our puppies also provided that they are at least 8 weeks of age. They are generally vaccinated for distemper/parvo, rabies and if from a shelter, bordatella. They are also tested for heartworm and in some cases, lymes disease and erlichia. We will provide you with copies of the medical records for your new dog. You will be expected to continue providing them with appropriate medical care. We also recommend that adopters in upstate New York get their dogs Lyme vaccinated and use a flea/tick repellant on their dog.
  • Do you ever take dogs back?

    Yes, we will take a Homeward Bound dog back into the program as long as we have an appropriate foster home open for the dog. We do reassess the dog before taking it back into our program to insure the safety of our volunteers. In fact, our adoption contract states that you are obligated to return the dog to us if you decide, for any reason, that you cannot keep the dog. As we have a thorough adoption approval process, we have never had to enforce the provision which is also in our contracts which allows Homeward Bound to reclaim a dog if the owner fails to comply with the terms of the contract, however if Homeward Bound had reason to believe that one of its dogs was not being properly cared for, this provision would be invoked.
  • Do you place dogs with renters?

    Yes, provided you have landlord approval to have a dog live in the rental property. We will contact your landlord to confirm his or her approval prior to finalizing the application process.
  • Will you place a dog with an inexperienced dog owner?

    Yes, however we will discuss with you the huge responsibility of owning a dog and how you can educate yourself in order to give your dog the care and direction that he/she needs. We may require a first time owner to take part in obedience classes to assure that the owner obtains that first level of instruction. You will see questions on our application form about your level of dog experience and we ask that you answer those questions honestly so we can better provide the support you will need as a first time dog owner.
  • Will you accept a dog into your program who is surrendered to you directly by the owner?

    We will accept owner surrenders under the following conditions:

    1. The dog has been spayed/neutered and is up to date on all vaccinations.
    2. The dog passes our temperament evaluation and
    3. The dog is type of dog which we normally accept into our program.
    4. We have a foster space available to accept the dog.
    5. There are no other re-homing possibilities for the dog.
    6. We will also require the owner pay a $200.00 surrender fee to help offset any additional costs with bringing a new dog into the group.
 
Homeward Bound Dog Rescue of New York, LLC.
P.O. Box 5782
Albany, NY 12205
518.424.1738

Adoption Clinics:
Saturdays, by Invitation

202 Front St.

(our entrance is really on John St.)
Schenectady, NY 12105



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