Our Adoption Process
Our mission is to re-home dogs to their loving forever homes. In order to do that, we will match the dogs to the right homes. If you would like to adopt a dog that you are not already fostering, we require you to do the following:
- Foster the dog for 30 days with a commitment to adopt the dog at the end of the 30 days.
- Pay 100% of the adoption fee upfront at the start of the fostering period, as a non-refundable deposit. In exchange, we promise we will not continue promoting the dog for adoption.
- Sign the Adoption Agreement at the end of the 30 days. Only when you’ve signed the Adoption Agreement will the dog be legally yours. Until then, while you’re fostering the dog for the first 30 days, the dog is still the legal ownership of BARK Rescue CA.
- If at the end of the 30 days you decide you no longer want to adopt the dog, the deposit that you’ve paid is non-refundable and we ask that you continue to foster the dog until we can find him/her a new foster.
We spay/neuter the dogs first, as well as get their vaccinations updated before we finalize the adoption.
If you’ve been in our foster network for a minimum of 30 days, you can adopt the dog without fostering him/her for 30 days first.
Adoption Fees
Why Do We Charge an Adoption Fee?
To cover all necessary medical cost of the dog, including the spay/neuter cost, pain medication costs, vaccinations, and any other medical costs that we spend to take care of the dogs we currently have. At our partner veterinarians, as a 501c3 rescue organization we get a discounted rescue pricing. With this discounted rescue pricing, the spay/neuter fee alone ranges from $350 to $500 per dog depending on the dog’s age and weight. If you, as an individual, were to spay/neuter the dog at your own veterinarian, it would generally cost between $600 to $1000 per dog.
We also cover some of the supplies for the dogs we have rescued. This usually includes initial toys and treats, collar, leash, BARK Rescue ID Tag, and travel crate or wire in-home crate. The total cost of these supplies can range from $100 to $500 per dog.
We are a non-profit organization, meaning that 100% of the money we receive from adoption fees or donations go toward the care of the dogs that are currently in our foster care. We do not make any money in excess of those costs. Without adoption fees and donations, we will run out of money and will no longer be able to exist to save dogs.
Please note that the below cost does not include transaction fees that Paypal or credit card companies charge. The transaction fee charged by Paypal or credit card companies is about 3% of the below adoption fees.
Our Vetting/Screening Process
The dogs that we save have gone through a lot. A return by an adopter negatively impacts their mental health as it confuses them, so we do our best to ensure that we adopt these dogs out to families who are a good fit for the dog. Therefore, we vet/screen every applicant who applies for one of BARK Rescue dogs. Below are the steps in our screening process:
- Fill out our Foster-to-Adopt Application
- Virtual interview & virtual home check
- Meet & Greet with the dog
- Sign our Foster-to-Adopt Agreement
- During the 30 days, keep us updated on how you’re doing with the dog, with photos/videos.
- At the end of the 30 days, sign the Adoption Agrement.
Application
If you are interested in adopting, please fill out our Foster-to-Adopt Application below. If we feel you may be a good fit for the dog (or any other dog in our care), we will contact you to schedule a zoom call that will include a virtual home check. If you have not heard back from our Adoption Coordinator after 72 hours, please email adoption@barkrescueca.org to follow up.