Our Adoption Policies

Helping You to Understand

As you look through the descriptions on our pets you will notice that we indicate requires a fenced yard, not good with children, indoor only, etc.  We base our policies many factors including recommendations from the United States Humane Society.  Hopefully the following will help you to understand.

Almost all of our dogs are posted with the requirement of a fenced yard.   There are a variety of reasons for requiring fenced yards.  One of the most common is the fact that many of our dogs came from shelters where they had been found as strays.  This is a strong indication that the dogs tend to leave an unenclosed yard and run away and their owners are not able to find them.  Sporting dogs, such as the hounds, are very prey and scent driven and will follow a small animal, squirrel, etc. or the scent of another animal without regard or thought for where they are going and can end up miles away.  Then they may not be able to find their way home again.   Other dogs come from a places where they have had limited human contact and are very fearful.  These dogs run out of fear and are not good candidates for leash walking because of their overwhelming fearfulness of a world they have never experienced.  A confined area helps them learn about the new sounds, smells and other things that they have never experienced in their lives and remain safely confined.    Another very important reason for a fenced yard is to allow the dog to have the exercise he or she requires and remain safe.  The common thread through all of these  explanations, is that the fenced/confined area is very important for the safety of the dog. 

When you see a cute puppy and we indicate that he or she is not good with children, we are following the United States Humane Society's recommendation.  While puppies and small children are certainly cute together, it is not in the best interest of either to put the two together.  Below are a few of the reasons:

       Small children are naturally curious about things and experimenting with puppies eyes, ears, etc.  which can lead to an unpleasant response from the pup. 

        Puppies tend to mouth because, like the kids, they are teething.    A child might think that the puppy is "biting" them when it is just natural for the puppy to do at that age.  This could make the child fearful of the puppy as well as other issues that can arise.

Children, big or small, leave their toys out.  The kids toys can and do present a choking hazard to the puppies.  Additionally, the child does not want to have all of his/her toys destroyed by the puppy.

Puppies, especially larger dogs, like to play, too.  The tendency to jump and nip when the puppies are playing which can over whelm a child and this could turn into more than just playing for a small child.

We require spaying and neutering for several reasons.  The obvious reason is to help control the pet population and the number of pets that end up unwanted every day.  The overall health of the dog is a very important reason also.  Dogs and cats that have not been spayed or neutered have a much higher risk of various forms of cancer such as testicular and prostate cancers in males and mammary and ovarian cancers in females. Unspayed females can also develop pyometra, which is a deadly infection of the uterus. Spaying or neutering prevents all these issues. The overall health of a spayed or neutered pet is better than that of one that is not.  Neutering a male dog will help with unwanted behavior and help  him to be a better member of the family.