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Sadie's Safe Harbor Canine Rescue (also referred to as SSHCR or Sadie's, for short) is located in the Buffalo, NY area and we only adopt local to that region. Sadie's is a "best match" rescue. This means that we do not operate on a first come, first served basis, rather we strive to find the best match for every dog in our care and every family who applies. As such, we do not offer a pre-approval process. There are many factors to consider when selecting the right fit, so submitting an application does not guarantee adoption. GENERIC TOPICS Where is Sadie's located? We do not have a physical shelter, SSHCR relies entirely on foster homes throughout the Western New York area. Most of our foster homes are in Erie and Chautauqua Counties, with a few in Niagara and Cattaraugus Counties, too. We rarely adopt outside of these counties, as a home visit is required as part of our adoption process. However, on occasion we will travel farther (for example, to Monroe/Wyoming/Genesee counties) if the foster family is willing to do so. Please continue reading more to learn about that process. Where do Sadie's dogs come from? The dogs in our care come from all kinds of backgrounds! We accept local surrenders from owners who are no longer able to care for their dog. We occasionally accept dogs from local shelters where dogs are struggling or not showing well. We also bring dogs in from out-of-state, high-kill shelters. We currently have relationships with one shelter in North Carolina and one in Texas. What items does Sadie's accept as donations? Sadie's has a wish list on Amazon and keeps it up-to-date with supplies we could use. You can find our list here: https://smile.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/KBSQ57JQ252Z?ref=cm_sw_em_r_un_un_oxipT7qONcQf2 We also gratefully accept the following items:
ADOPTION PROCESS How does the adoption process work? As a best match rescue, we do not operate on a first come, first served basis. All adoptions are at the discretion of the rescue and we reserve the right to select the home we believe offers the best match. As applications come in for a specific dog, we review each one to see if it meets our basic requirements: current pets must be spayed/neutered, up-to-date on their rabies & DHPP vaccinations and flea/tick prevention, and have been routinely receiving wellness exams with the veterinarian. We strongly prefer that all resident pets are also up-to-date on heartworm testing & prevention which is recommended year-round. All applications that meet the above criteria are considered and the foster family/mentor begins our screening process with the applicant we believe offers the best potential fit. We start by contacting references, both personal and veterinary. Please remember, you will need to give your veterinarian permission to speak with us about your history. If the applicant rents their home, we also contact the landlord to ensure they approve of the dog's presumed breed and our estimate of the dog's full-grown size/weight. If all references provide positive feedback and the foster family would like to proceed, we then contact the applicant to schedule a home visit. Note that all family members residing in the home must be present for the visit. During the home visit, Sadie's volunteers will bring the dog to the applicant's home to meet the entire family. Note that we do not perform same-day adoptions. After the visit, the foster family will discuss the visit with their mentor, and the applicant will discuss with their family. The following day, we will be in touch to decide if everyone agrees that it is a good match. If everyone agrees to proceed with the adoption, we will schedule a convenient time to being the dog to his/her new home and complete the adoption contract. What information will be needed to complete an adoption application?
Does Sadie's pre-approve applicants? As a best match rescue, we do not offer a pre-approval process. Every applicant must select a specific dog they are interested in before applying. If you do not see the specific dog you want to apply for on the drop-down list in our application, he or she is most likely not yet available for adoption, or no longer accepting applications. Please do not randomly select another dog from the drop-down. Do you have a foster to adopt program? While we do not have a formal foster to adopt option, we do, on occasion, place a dog with a family that intends to adopt him/her once they clear any medical or training issues. This is on a case-by-case basis and is not our general practice. What are the adoption fees? Our adoption fees are based on the dog's approximate age. The fees can be found on the Adoption Information page, linked here: https://www.sadiesrescue.org/info/adoption. What methods of payment are accepted for the adoption fee? We accept cash, check, PayPal, or Venmo. What is included in the adoption fee?
What methods of training does Sadie's advocate for? Sadie's strongly recommends that all dogs complete a basic obedience class. Doing so helps build a relationship between the dog and his/her human, gives the dog confidence, enriches the dog's life through mental stimulation, and helps ensure that they are good community members. Sadie's utilizes entirely positive training methods, such as a clicker or other reward-based training system. The use of punitive training devices (such as choke chains, prong collars, and no-bark collars, sometimes referred to as shock collars) are never used on dogs in our care. Furthermore, our adoption contract stipulates that these devices are not permitted for use with dogs adopted through our rescue. Do you require adopters to have a fence? As a best match rescue, we determine requirements for adoptive homes based on each dog's personality. We feel that some dogs do fine on a tie-out or with leash walks only, while others do require a physical fence. We do not disqualify any applicants with an electric fence (also known as invisible), but we believe some precautions are still necessary and we may not place certain dogs in a home with an electric fence. How often do you bring in new dogs? We accept new dogs through local owner-surrender, local municipal shelters, and by transport from out-of-state, high-kill shelters. Typically, we bring new dogs in every several weeks, depending on availability of foster homes and dogs in need. VOLUNTEERING What volunteer opportunities are available for adults? The most common way for folks to get involved with us is through fostering. We are always looking to grow our network of foster homes! However, we also accept volunteers to assist with fundraising, joining foster families on home visits, supporting events in the community, transporting dogs to veterinary appointments, etc. If you would like to join our mission, please complete an application on our website today and a current volunteer will be in touch. Do you have any volunteer opportunities for children under 18 years old? We do not have any specific programs or tasks that kids can help with. However, some kids have taken the initiative to support us in their own way, like helping us organize our supplies, holding a donation drive, making posters for events, baking & selling dog treats to donate the proceeds, etc. We believe that encouraging the next generation to love animals and help out in various ways is important! So, if your child is looking to get involved, please feel free to e-mail the main rescue account (rescuemesadie@gmail.com) and we can get creative together! FOSTERING What is involved in being a foster home? Fostering dogs is a big commitment that comes with the reward of saving lives! Not to mention you will be paid with lots of puppy kisses and wagging tails. As a foster, you are welcoming a foster dog into your home as one of your own. SSHCR provides all necessary supplies (food, treats, crate, collars, leashes, harnesses, medications, etc.) and you are not financially responsible for anything. Although, many of our foster homes tend to spoil the pups! The foster family is involved in every step of the process to find the dog's forever home. The first few days after getting a new foster, the family should give the dog some time to decompress. We suggest keeping the first several days low-key, no visits to new places or pushing the limits with introductions. During this period, most dogs will begin to open up and you will learn so much about their personality! Once the dog is comfortable, fosters work with their mentor to write a description and take photos for our website. Pre-covid, we asked that our foster homes bring their dogs to adoption events as frequently as possible to showcase our adoptable dogs to the community. During covid times, we have not been holding adoption events. As a "best match" rescue, the foster and their mentor make the decision about which home your foster dog gets adopted into! We do not maintain a waiting list or dictate which applicants you visit with our adopt to. The foster and the mentor discuss every application and make a joint decision. This is a major advantage, as it provides confidence and comfort when the dog leaves your care. In some ways, this provides the "closure" that helps the painful part of letting a foster dog go. What is the process to become a foster? The foster approval process is very similar to the adoption process outlined above. We have a separate foster application for the applicant to complete. After review of the application to determine if our basic requirements are met, we will contact references - personal, veterinary, and landlord (if applicable). Then, a volunteer will come to your home to ensure it is suitable for a foster dog. Note that all family members residing in the home must be present for the visit. If children or other pets live in the home, this visit also helps us learn about their personality so we know what types of foster dogs may be a good fit for you. Once approved, each family must review our "foster handbook" and will have an opportunity to ask any questions. After that, a foster agreement must be completed on our website. Each foster home is paired with a mentor who has been fostering/volunteering with SSHCR for a significant period. This mentor serves as your go-to for any questions and will assist you in every step of your fostering journey. Are there any restrictions on who can foster? Similar to our adoption process, we do have a few basic requirements for foster homes. Resident pets must be spayed/neutered, up-to-date on their rabies & DHPP vaccinations and flea/tick prevention, and have been routinely receiving wellness exams with the veterinarian. We strongly prefer that all resident pets are also up-to-date on heartworm testing and prevention which is recommended year-round. SURRENDERING A DOG While we understand the decision to surrender a pet is not an easy one, we appreciate that you are considering us to help you through this difficult time. We are not able to accept any dogs that must be the only pet in the home, as all of our foster homes have their own family pets. What is the process for surrendering a dog? The first step is to complete an application, found under the "about us" section on our website. This application is designed to provide us with an understanding of your pet as well as the household he/she is coming from. It is our goal to make this as easy as possible for you while also allowing us to determine the best foster placement for your pet. Please keep that in mind as you are answering these questions and please be as thorough as you can. After completing the application, we request that you email photos of your dog and any medical records to rescuemesadie@gmail.com. Once we have a chance to review your application, someone from our intake team will contact you. Is there a fee to surrender a dog? We do not currently charge a fee to bring a dog into our care. However, the dog must be current on its rabies vaccination. Preferably, the dog would also be up-to-date on all other vaccinations. Do you have restrictions on what dogs you will bring into your care? Sadie's is an all-breed, any circumstance rescue. We do not have any breed or size restrictions on what dogs we accept. We require that all dogs surrendered to us are current on their rabies vaccination, at a minimum. We cannot accept any dogs that must be the only pet, as all of our foster homes have their own family pets. We have an intake team that evaluates each application and determines if we are able to assist. While submitting this form shows your intent to surrender your pet, it does not serve as a guarantee that we will be able to assist you. All of our dogs live in foster homes as they await adoption and our ability to accept new dogs into our group is dependent upon many factors. As such, we ask that you please be patient while we work through this process. |
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