ADOPTION PROCESS

First, thank you for thinking of adopting a needy Airedale. We serve North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama. If you live outside of these 5 states, please apply within the region that serves your area. Search regional groups here Regional Rescue Groups – National Airedale Rescue (USA).

When your application reaches us, the process begins. The adoption process is to make sure that the Airedales adopted through us are going to great homes. After all, they are on their second chance – so we want this match to last! Because we all work full time, our response time may be slower than you expect. We appreciate your patience.

The Application

We keep your application on file while we look for the right match for you, your family, and your lifestyle.

There are no right or wrong answers. We need to know as much as we can about you so that everyone ends up with the Airedale they are supposed to have. Be honest—so you end up with the best pet for you and/or your family.

Getting to Know You

After receiving your application, we talk over the phone to understand what your needs are so that we can “fit” the Airedale into the home. We call for a reference from your vet. We arrange a home visit by one of our rescue volunteers in your area. That way we can get to know you better and you can meet someone who has gone through the process.

Then comes the hard part — the WAITING! It can be frustrating waiting for a dog once you’ve applied, so we’d like to explain our guiding principles for matching dogs and applicants.

We match dogs and applicants based on the needs of both. This includes a variety of facts — special needs and age of dog, need for medical care and access to our vets, transport distances, urgency of placement, and the details and circumstances of qualified adopters. It’s best to apply and be approved, so you are ready to receive an available Airedale.

Our focus is to ensure that the dogs find the best place to spend the rest of their lives. They can’t talk, so they depend on us to make that happen.

Finding your Airedale

Next is finding just the right Airedale for you and/or your family. Sometimes it takes days, and sometimes months. When an Airedale comes into the rescue, they are taken to a vet for a checkup. All shots are brought up to date, and a fecal and heartworm check is done to make sure they are clear of all parasites. Upon adoption, we provide you with all of the behavioral and medical information that has been made available to us.

If the Airedale is not spayed or neutered, that is done before placement. No Airedale is adopted with their AKC papers, even if we receive them. This prevents the dog from being sold with papers in the future.

Adoption Agreement and Fee

At adoption, you are asked to sign an adoption agreement. The agreement sets out our minimum standards to keep this dog and states that if for any reason you must give up the Airedale, you will return the dog to us. There is a “no questions asked” guarantee from us. There is an adoption fee that goes into our fund (we are a designated 501(c)3 non-profit organization) for the medical bills of future rescued Airedales. The adoption fee is $400 and is payable when you receive the dog.

To help settle our Airedales in with their new family, a phone consultation with ARG’s trainer is included with the adoption fee.

We make every effort to help the adoptive family succeed in their adoption of a great Airedale. If it just doesn’t work out, we take the dog back. No questions asked.

Thanks again for thinking of adoption. We will contact you after we receive your application. Please be patient as we are all volunteers with families, Airedales, jobs, and generally busy lives… just like you. Thank you.