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Adoption Process & Policies

Adopting Your New Best Friend

Applications are not processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Our goal is to make the best rescue match taking into consideration the animal's background and your family's needs. Every animal is different: personality, temperament, energy, comfort with kids and other animals, medical needs and more. We consider all these factors when making a furever home match. We are very careful about the placements we make. We do our best to match the right animal with the right adoptive home because we want this to be the pet's permanent home, which is also why our dog adoptions start off with a 2-week trial period.

If you are willing to wait for the right animal to be matched to you,
you are an ideal candidate for Saved By Fate Dog Rescue. As our low return rate proves, these precious animals are well worth the wait.
First adoption

OUR PROCESS

1. Apply

We appreciate you wanting to bring a animal into your home. In order for us to find the right pet for you, we need you to submit an adoption application. Please make sure that you read the entire biography of the dog or cat you’re interested in before applying!

2. Review

First, homeownership will be verified, or we will call your landlord/property management company to obtain approval for the applicant to adopt. Then, we will contact your current veterinarian for a reference, and finally, we will contact 1-2 personal references.

3. Home Visit (Dogs Only)

Once your application review is complete, a Saved By Fate Dog Rescue volunteer will contact you to schedule a home visit. We conduct home visits to ensure that the residence and property is safe and fit for a dog. Although we do not require fences for every dog, applicants with completely fenced-in yards will be preferred. It is preferred that all household members be present during the home visit. This includes all pets.

4. Meet & Greets

Once approved to adopt, the foster family of your preferred dog(s) will be in touch to schedule a meet and greet. Except in cases of young puppies, the adoptable dog must meet the hopeful adopters' current pet(s) before starting the 2-week adoption trial period. Please note: No individual meet and greets will be scheduled until an applicant is fully approved, however, anyone can meet our adoptable dogs at our public events.

Adoption Policies

  • Saved By Fate Dog Rescue allows out-of-state dog adoptions. However, the adopter, their entire family, and any resident dogs must come to Kentucky to meet the SBF dog first before starting the 2-week adoption trial period. Should the adoption not work out, the adopter is responsible for returning the SBF dog to its foster home in Kentucky. Out-of-state cat adoptions will be approved on a case-by-case basis.
  • Saved By Fate Dog Rescue does not place female dogs together if they are within 3 years of age. This policy was put in place after multiple instances of females in the same home reaching the age of maturity, and one or both became aggressive with each other, causing fights. The SBF adoptions team does everything in our power to ensure that our dogs stay in their forever homes and are not returned to us so that we can focus on saving the lives of more dogs.
  • Saved By Fate Dog Rescue does not adopt out puppies from the same litter or of the same age due to the high risk of "Littermate Syndrome."  Puppies the same age – whether they’re related or not – can develop a bond so strong that it causes behavioral issues. Sometimes this causes difficulty with training, when the puppies become such a distraction to each other that it prohibits them from learning from or listening to their leader. Other times, they become aggressive with each other as they age (more common in females). Click here for more info.
  • To ensure the safety and well-being of all kittens and cats adopted from Saved By Fate Dog Rescue, we require indoor-only forever homes. Outdoor cats are vulnerable to dangers like traffic, predators (dogs, coyotes), fights with other animals, and exposure to diseases and poisons. Indoor cats typically live longer, healthier lives than their outdoor counterparts.
  • All animals are spayed/neutered, microchipped and up-to-date on all shots before adoption. All microchips stay registered to Saved By Fate Dog Rescue but we allow each adopter to request that their contact information be added to the registration.

After an application is submitted, a member of our Adoptions team will be in touch by email within 72 hours. Please do not reach out to Saved By Fate Dog Rescue before then. Our volunteers process applications as quickly as possible, but the dogs need us too!

If at any point during the application process, you adopt elsewhere or wish to withdraw your app, please let us know ASAP.

Ready to Adopt?

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Dog Adoption Application
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