Adoption

 

Our adoption process is designed to help you and the right dog find each other.

Our adoption process is designed to help you and the right dog find each other. Our goal is to place each dog into a permanent, safe, and loving home.

To adopt a German Shepherd Dog from us, you must:

  1. Live in Northern California.
  2. Complete an Adoption Questionnaire, either online, or hard-copy (pdf format). If you do not own your home, your landlord must provide the completed Landlord Permission Agreement(pdf format).
  3. Be interviewed by an adoption counselor.
  4. Allow a home visit conducted by a GSRNC adoption counselor.
  5. Choose, and be chosen by, the right dog.
  6. With our approval, sign our Adoption Agreement, and pay the associated adoption fee.
  7. At the time of adoption we also collect a deposit which is refunded after completion of two training sessions.

After we receive your online Adoption Questionnaire, a GSRNC adoption counselor will contact you to begin the process. We encourage potential adopters to come to one or more Adoption Events as this is the best way to meet several German Shepherds and to find your new companion. You may be able to adopt the same day, if all adoption requirements are met.

If you come to an Adoption Event before submitting an adoption questionnaire, the process of adopting can sometimes be accelerated depending on the availability of volunteers. Normally, all our requirements must be met before an adoption can be completed.

If you cannot come to any Adoption Event, we will try to assist you using email, the mail, and the telephone. This will probably take longer because the people who will help you are volunteers who usually have jobs and families, and the logistics associated with scheduling meetings with dogs can be complex because our dogs live in many foster homes and kennels.

Important Note About
Dog Descriptions

Please remember that the descriptions of dogs (of Dogs Available) have been written by GSRNC volunteers and are usually based only upon our observation of the dog since the time it was rescued. While we try to provide dog descriptions that are fair and accurate, the nature of our work involves contact with dogs whose background and history are unknown to us. GSRNC cannot warrant or guarantee any dog's future behavior. For example, if we say that a rescue dog gets along with children, cats, or other dogs, this statement is usually based upon the fact that one of our volunteers has observed the dog interacting with his or her own children or pets. While this information may be helpful, we cannot be certain of how a dog will do with the children or pets in your home. If you are considering adopting, we encourage you to come to one of our Adoption Events and meet our rescue dogs. Ultimately, only you can decide whether one of our dogs is right for you.