Surrendering Your Dog

*****WE DO NOT INTAKE DOGS WITHOUT MAKING A PRIOR APPOINTMENT*****

Please read this page in its entirety before contacting FCR about the dog(s) or puppies you’d like to surrender or rehome. To contact an FCR representative, e-mail your request to info@foothillscaninerescue.org

To surrender your dog to our Assisted Adoption Program, your pet must:

Be clean, free of ticks, fleas, ear mites & worms.
Have up to date vaccines & have a current rabies vaccine; FCR can help with this.
Be non-aggressive towards people and other animals.
Be young enough to rehome…most people will not adopt an older dog due to the costs involved in vet care.

According to NC state law, all domestic animals must have a Rabies vaccine by age 4 months. Rabies vaccines can safely be given between ages 3-4 months; FCR does not vaccinate animals who are not in our foster care system.

Assisted Adoption Program

FCR is limited to the number of animals we can care for by the number of available foster homes we have. Most of the time, our foster families are full. Therefore, we ask you to be patient with us as we work TOGETHER to find your animal a new home. We are happy to help you rehome your dog through our Assisted Adoption Program.

When we are at capacity, we will close for intake in both foster care and to our Assisted Adoption Program. We will reopen when some of our dogs have been placed into their forever homes and we have the resources and space available to do so.

Here's How It Works

When Foothills Canine Rescue has no available Fosters to care for the dog(s)/ puppy(ies) you desire to surrender and you are willing to participate, we can assist you in finding forever homes for your animal(s). You will become an FCR foster for the purpose & time period of placing this/these dog(s) only. This is called our Assisted Adoption Program.

We will schedule an Intake Appointment to complete a Behavior Assessment and Medical Examination. If the dog does not pass either, it will not be considered for intake. To schedule an appointment, please send all background information about the dog(s) and a current picture via email to info@foothillscanineresuce.org. Note: “Assisted Adoption” in the Subject Field of your email. If you do not include a photo, you will not receive a response.

Canines (Dogs):

Puppies (less than 12 months old): Pups need to be at least 8 weeks old and weened. They need to be free of ticks, fleas, ear mites and worms. The owner will be asked to contribute toward the first Distemper-Parvo vaccine ($14) and a rabies vaccine ($12), if old enough. You will then bring the puppy(ies) to designated events until a new home is found and FCR will actively market your pups. An FCR Adoption Counselor will field inquiries and select the best home for your dog.

Adult Dogs 1 Year and Older: We will re-home healthy, socialized dogs that are up to date on vaccines and have a current rabies vaccine. If these are not current, the surrendering party will need to pay for a Distemper-Parvo vaccine ($14) and a Rabies vaccine ($12). If your dog is not yet altered, you will be asked to contribute to the cost of spay/neuter before the dog is made available for adoption. The dog needs to be free of ticks, fleas, ear mites, and worms. You will then bring the dog(s) to designated events until a new home is found and FCR will actively market your dog. An FCR Adoption Counselor will field inquiries and select the best home for your dog.

Adoption Fees: FCR collects all adoption fees and uses the funds to help cover the cost of spay/neuter, vaccines, medications & food for the dog(s) you surrender or other dogs in our care.

Returned Dogs: On occasion, adopted dogs are returned to Foothills Canine Rescue. If the dog you surrender is adopted and then returned within 7 days, you will be asked to care for the dog again until a new home is found.

Please be patient as we find your dog(s) a new home. Some find homes at the first event they attend, while it takes longer for others. We never know when the right family will walk through the door for your dog but in time, they will. Continue to care for it and love it. Each dog deserves a second (or third) chance!

Felines (Cats):

FCR does not take in cats or kittens. We urge you to seek out a Cat Rescue if you need to rehome your kitty and to have all of your felines spayed or neutered.

Remember to spay or neuter ALL of your animals… it is KEY to solving the pet overpopulation crisis in our county!

Behavioral Adoptability Guidelines

At Foothills Canine Rescue, we have a responsibility to make safe adoption placement decisions for the people and animals we share our community with. All of the dogs we care for are evaluated as individuals. We gather information about each dog from multiple sources (staff, foster placements, previous guardians, volunteers, etc.). While we evaluate each dog on a case-by-case basis, in general, FCR will not adopt out dogs who:

Have a damaging bite history towards children or adults.
Do not show warning signs before they attempt to bite.
Have severely injured or killed another dog.
Cannot be safely handled due to aggressive behaviors.
Show offensive aggression towards humans (actively decreasing the distance between themselves and the person they are aggressing towards).
Stalk children in a predatory manner.
Show uninterruptible aggression towards other dogs.
Show poor bite inhibition (degree to which dog moderates tooth contact in the case of a bite).

Bites that are determined to be fluke bites are not considered aggression. Fluke bites are bites by a dog that occur during uncommon circumstances that are not likely to be repeated (e.g. while in acute physical pain, while with puppies during lactation, while under sedation, etc.).

Pet Friendly Housing

Depending on how many dogs you have and your dog’s size or breed, it might take a little extra work to find new housing when you move — but it can be done! Searching online for pet-friendly housing will give you lots of options. If you’re moving and know that you will not be going to pet-friendly housing (ie. living with allergic family/friends, deployment, assisted living) and will have to give up your animal, please realize that most shelters have a waiting list for animals to come in. Help us help you by giving us time to find a foster home. FCR is not a “quick fix” solution to a crisis situation.

Tips For Moving

When it comes to a change of location, there are a couple ways to help lessen the amount of stress put on both humans and pets:

Give yourself plenty of time to find housing that is pet-friendly. The search for new housing can take weeks, and with some places a meet-and-greet is required prior to signing a lease. The more time spent to find the right place makes for a smooth and simple move.

Be honest: the number of pets you have; what size, weight, and breed they are; what hardware and supplies they have; and the temperament of the pets. Sneaking pets into no-pet housing can be detrimental to the pets, as well as the reputation of other pet owners, and it is strongly ill-advised to do it.

Get animal referrals, if you can, from your veterinarian, previous landlords and roommates. This will give the potential landlord an idea of what to expect from an objective point of view.

Offer to have a meet-and-greet with the owner/property manager prior to signing a lease if they do not ask for one first. This will give them a peek into your pet’s behavior and temperament.

Crate train your dogs if possible so that the landlord will be comfortable knowing the dog will be safe and secure while you are not home.

If the landlord does not already plan to do so, develop a pet agreement with them that details the terms of having the pet and get both the pet approval and agreement in writing.