Adoption Process

1. Read. If you have not owned a GSP before, please read this article "Is a GSP Right for You?" to gain a better understanding of the GSP breed and the type of environment in which they thrive.

2. Complete our adoption questionnaire. Please provide as much information as you can about your household, other pets, activity level, and why you want to adopt a rescue GSP. Because almost all of our dogs come to us with unknown pasts, we don't adopt to families with children under 6 unless specifically noted.

  • A note about hunting: Because we know nothing about the background of the majority of the dogs we rescue, we cannot guarantee the hunting ability of any dog. We do not have the volunteer resources to hunt test dogs. Any dog you adopt from us should be a companion first, and if the dog is inclined to hunt that will be a wonderful bonus.

3. Talk with the rescue. (This will be delayed when a waitlist is in effect.) You will be contacted shortly after your questionnaire is received, usually within 5 business days, with any additional preliminary questions we may have for you. Note that email is our primary method of communication - please keep an eye on your inbox and spam folder! Then, we'll set up a phone call to further discuss what you are looking for in a GSP companion. We will also determine whether we currently have any GSPs that we feel might fit in your household.

4. Talk with a foster home. If a GSP is identified as a potential match, we will put you in contact with the foster home to have a more detailed discussion about that particular dog. Based on that conversation, if the foster home and you agree that the dog continues to be a good match, you will schedule a visit to meet the dog. The rescue dog will need to meet all members of the household, including other dogs, at some point during the process.

5. Home visit. Most times, this will be a self-home-visit via an online form plus photo submissions, but may also be an in-person visit done by a volunteer of ours or another affiliated rescue group.

  • How long does this whole process take? From phone call to adoption, approximately 1 - 6 weeks.

6. Adoption agreement. Once the home visit is completed and you are approved, we will ask you to complete an adoption agreement. If you do not agree to the stipulations in the agreement exactly as written, we cannot adopt a dog to you. Please note that we reserve the right to deny anyone the ability to adopt any dog from our rescue program for any reason. All adoptions are at our sole discretion.

7. Adoption donation: These monies help to defray some of the medical, behavioral, and other costs we incur while the dog is in our care. All of our dogs are spayed/neutered, dewormed, current on vaccinations, heartworm tested, and microchipped. Occasionally, a dog requires special vet care while in our program. We will provide you with the dog's veterinary records so you will be fully informed of any known medical conditions. In addition, each dog comes with a post-adoption training allowance. Adoption donation amounts:

  • Dogs under 6 months of age: $600. Training is required and each dog comes with a post-adoption training allowance.
  • Dogs 6 months to one year of age: $500.00. Training is required and each dog comes with a post-adoption training allowance.
  • Dogs one to five years old: $425.00. Training is required for dogs 1 - 3 years old and each dog comes with a post-adoption training allowance.
  • Dogs six to eight years old: $350.00. Each dog comes with a post-adoption training allowance.
  • Great Senior Pooch icon yellow dk brownSeniors - Dogs nine years old and up: $250. Each dog comes with a post-adoption training allowance.
  • If you are a prior adopter, you can add a Great Senior Pooch to your family for free - just look for the Great Senior Pooch logo on their posting and mention it to our adoption team.

Emphasizes that an adopted dog should be a forever dog, not an "until" dog.

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