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Arizona Boston Terrier Rescue |
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About Our Adoption Program
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Bostons for Adoption |
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AZBTR's rescue committee takes in adoptable Boston Terriers from many situations.
For example, we take in Bostons from young families that learn they cannot handle
a dog at this time in their lives, from elderly people who are no longer able to
care for their pets, from people who are frustrated with their dog's behavior problems,
and from animal control shelters in our state. Some dogs have health issues that
must be addressed before placement. We are fortunate that most dogs we see are in
good health. Many have behavioral issues that require training before placement.
All of the Bostons that come into rescue are adults and the majority are male. A
potential adopter will not find a puppy through rescue. |
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Adoption Process |
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Everyone wishing to adopt through our rescue must complete an application, downloadable
from our web site. The application requests information about your situation, what
sort of dog you wish to adopt, including age and behavior. We welcome applications
from potential adopters who are able to love a dog with special physical or behavioral
needs. No one is asked to adopt a dog with issues they cannot handle.
While we usually experience a steady flow of incoming Boston Terriers needing to
be rehomed, we also have a steady flow of people and families seeking to adopt a
Boston Terrier through AZBTR. We file applications, more or less, in order
of receipt. As we anticipate new dogs coming into our rescue, we attempt to
fulfill those applications. This is not always the case, however. Our
goal is to match our dogs to the best suited homes based on the individual dog's
needs.
If aquiring a dog is a time sensitive issue for you or your family, rescue may not
be for you. If you are willing to wait for the right rescue to come to you,
you are an ideal candidate for AZBTR. It could be days, weeks, or months before
we find a Boston Terrier that we feel is a good match for you. As our success
rate proves, these precious dogs are well worth the wait.
We carefully screen potential adoptive families, including interviewing adopters,
checking references, and visiting homes. We prefer that adoptive homes have fenced
yards because we do not place dogs in situations where they will be chained out
or allowed to run loose. During the home visit we look for potential hazards for
the Boston that the adopter may not have considered.
During the interview phase, we are very interested to know about other pets potential
adopters have or have had. Have they ever lost a pet or had one euthanized? Why?
Do they have a history of lifetime commitment to their pets? How long will the dog
be left alone each day and in what circumstances? Their answers to these questions
help us understand if they have a history of longterm commitment to their pets and
they think carefully of the pets' well being.
We want adopters to be happy with their adopted Boston, too, so we learn as much
as we can about the dog's history and temperament: is he/she good with children,
other dogs, cats? Everyone needs to be happy as a result of the adoption process.
We are very careful about the placements we make. We do our best to match the right
Boston with the right adoptive home, because we want this to be the dog's permanent
home. |
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Spay/Neuter, Health Check, Microchip and License |
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We sterilize all dogs before adoption and, if the adoptive home has other pets,
we require that existing pets are sterilized. Immunizations are brought up to date
at the time of adoption. Our role is to protect the rescued Boston, to ensure no
one has to rescue his/her offspring in the future, and to encourage responsible
pet ownership. Each dog is given a health check and a microchip. For adopters living
in Maricopa County, we arrange and pay for the first year's license.
Microchips are registered in the name of VSBTC Rescue, with the adopter listed as
the secondary contact. We register the dogs in the name of the rescue in order to
guarantee that if the dog is ever lost, shows up in a shelter, or an owner forgets
to update his/her contact info, we will know if the dog again needs our help. We
consider our commitment to the Boston to last its lifetime. |
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Adoption Contract and Fee |
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Adopters sign a Placement Contract with us, agreeing among other things to return
the dog to us if they are not able to keep it themselves.
The Adoption Fee is based on the age of the Boston, as follows:
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Age of Boston
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Fee |
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Up to 12 months
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$300 |
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1-3 years
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$275 |
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4-8 years
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$250 |
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9 years and older
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$150 |
The Adoption Fee includes the health and ID services mentioned above. Additional
medical expenses may be passed on to the adopter, based on negotiations with the
adopter. We are open to discussing a lower adoption fee for senior Bostons, for
adoption of more than one dog, or for adopters willing to take on a dog with an
ongoing health issue. This fee schedule is in effect for Bostons adopted after June
17, 2006.
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Rescued Boston Terriers and Families with Young Children |
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While we do not have a policy against adopting to families with young children and
will consider their applications, our experience is that the most successful adoptions
are to families with children older than 8 years. We receive inquiries from a lot
of families that have read about Boston Terriers and are convinced that one would
be perfect for their family, sometimes without even meeting one.
The Standard for the Boston Terrier states that the breed is good with children.
This is absolutely true when the following conditions are met:
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The parents are of good temperament
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The puppy is kept with its mother and littermates for an adequate period of time
at the beginning of its life
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The puppy is properly socialized to humans and children in the first few weeks
of life
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The puppy or dog is treated gently by well-supervised children, and does not learn
to fear children
Unfortunately, many of the Bostons that come into our rescue come from conditions
that are quite different from those that would result in their being good with children.
Most come from puppy mills, inexperienced, or careless breeders, who either do not
know or do not care how to breed and raise a Boston Terrier to make it the best
dog it can be. Poorly bred and raised puppies can grow to be dogs that are overly
rambunctious and snappish, and are most often not appropriate for homes with young
children. We will not place one of our rescued Bostons in a home with young children
unless we are positive it is safe to do so. It's too dangerous for the Boston and
the children.
For every call we get from a young family wanting to adopt a Boston Terrier, we
get another from a young family wanting to give up a Boston Terrier. Most often,
the family bought the Boston at a pet store without understanding the dog's origins
and needs, then didn't invest time training the dog or training their children.
The relationship between dog and owner is strained irrepairably when they can't
house train the dog or the dog snaps at one of the children. Please think carefully
before deciding to bring any dog into your family. Do you have time and patience
for training it to be a good citizen? Can you supervise your children adequately
and teach them to treat a dog with respect? If not, you might be happier if you
wait to adopt a dog until your children are older and more mature.
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Ethics of Our Rescue Program |
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We operate under a Code of Ethics that obligates
us to act in the best interests of the Boston Terriers in our care. |
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