Adoption Information

Bostons for Adoption

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.

Adoption Process

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.

Spay/Neuter, Health Check, Microchip and License

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.

Customarily microchips will be registered in the name of the new owner, with AZBTR as a secondary contact. From time to time a Boston may remain registered with AZBTR as agreed upon by both the new owner and AZBTR. Either way, the microchip is to ensure the safe and swift return of the Boston to its home should he/she go missing and be found. We ask that you please leave AZBTR as a secondary contact for safety reasons. It is the new owner's responsibility to keep all contact information up to date with the microchip company.

AZBTR uses Home Again microchips. From time to time we may encounter a dog with an existing microchip from a previous owner. AZBTR will insure the transfer of the microchip registration to the new owners. Any Microchip instructions/information will be sent with the adoption contract.

While microchips have proven successful in returning lost dogs to their homes, the quickest way to have your pet returned to you is to make sure they are always wearing current ID tags on their collar.

Adoption Contract and Fee

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:

Age of Boston	Fee
Up to 12 months	$300
1-3 years	$275
4-8 years	$250
9 years and older	$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.

Rescued Boston Terriers and Families with Young Children

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:

The parents are of good temperament

The puppy is kept with its mother and littermates for an adequate period of time at the beginning of its life

The puppy is properly socialized to humans and children in the first few weeks of life

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.

Ethics of Our Rescue Program

We operate under a Code of Ethics that obligates us to act in the best interests of the Boston Terriers in our care.

Ready to Adopt?

Please Contact Us: info@azbtrescue.org