Thank you for your interest in adopting from Dogwood Animal Rescue! Before you complete the application, we’d like to explain our process and offer some suggestions. We do not have an animal shelter; all our dogs are individual foster homes. We often receive a dozen applications or more for our most popular dogs, and as a volunteer organization we do not have the time or ability to contact each applicant personally. We are ‘dog-centric’ in that our focus is on finding the best fit for each dog in our program.

Once we have a good understanding of a new dog’s needs and have completed our medical vetting, one of our trained volunteer adoption team members will review all the applications we’ve received for the dog. She will then make calls to interview the applicants who the dog best fits with. From those conversations the reviewer will send on the best candidate to talk further with the dog’s volunteer foster family and schedule a meeting. This process continues until the right match is made. You may receive email updates during the application review process to let you know the dog’s current status.

If you do not receive a call for an interview, you will be notified by email at the time that a decision has been made regarding the dog’s placement, letting you know that you were not selected for that dog. We understand that it is disappointing to apply and not be selected, many excellent applicants miss out. We encourage applicants to keep checking our website and Facebook page for new arrivals. An email can be sent asking to move your application. If you are anxious to adopt, we recommend visiting your local shelter and/or broadening your search for a rescue www.petfinder.com.

We allow applicants to apply for two dogs maximum at one time. We encourage you to read the dog’s bios and consider how he or she will fit into your family’s lifestyle. Read about the breed types and think about the dog’s age, exercise, and training needs, size, and temperament. Also consider whether you have any upcoming trips, vacations, events, moves, remodels, etc.

You are unlikely to be selected if you are not ready to adopt at the time that you apply. Still interested? Please answer each question and then submit the ADOPTION APPLICATION. You will receive a confirmation email. Applicants must be at least 18 years old to apply.