How it works

How it works

Our adoption process

There’s no ‘one dog fits all’ here, which is why our team take a lot of care in finding the right owner for each of our dogs.

Once we receive your application we will usually get back to you within a week or two.  Please understand that we are a team of volunteers working in our own time and we get many many applications for each dog, so you may need to be patient.

If your application is progressed, you will be asked for some further information and a volunteer will visit your home to make sure your fences and gates are secure enough to contain the particular dog you are applying for.  As a lot of the dogs we take have been serial escape artists or have indeed somehow found themselves stray, we have to be particularly careful. If there is an issue allowing access to your property just let us know.

Please don’t be offended if your application is not successful.  Our priority is finding our dogs their ideal forever home, which can be difficult to come by for the challenging arctic breeds we are dealing with.

Meeting the dogs…

If your application gets through our screening process, you and the other members of your household, including the furry ones, will meet with the potential newest member of your family. We will organise a “meet and greet” at a mutually agreeable location on ‘neutral territory’ to assess how everyone gets along with each other. One of our adoption coordinators will be there to help and guide you through the introduction.

If all goes well, the dog will go home with you for a two to four week adoption trial.  But don’t expect instant success, particularly if your family includes another dog – they will pick and choose which dogs they like and which dogs they are not so keen on. There are no guarantees that the dog you are interested in is going to choose you and/or your dog.

For these reasons we are generally not able to accept interstate adoptions, however there may be exceptions which may be considered on a case by case basis.

We will supply an adoption pack which includes information about your dog, the breed in general and how to settle a dog into a new home, and of course you will have the adoption coordinator’s contact details should you need any assistance during this time (or at anytime really!)

After two weeks we will touch base to see if all is going well, or if there are any concerns. If your new dog is settling in well and you feel he or she is a great fit for your family, we will finalise the adoption.  On the other hand, if you feel things aren’t working out quite as well as you had hoped, of course we are happy to extend the trial or we can take the dog back and continue the search for the right dog for you.  If the dog is returned to our care at the conclusion of the trial period, your adoption fee will be refunded.

Our Fees

The standard fee for our dogs is $450, or $700 for a pair. This adoption fee is payable on receiving the dog on trial, and is not negotiable.  Should the trial not work out, the adoption fee will be refunded.

We have the same fees for all our dogs because we value each dog equally. All monies received by us, whether in donations, fundraising or adoption fees, is used for the benefit and care of our dogs.

When we place a dog on our list, we incur the costs associated with ensuring the dog has been vaccinated, desexed and microchipped, as well as costs for behavioural assessment and any other veterinary treatment and rehabilitation a dog may require.  The adoption fee we charge is a nominal fee to try and cover some of these costs as well as expenses associated with the day-to-day care of the dogs.  While some of our dogs may incur minimal costs, others may require boarding, extensive training, rehabilitation or vet work all of which can be quite costly.

We offer a take-back or assist-to-rehome policy for the lifetime of the animal, which includes a 50% refund of the adoption fee.  If any of our dogs require a new home at any time throughout their life, the dog must be returned to Arctic Rescue Victoria so we can find a suitable new home and process the refund.

Why was my application unsuccessful?

Please understand that we have a duty of care to the dogs we take on board and our guidelines and requirements are quite strict, so not everyone is going to get approved for adoption or fostering.  After all, we have to do what we feel is best for the dogs, and they are often surrendered due to issues in a previous home, whether it be escaping, behavioural problems or just not suited to the owner’s lifestyle.

Some of the most common reasons applications are not successful include:

• Insufficient information or unanswered questions – we get many applications for each dog, so we don’t have time to chase up missing information.
• No arctic breed experience – please don’t apply for a dog requiring breed experience if you don’t have any.
• Low fencing – arctic breeds require high secure fencing, very often the fences also need to be dig proof.
• Cats and other small pets – while we do occasionally get dogs that may tolerate other animals, they are rare and there are no guarantees.
• Young children – the arctic breeds are generally too strong, large and exuberant to have around small children.
• Applicant is located interstate, unfortunately we are only able to facilitate adoptions within Victoria.

To avoid disappointment, please don’t apply for a dog with specific requirements if your home, lifestyle or living situation do not meet the needs for that dog.