1. The first step in the adoption process through GSP Rescue New England is to complete an application.
2. Once we receive your application, one of our volunteers will be in touch with you via email and/or phone within a few days time. We are an all volunteer organization and do the best we can with the resources we have available. Please be patient with us! We do not routinely answer emails asking questions about specific dogs we have up for adoption WITHOUT having received an application first.** IF you are interested in a specific dog we have available, have completed an application and have not heard from us within three business days, please email the specific contact on the individual Petfinder listing directly.
3. Next, in order to better understand your capabilities, desires and expectations with regards to adopting a needy GSP, a volunteer will contact you and conduct a phone interview.
4. Your regular veterinarian will be phoned to ensure you have a responsible history of pet ownership with regards to your own pet's routine health care. You may need to contact your vet and give them permission to speak with us.
5. Once the phone screen and vet reference are completed, a volunteer local to you will arrange a time and date to come to your home and perform a home visit. This is the last step in completing the adoption approval process. The volunteer's goal is to identify any possible safety issues that may be present and to get an overall feeling for the applicant and which characteristics in a dog may be the best fit for them. If applicable, the volunteer will also be inspecting fencing at that time. (Fencing, though not always required, is strongly preferred.)
6. In the case of applicants that live in extremely rural locations, we may request pictures of the applicant's yard and/or fencing and what is to be the dog's living environment in lieu of a home visit. We may ask for additional references also.
7. Once these steps are completed and the volunteer deems the applicant approved, we will inform the applicant about the dogs we have available AT THAT TIME. If none of the dogs we have available for adoption are a fit for the applicant's needs, then we will add the applicant's file to our approved list. Often times, dogs come into our program and are placed through direct adoptions to folks on this waiting list. Because of this, NOT ALL of the dogs we have available for adoption are listed on our website.
8. An applicant must be approved to adopt BEFORE any meetings with available dogs are facilitated.
9. The length of time our entire adoption approval process takes can vary from a few days to weeks, depending on the availability and schedules of the applicants and volunteers involved in each particular case.
10. The wait time applicants experience can vary widely depending on the particular criteria an applicant requests. For example, if you are seeking a young puppy with AKC paperwork that is already housebroken, you will have a much longer wait than someone who is willing to adopt an adult dog in need of some basic training. In general, the average wait time for a dog from us is weeks to several months.
11. Our most needy dogs are dogs with special medical needs and senior dogs (10 years and older). If you are especially interested in either of these, please note that as such on your application please.
12. IF you decide at ANY point in time during the approval process that you are no longer seeking to adopt through us, kindly let us know. Our volunteers lead busy lives and doing so will allow them to focus their efforts on families still looking to adopt.

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