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Adoption Policies

Rescue Me uses the following guidelines and policies when processing applications. We thank you in advance for your understanding of our honesty and perspective.

We adopt to homes in PA, NJ, MD and DE and some areas of VA, NY and CT. We make exceptions to this rule for people who are looking to rescue senior or special needs dogs and who meet other adoption criteria. If you are looking for a young, tiny dog, we have an excess of homes that are in our area that want the same thing and dogs fitting that description are rare in rescue.

We give preference to homes with Yorkie experience. It is a common misconception that because a dog is smaller, it is easier to care for. People who have owned a Yorkie in the past understand this and will be given preference. We do adopt to homes without experience who fulfill our other criteria and use the answers on the adoption application to determine whether to proceed.

We do not typically adopt to homes with children under the age of 10 years old.Some of our larger and/or older dogs will do well with children younger than 10 and if you are amenable to adopting a dog who fits this criteria, an exception may be made.

We require that all animals in the home be spayed or neutered and up-to-date on vaccines or titered. We do not support the idea of backyard breeding and believe that it is in an animal’s best interest to be altered. Why spay or neuter? We also give preference to homes who are conscientious about their pets veterinary care.

We prefer homes with fenced in yards. While this is not a strict requirement, we firmly take it into consideration when processing applications. If you meet all of our other criteria but don’t have a fenced yard, we will process your application. If you meet none of the other criteria, an unfenced yard is another minus.

Applicants must be at least 25 years old with a stable home and career. At a young age, there are so many aspects of life that can change: a new career, a new home/apartment, a marriage, children, etc. With these changes, dog ownership becomes challenging and sometimes impossible. We get dogs into rescue because of this very reason and have therefore created this policy to ensure that it won’t happen to them again. We are not insinuating that a young adult is a bad pet owner but just feel that Yorkies have very specific needs and it takes a very stable environment for them to thrive.

Dogs can not be adopted as gifts. We take the placement of our dogs very seriously and do not allow them to be adopted as gifts for another. We do this to ensure that the owner of the dog is the right match and require that a ‘meet and greet’ take place prior to adoption. People who receive gifts don’t always like what they get and we don’t want to take the risk of having a dog returned.

You must have a vet. If you do not have a pet, we still require that you have given this enough thought to select a vet. In addition, if you have owned a pet in the last three years, we need to know where you took that pet for their care. This is part of the veterinary reference check which must be completed in full.
We do not reserve dogs. Even if you seem like the perfect match, we will not hold a dog in a foster home to wait for you to get approved. It is not fair to the dog should another, possibly better, match be approved and want to adopt. We recommend that you get approved before you see the dog you want so that when the right match comes along, you will be ready.

Be flexible and keep an open mind. Dogs who are tiny, females or puppies are rare in rescue and when they do come, we have many applicants who are already approved and waiting for their right match. These applicants are not partial to a dog based on gender, age or size and it is for this reason that we process them. The more specific your requirements, the less chance you will find what you want in rescue. We are looking to find the perfect home for each dog, not the perfect dog for each home.

Make sure that Rescue is right. Consider these facts:

We place dogs in age appropriate homes. We do not place young dogs in homes with elderly seniors.
If you are looking for a young, tiny dog – it is unlikely that you will find that in a rescue.
Males out number females in rescue by at least 4:1.
Females in rescue will likely be adult or senior dogs.
It is more common to find an adult or senior dog in rescue.
Rescue Yorkies are commonly 10 pounds or more.
If you see one, tiny dog available, it is a rare occurrence and there are 50 other people who want the same dog.
If you are looking for a young dog, don’t expect him to be a “lap dog”. Young dogs want to run, go for walks and play. An adult or senior will be more likely to be a “lap dog”.
There is no such thing as a “teacup Yorkie”.
Rescue dogs need and deserve your patience whether it be house training, getting along with the other pets or just settling in. Be prepared.
Yorkies are expensive dogs to own – they need their teeth cleaned often, sometimes annually and because of their size, may expect to see the vet more often.
Be prepared to drive. It is best when you and your pet(s) can come to the foster home to meet the dog you are interested in adopting.
We charge adoption fees for our dogs. These fees vary based on the gender, age, size and health of the dog. All money received goes directly to the dog – no person is compensated for their volunteer services to this organization.

Please be sure that you are applying to truly rescue a dog and not just shop for a less expensive, perfect representation of the breed standard. If this is what you are looking for, please visit YTCA for a list of very reputable breeders. These breeders will sell you a Yorkie for the same or LESS than what you would pay in a pet store. Pet store puppies come from puppy mills – ALWAYS and no matter what they tell you. No reputable breeder would put their puppies in a pet store.

While these are the basic guidelines, we can at any time deny an application because we know that no dog in our rescue would fit an environment. Please do not take this personally; understand that every volunteer in this organization works hard to do what is in the best interest of each dog.

Thank you for thinking ‘rescue’. If you do adopt a dog, you won’t regret it!

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