Here you will find answers to our most frequent questions. If you can't find the information you're looking for, feel free to contact us by using this contact form.
- Who are we?
- Where do our puppies come from?
- How much does it cost to adopt a puppy?
- Where is your shelter located?
- I see a puppy I'm interested in, where do I start?
- I live in the Grass Valley/Nevada City Area, can I adopt a puppy being fostered in the bay area or vice versa?
- I can't make the scheduled event. Can I come meet the puppy somewhere else?
- I can't make the scheduled event. Can you hold the puppy for me?
- Do you know the breed and parents of the rescue puppies?
- How big will the puppy get?
- Can I adopt two puppies?
- How can I meet the puppies?
- What is your adoption process?
- How do the Adoption Fairs Work? What can I expect when I get there?
- How are the interviews conducted at the adoption events?
- How do you determine who gets to adopt a puppy?
- Why do you require home checks?
- Why don't you adopt to families with children under the age of 6 years old?
- Do you provide adoptions outside of the San Francisco Bay Area or Grass Valley/Nevada City Areas?
- Which cities will you adopt to?
- How do I become a foster?
- Do you accept youth (under 18) volunteers?
- What are the volunteering opportunities?
- How can I donate?
- Who are we? [return to top]
Pound Puppy Rescue is a volunteer run 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 2001. We rescue approximately 300-400 puppies, pregnant, and nursing dogs every year. We are based in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a smaller chapter in the Grass Valley/Nevada City area. Our mission is to keep puppies out of overcrowded shelters where they are at risk for disease and euthanasia. Puppies are raised in foster homes where we can keep them healthy, socialized, and with their litter until they are old enough to be placed in permanent, loving "forever" homes. Our hope is that all puppies placed through our organization will never experience being homeless or unloved again.
- Where do our puppies come from? [return to top]
Most of our puppies come from shelters in rural areas outside the immediate SF bay area where there are few opportunities for adoption. Many of these shelters are overrun with puppies and dogs that just need a chance to prove how wonderful they can be! These shelters do not have the staff or foster network to be able to care for young puppies and pregnant moms who need extra TLC so they contact us. We also pull puppies from local shelters when we can.
- How much does it cost to adopt a puppy? [return to top]
The adoption fee for puppies is $675 and for dogs over 6 months is $275. This covers vet exam, any needed medical treatment, spaying/neutering, microchip and one year Home Again membership, up to date DA2PP vaccine(s), and deworming. We understand that our adoption fee may seem high, but COVID has impacted our costs in unexpected ways. An unprecedented number of new dogs and cats, either adopted or purchased, has put strain on vet clinics, who in turn have dramatically increased their prices. Spay and neuters cost about 5 times as much as they did three years ago, and even with our increased adoption fee, we are not breaking even. Many shelters have in-house vets to perform their surgeries and public funding to help offset costs - Pound Puppy Rescue does not benefit from these types of resources.
- Where is your shelter located? [return to top]
We do not have a rescue facility or shelter, and the address on our homepage is our mailing address only. Although this means we do not have a central phone number or regular hours for adoptions, our puppies are raised in volunteer foster homes that provide love, attention, socialization (most of the time with kids, other dogs, and sometimes cats), and safety inside the house. We do our best to get all of our puppies and dogs off to the right start. To meet our puppies, the first step is the adoption application.
- I live in the Grass Valley/Nevada City Area, can I adopt a puppy being fostered in the bay area or vice versa? [return to top]
Yes! Our goal is to network between the two chapters to find the very best homes. That being said, the only way still to meet the puppies is to fill out the application online and then come to the adoption event which may end up being 3 hours away and there is no guarantee you will be matched. We do try to make things work for the right homes and puppies are often times moved between foster homes so please apply and we'll inform you of the next steps.
- I cannot make the scheduled event. Can I come meet the puppy somewhere else? [return to top]
Unfortunately we can only show the puppies at scheduled events since they are all fostered in private homes.
- I can't make the scheduled event. Can you hold the puppy for me? [return to top]
We are unable to hold a puppy for a potential adopter. If we do not find suitable homes at the first event we will hold a second event.
- Do you know the breed and parents of the rescue puppies? [return to top]
Normally we do not know the parents of the puppies and we can only guess what the breed might be. Most puppies rescued were either abandoned or surrendered to a shelter. Whatever information we have will be posted with the puppy photo on our website.
- How big will the puppy get?
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We normally have no idea how small or large the puppy will grow. We make a guess as to the size, but without knowing the parents it is impossible to know for sure. We had one litter that two veterinarians predicted would grow to be large dogs, yet the puppies maxed out at 34 pounds when grown. Another litter everyone thought would be medium sized since the mom only weighed 45 pounds. All the puppies grew to be close to 90 pounds! For that reason we do not suggest adopting a rescue puppy if size is an issue. It is not in the best interest of the dog when a family calls to say they can't keep the dog because it grew to be larger than they expected.
- Can I adopt two puppies?
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More often than not, adopting two puppies is a problem. The puppies tend to bond to each other and not their humans. It is a lot of work to train one puppy and almost impossible to train two puppies at once. There are also cases where siblings start to fight once they reach their adult age. For these reasons we do not adopt out two puppies, rather encourage families to raise and train one puppy to at least a year old before adding a second puppy.
- How can I meet the puppies?
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You can meet the puppies at one of our adoption events. When we have available puppies for adoption the event schedule will be posted on our website. If you do not see the puppy you are interested in listed on the next upcoming event, the only way to meet the puppy is by 1st filling out the online adoption application. Occasionally, if the puppy cannot make it to the event a foster home will setup meetings directly with potential new homes. But the only way to be considered is by filling out the adoption application first.
- What is your adoption process?
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Our adoption process is involved because we do everything in our power to ensure the adopters are aware of the time, energy, and patience it takes to raise a puppy and that they will be committed to the life of the dog. The first step is completing an online application. The second step is to come meet the puppies and our organization at a scheduled event where the puppy you're interested in will be shown. At the event one of our adoption counselors will interview you and go over your adoption application. It normally takes a week to be notified if we feel you are a good match for one of our puppies. The third step is a home check to ensure a safe environment for the puppy.
- How do the Adoption Fairs Work? What can I expect when I get there? [return to top]
- BRING A COPY OF YOUR APPLICATION WITH YOU. IF YOU DON'T BRING IT WE WILL ASK YOU TO FILL OUT A PAPER FORM AT THE EVENT
- Please come on time and form a line
- We will pass a sign-in sheet around. One person per family please sign in
- This is the order that we will interview families. It does not matter if you are first or last, everyone has the same chance and everyone will get interviewed
- PUPPIES WILL NOT GO HOME THE DAY OF THE EVENT
- We will do a brief orientation session before interviews start so it is important to be on time
- We will then call all the families in to meet the puppies
- We will begin calling for interviews in order from the sign-in sheet
- While you are waiting for your interview you may interact with the puppies
- After your interview you may stay to interact with the puppies if you like
- When you go home, please e-mail us your confirmed interest and let us know which puppy(s) you would be interested in adopting, in order of preference
- We will get back to you within 3-4 days to let you know of our decision. If you do not e-mail us, we will assume you are not interested in adopting.
- Relax and have fun!
- How are the interviews conducted at the adoption events? [return to top]
Adoption interviews are conducted on a first-come, first-served basis but there is no advantage to being interviewed first or last. Please sign in when you arrive. We have a limited number of interviewers and often many people interested in adopting the puppies. Because of this, please be aware you may experience a wait. Thank you in advance for your patience. Please arrive on time as there is an introduction at the beginning of all our events.
- I see a puppy I'm interested in. Where do I start? [return to top]
The first step no matter which dog or puppy you are interested in is to get your online application filled out! The more details you can put in the online application about your living situation the better chances you have at being contacted back. Note: there is no fee for filling out the online application and it is non-binding in anyway so please fill one out prior to coming to one of our events!
- How do you determine who gets to adopt a puppy? [return to top]
Through our adoption process we strive to determine if you understand the emotional and physical needs of raising a puppy. A puppy takes an enormous amount of time, patience, energy, and training if he/she is to grow up to be a good dog. Our goal is that any puppy adopted through our rescue receives a lifetime commitment from his new family no matter what physical or behavior problems may arise throughout his life.
The adoptions themselves are based on several criteria and finding the best match for both the puppies and the adoptive families. Everyone will have the same opportunity to be considered regardless of the order in which they interview.
- Why do you require home checks? [return to top]
We require home checks to ensure the safety of the puppy. We check the yard to make sure the fencing is high enough and that there are no areas by way of which the puppy can escape. We check inside the home to ensure there is an area to confine the puppy while potty training and to ensure there are no children under the age of six living in the home.
- Why don't you adopt to families with children under the age of 6 years old? [return to top]
80% of puppies adopted to families with children under the age of six are returned to a shelter. Puppies are extremely cute when they are little but large breed dogs triple in size within just a few months. A pup's normal behavior is to jump and bite. When a gangly 30-40 pound puppy is biting and jumping on small children the child suffers and usually the puppy is then banned to the yard. A puppy needs a rigorous schedule of supervision, training, and exercise. This is very difficult when there are children in the home that also need constant supervision. For these reasons we encourage families to either wait until their youngest child is at least 6 years old or consider adopting an older dog for the family.
- Do you provide adoptions outside of the San Francisco Bay Area? [return to top]
We rarely make an exception to adopting out of the area. Since we require home checks it is not feasible for our volunteers to travel long distances. The rare exception would be another local rescue in your area making the home visit. We also discourage families from traveling long distances to visit our puppy events, because we cannot guarantee the adoption of a puppy.
- Which cities will you adopt to? [return to top]
If you are more than 30 minutes north of San Francisco, CA, or 30 minutes south of San Jose then most likely you are too far from us. If you are on the outskirts of that range please apply online first and we will respond with whether or not we will be able to consider you for a puppy as it often depends on how close you are to one of our volunteers. We are expanding to the Grass Valley and Nevada City, CA areas and trying to build up our network. So if you're in these cities, please also apply online.
- How do I become a foster? [return to top]
If you're interested in becoming a foster for Pound Puppy, please visit this page: Foster Information and Application - Do you accept youth (under 18) volunteers? [return to top]
Because the puppies are all fostered in our private homes, we do not have a facility for volunteers. We do occasionally need youth volunteers at our adoption events to sit in the pens with the puppies but a parent or guardian will need to be with you the whole time. Therefore, we generally ask that your parent volunteers with you at the same time.
- What are the volunteering opportunities? [return to top]
Learn about all of our volunteer opportunities including fostering and fundraising on our volunteers page or email info@poundpuppyrescue.org. - How can I donate? [return to top]
Learn more about donating on our donation page or click here:We accept online donations. No amount is too small. Thank you for your support!
For physical check donations, please email us for an address to send checks to at info@poundpuppyrescue.org.
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