Dog Adoption Requirements

(please read FULLY prior to submitting an application to adopt)

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Adopter must be at least 18 years of age, with valid ID.

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Adopter must have no history of conviction for a violent crime or animal abuse, nor have pending charges for such.  This will be confirmed via public records check.

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Adopter must have the consent of ALL household members prior to adopting.  Any children in the household must meet with the dog prior to the adoption being approved, and only dogs declared suitable for children in their behavior analysis will be made available for adoption to families with children.  Meet-and-greets with the adopter's existing pets are strongly encouraged, and often required.  Dogs will NOT, under any circumstances, be approved for adoption to anyone intending to give the dog to someone else as a surprise gift. 

 

Adopter MUST meet the dog in person prior to being approved for adoption.

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Adopter must live within our ADOPTION AREA, and have valid proof of current physical address.  

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We require all of our adopters to have a yard or other accessible acreage with secure and visible dog-safe fencing.  The required height and other details of the fencing may vary according to the needs of the individual dog, but generally a minimum of 5' tall fencing is strongly suggested.  If a dog is a known jumper, climber, or digger, the behavior will be disclosed in the dog's behavior assessment, and the dog will only be adopted to a home that can provide proper fencing capable of keeping the dog safely secured.

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We DO NOT adopt dogs to adopters living in apartments, condos, townhouses, or other multi-family structures.  No exceptions.

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Since we are a rural rescue specializing in livestock guardian dog breeds, whose unique qualities best suit a rural lifestyle, A VAST MAJORITY OF OUR DOGS ARE AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION TO RURAL HOMES ONLY.  Applicants who reside in urban areas will not be considered for livestock guardian breed dogs.

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If the dog is to be an outdoor working livestock guardian dog, the adopter MUST provide the dog with both a shaded area to stay cool in the summer and a warm dog house, barn, or other suitable structure for the winter, within the dog's fenced area.  Should the dog be an indoor/outdoor dog, a doggie door providing free access to at least a portion of the adopter's home, at the dog's will, shall suffice.

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Adopter must agree to the terms of the ADOPTION AGREEMENT.

 

NEVER FORGOTTEN RANCH HAS ADDITIONAL VERY SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE ADOPTION OF ANY DOG OF A LIVESTOCK GUARDIAN BREED

(Great Pyrenees, Akbash, Anatolian Shepherd, Maremma, etc):

All rescue dogs of livestock guardian breeds will be thoroughly tested for working positions prior to being made available for adoption.  Such dogs determined to be successful candidates for working positions will be made available ONLY to working homes*, as these breeds have very strong guardian instincts and are best suited for homes that can allow the dogs to use those instincts in a proper and positive manner.  Our livestock guardian training and assessment program tests the dogs with a variety of livestock, in order to best determine the suitability for the individual dog. 

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Occasionally, a livestock guardian breed rescue dog may be found unsuitable for livestock guardian work of any sort, and only then will the dog be made available to a non-livestock-guarding home.  Such suitability will be noted in the dog's description on this site.

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Livestock guardian breed dogs will never, under any circumstances, be placed in homes that intend to lock or restrain them in crates for anything other than limited emergency purposes, or to keep them indoors as house pets without free access to a doggie door leading to a safely fenced yard or acreage.  With livestock guardian breeds, the choice to be indoors MUST be made by the dog.

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We cannot emphasize enough that dogs of livestock guardian breeds are, well, different.  They are independent creatures with strong guardian instincts, and must be respected and revered as such.  Never Forgotten Ranch is fully devoted to placing these dogs with rural adopters who understand the needs of the breed, and who love them for who they are. 

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For more details on our livestock guardian dog rescue mission, please click HERE. 

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*Never Forgotten Ranch does NOT condone working livestock guardian dogs being placed on large acreages alone to care for herds of livestock with very little if any human interaction.  Working dogs should ALWAYS be loving members of their farm/ranch family, cherished for not only the job they do, but also for the love and companionship they provide. 

They are FAMILY.

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~Never Forgotten Ranch reserves the right to deny any applicant for any reason,

in order to protect the best interests of the dog.~

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