Tara’s House is a private, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization. Our mission is to rescue and provide care and compassion for our pets while working to place them in permanent, loving homes. The pets we rescue arrive at Tara's House from rural, high kill shelters with little to no funding for their own adoption programs. These shelters rely on Tara's House and other rescues to save these adoptable pets from certain euthanasia. It is a sad fact - pets find their way to shelters through no fault of their own. Today, many are innocent victims of the current financial crisis; families simply cannot afford to keep them. We believe in giving these shelter pets a second chance. At Tara's House, we provide our pets with the vet care and love that they need to thrive. We then help them find "furever" homes. We receive no government funding; we operate solely on private donations and volunteer efforts. With 4-5 million pets euthanized in the United States each year, our team of volunteers is dedicated to helping those pets that we can, and to making a positive impact in the life of each pet we rescue. Please - opt to adopt!
Create an alert, and we'll notify you every time a new pet comes in who meets your criteria.
8775 Centre Park Drive, #258
Columbia, MD 21045
Create an alert, and we'll notify you every time a new pet comes in who meets your criteria.
Tara's House is based in Columbia, MD. We adopt to the entire Metro Washington, DC/Baltimore Area including: DC, Montgomery County, Howard County, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, and Baltimore City, MD and the areas of and surrounding Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Reston and Woodbridge, VA. Additionally, we will adopt to the Harrisburg and York, PA Metro Area.
Additional adoption info
1) Submit Online Adoption Application
•Complete your adoption application online at www.tarashouse.net by filling in all required information, including your veterinarian information, landlord, etc. If you do not currently have a vet, please indicate the vet you intend to use for your new dog. When all questions are answered, click “submit” to send to our Adoption Committee.
2) Initial Telephone Interview
•Within 3 - 5 days after online submittal of your application, a Tara's House representative will conduct your initial interview by telephone if our Adoption Committee decides to pursue your application. If your adoption application was submitted in person during a monthly adoption show, we will review your application and conduct the initial interview in person on the spot.
•While we try to contact everyone who applies for a pet – sometimes a pet that enters our adoption program is so popular that our limited volunteer resources are simply unable to contact each and every one. We apologize in advance that this is occasionally has happened.
3) Reference Check
•A Tara's House representative will call all references, especially your vet and landlord (if applicable), if we wish to proceed with your application after the initial review.
4) The Home Visit
•If Tara's House finds all references give positive feedback and every other requirement has been met to this phase of our process, one of our Adoption Committee members may contact you to arrange a brief home visit. We will ask you to demonstrate a day in the life of your potential adopted dog and evaluate the environment and conditions for the dog. If you have a glowing vet reference or otherwise demonstrate in the phone interview to be very dog experienced, we may waive the home visit.
5) Adoption Approval
•Our Adoption Committee convenes - usually virtually - to discuss your application as we worked through each phase of our process. From this collaborative review, our Adoption Committee will make the final decision on your application and inform you of their decision in short order.
•If approved, you will receive an “approval email” from our Executive or Deputy Director.
•We do not release any information collected from references, the home visit, or any other source used to make our decision on applicants.
•If you are approved to adopt a Tara's House dog, you must sign and submit to Tara's House our legally binding adoption contract along with our adoption fee (payable by check made to 'Tara's House), as well as make arrangements with the applicable foster home to meet the particular pet within three days following our notification that you have been approved.
• Our Adoption Contract can be downloaded from our adoption center at www.tarashouse.net. You may also download our Adoption Checklist, which will help you prepare what to look for and do once your adopted pet is home.
Our adoption donation fees are as follows:
$280 for dogs and puppies
Approved adopters for senior dogs (8 years +) will receive a 20% discount off our adoption donation.
Refund Policy: Adoption donations are not refundable under any circumstances, but are tax deductible.
Adoption application
Manassas, VA 20110
Arlington, VA 22202
2801 Pulaski Hwy,
Edgewood,
MD
21040
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