Additional adoption info
Adoption Information
Thank you for your interest in adopting a rescued lab! Adoption literally saves lives. When you adopt from our rescue, you enable us to pull another lab from a shelter, which saves the life of another dog and creates more space at the shelter so that new dogs can be kept longer. All adoption fees are used to offset a portion of the costs we incur in caring for our rescues, so you can be sure your adoption fee will be used to save another life.
Adoption Process
The first step is to submit our online application, which can be found here. It is important that the application is completed in its entirety, as incomplete applications will not be processed.
The application will be reviewed by one of our volunteers. If the application meets our requirements, a reference check will be performed.
Once we have checked all references, we will notify you that you have been pre-approved. At this point, we will schedule a home visit and/or telephone interview. Depending on your location, we may ask you to submit photos of the interior and exterior of your home in lieu of a home visit.
If the application is approved, we will make arrangements for you to meet any labs in your area that you may be interested in and that fit your requirements.
Once you have decided to adopt a lab, you will need to complete the adoption agreement and pay the adoption fee of $400 for adult dogs or $600 for puppies. The additional $200 deposit for puppies is returned to you if you provide proof of spay/neuter by 12 months of age. The adoption fee helps us to recover a portion of the expenses we routinely incur in rescue (boarding, vaccinations, worming, spay/neuter if age appropriate, and transport) so that we can continue to save other labs. Please note that the adoption fee is NONREFUNDABLE.
After the adoption is finalized, you will receive copies of your lab's medical records and microchip information (if applicable). All adopters are required to take their new adopted lab to their veterinarian within 14 days of the adoption, for a general exam and to purchase monthly heartworm prevention.
Additional Information
All of our labs are thoroughly vetted prior to adoption. This includes core vaccinations (distemper/parvo, bordatella, and rabies, if age appropriate), fecal test and deworming, general exam, spay/neuter (for dogs 6 months or older), heartworm test (if age appropriate), heartworm and flea/tick prevention, and treatment of any diagnosed illnesses (heartworms, ear infections, skin conditions, etc.). However, we do require that you schedule a vet visit for your new family member to have them examined by your own veterinarian. This visit should include a fecal test and all dogs should have a follow-up heartworm test in six months. Your vet may also recommend additional vaccinations such as lyme and leptospirosis, depending on where you live. Puppies may require additional booster vaccines depending on when they are adopted.
There may be more than one applicant interested in a particular lab. In this case, we will make our decision based on which applicant is the best fit. If more than one applicant is compatible, the individual who was approved first will be given priority. That applicant will need to make a decision and complete the adoption process within 48 hours after meeting the dog; otherwise the dog in question will be available to be adopted by any other qualified approved applicant.
Occasionally we have had applicants ask to adopt a heartworm positive lab and assume the cost of their treatment. We will evaluate these requests on a case-by-case basis. If we do agree to such an adoption, the normal fee will be waived to offset the cost of the treatment. However, a $200 deposit will be required at the time of the adoption. This deposit will be fully refunded once we have received documentation that the heartworm treatment has been completed.
If for any reason you are unable to keep your adopted lab, you must contact us so that we can make arrangements for the lab to be returned to us. Please be patient during this process as it can take up to a week depending on the availability of fosters and volunteer transporters in your area. We will make every effort to retrieve the lab as quickly as possible.
We are here to help you at any time before, during and after the adoption process. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email us at info@SaveALabNC.com and one of our volunteers will be in touch with you as soon as possible.
