Foster and Adoption Application

Thank you for your interest in fostering or adopting a dog in need from North Atlantic Westie Rescue. Please fill out the following application to be considered for fostering or adoption. Only applications that meet our criteria and are fully completed will receive a response. Please allow 5 business days for a response, as we are run by volunteers who work full-time jobs outside of our organization. North Atlantic Westie Rescue does not accept adoption inquiries by phone.

IMPORTANT: Do not fill out this application if you do not meet the following eligibility criteria:

• You must be 18 years of age or older
• You must own your own home or would be willing to obtain a letter from your landlord stating you are allowed to have a dog
• You live in either Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, or Connecticut for at least nine months out of the year

We are currently not placing dogs in New Jersey or New York due to low volume of volunteers in those areas. We are hoping to re-open those programs in the coming months. If you live in one of these states, please contact our Executive Director (ksautter@gmail.com) for a referral to another program.

We also strongly encourage those prospective adopters or fosters who meet the following criteria to first send an email inquiry to our Executive Director (ksautter@gmail.com) before filling out the application. These are not “deal breakers” but require discussion before we will consider your application. We do not want to discourage your application, but we want to respect your time in filling out our lengthy application. There are applicant criteria that are flags for us, and it’s best to discuss those flags before you make the investment in our process.

• Requires a dog under the age of 5 (note that we rarely have dogs under 5 available for adoption)
• Requires a female dog (note that we rarely have female dogs available for adoption)
• Has children under the age of 10 residing in or visiting the home regularly
• Have ever lost a dog due to an accident, negligence, or theft
• Have euthanized a dog for biting, aggression, or diagnosis of a treatable condition
• Have not owned a dog previously
• Have not owned a Westie or terrier previously (if interested in adopting a Westie only)
• Owns a cat (almost all our dogs do not like or will attack our feline friends)

In placing our dogs in adoptive or foster homes, we consider the needs of our dogs before any other factor. Our adoptive placement process takes 2-3 weeks on average but can be longer depending on whether we have an appropriate dog for your situation. In some cases, you may have to wait a few months for a dog. We have more applicants than we have dogs. We are not first come, first serve. We take the responsibility of placement very seriously quite simply because our dogs have been through a lot in their lives. We want to make sure they are going to the right home.

For foster homes, you may wait several months before an opportunity to foster comes up. Assignments vary between a few days and several months. We will work with you to ensure the foster we place with you will do well in your home setting based on your time, skills, and experience. All of our foster parents have the option to adopt their foster dog with approval by the Executive Director before adoptive applicants are considered!

Adoption and Foster Application

• Adoption CriteriaBefore you submit an application, please take a moment to let us know whether you meet our basic adoption criteria.
• Are you 18 years of age or older?*Yes
• No

• Yes
• No

Your Contact Information

Dog Preferences

• Male
• Female
• No preference

• Under 1
• 1-3 years
• 4-6 years
• 7-9 years
• 10-12 years
• Older than 12 years

• Yes
• No
• Not sure

• Yes
• No
• Maybe

Where Would Your Dog Live

Primary Caretaker

How Would You Care For Your Dog

• Yes, always without exception
• Yes, but if the dog is obedient, I would allow it to be off leash
• No, I plan to keep my dog off leash under these circumstances

Pets in Your Household

Veterinary Reference

Personal References

• Daytime
• Evenings

Fostering

Submit Your Application

• By checking this box, I indicate my agreement with the statement above