All adopters are required to sign our adoption agreement and return it prior to or on the day of adoption. Signed agreements may be mailed to North Atlantic Westie Rescue at 15 Virginia Lane, Newburyport, MA 01950 or scanned and emailed to northatlanticwr@gmail.com. Adopters must verify and/or agree to all terms and conditions of adoption that are contained in our adoption agreement before adoption. These include the following:
- The adopter must be 18 years of age and be able to legally keep a dog in their residence.
- The adopter must verify that no member of the adopter’s household has been charged with cruelty to animals.
- The dog will be kept solely as a house pet and will never be used for breeding, fighting, training fighting dogs, or experimentation.
- The dog will never be given, leased, or sold to any person, laboratory, or business.
- If the adopter can no longer house and care for said dog for any reason, they agree to notify and relinquish custody to North Atlantic Westie Rescue immediately. If you cannot find the phone number, go to northatlanticwestierescue.org web site to find our organization’s contact information.
- The adopter and all members of the adopter’s household will provide all necessary food, water, shelter, and veterinary care required for well being for the lifetime of the dog.
- The adopter will provide a properly fenced yard and/or will leash walk said dog several times daily. Because Westies and other small breed dogs are bred to hunt and exterminate vermin, they may chase wild animals, bark, dig, and perform other hunting and go to ground actions and, therefore, require protection from harm.
- The dog will be spayed or neutered at the time of adoption. If the dog has been altered recently, the adopter will have the dog examined within 48 hours by a licensed veterinarian to certify that the dog is healing properly and to obtain medical advice on recovery procedures for the dog. If the dog is too young to be altered by the time of adoption, the adopter agrees to provide North Atlantic Westie Rescue with a copy of the spay/neuter certificate issued by the veterinarian no later than a date agreed upon with North Atlantic Westie Rescue prior to adoption.
- The adopter will maintain a current dog license as required by their local ordinance and state law and will assure that the said dog is inoculated against disease, especially rabies. The adopter will also see that the dog always carries, at minimum, identifying tags on its collar/harness or, as is considered best by animal control officials, the tags plus microchip or tattoo identification.
- The adoption family agrees to make a minimum adoption payment of $200 or another amount based on North Atlantic Westie Rescue’s current fee schedule. The payment is used to assist North Atlantic Westie Rescue with expenses in rescuing, fostering, rehabilitating, and placing this dog and other dogs for which North Atlantic Westie Rescue provides services. The adopter must pay the adoption fee prior to or on the day of adoption. A dog may not be physically handed over to a prospective adopter without a check or receipt of completed payment.
- If the adopter is a foster parent already in possession of the dog, the adopter has 10 business days to complete the adoption agreement and pay the adoption fee following written adoption approval communicated by North Atlantic Westie Rescue. If these steps are not completed, the adopter agrees to surrender the dog to a representative of North Atlantic Westie Rescue or to a designated veterinary clinic at a date and time specified by North Atlantic Westie Rescue. If the foster parent does not surrender the dog per direction from North Atlantic Westie Rescue within 10 business days of the written surrender request, law enforcement authorities will be notified to recover the dog.
- If this is a trial adoption, the period for the dog to stay with this adopter under trial must be specified in the adoption agreement and cannot exceed two weeks without permission from the Executive Director of North Atlantic Westie Rescue. The dog may only reside at the adopter’s application address during the trial period listed on the adoption agreement form. At the end of this trial period, the adopter must communicate whether the trial has succeeded or failed. If the trial has failed, said dog will be returned to North Atlantic Westie Rescue and the adoption fee refunded. If the trial has succeeded, the adoption agreement will be considered in full effect. The adoption fee is non-refundable when the trial is completed or when no trial is specified.
- North Atlantic Westie Rescue makes no warranties/guarantees regarding the temperament, behavior, health or physical condition of any adoptive dog, whether adopted or under a trial, or guarantee it free of genetic defects peculiar to the breed.
- The adopter agrees to hold harmless and indemnify North Atlantic Westie Rescue, its representatives (including but not limited to officers, foster parents, volunteers, and veterinarians) from all claims, demands, action, causes of action, or liability of any kind whatsoever arising out of or in connection with this adoption, including the trial period.
- Even if a dog has had obedience training, a “refresher” course is highly recommended since it helps establish close rapport and bonding between the owner(s) and the dog.
- Adoptive owners are encouraged to exercise caution in introducing an adoptive dog into new situations until the dog has become adjusted to its new environment. It is strongly recommended that interaction between dogs and children be monitored by an adult at all times during the trial period and post-adoption.
- If the dog bites an individual during the trial period or post-adoption, the adopter agrees to comply with local ordinances and state law regarding dog bites. The adopter also agrees to notify North Atlantic Westie Rescue within 48 hours of a bite if the bite occurs within the first year of adoption.
- All adoptive owners are required to communicate with North Atlantic Westie Rescue via phone or email within 48 hours of adoption to ensure placement is working. We also require the adoptive owner communicate via phone or email with the adoption coordinator of North Atlantic Westie Rescue at least once by the end of the first month of ownership and at least one additional time before the end of the first year of adoption. We also strongly encourage adoptive owners to communicate with North Atlantic Westie Rescue throughout the lifetime of their dog.
- Communication with the former owner of the dog being adopted is not required. In some cases, the former owner may request communication in the form of reports or photographs about their former dog. The adopter may choose to share or not share reports or photographs with North Atlantic Westie Rescue that may be shared with the former owner. The adopter may also opt to share information directly with the former owner with permission as mediated by North Atlantic Westie Rescue. North Atlantic Westie Rescue cannot guarantee anonymity of its adopters but will make every reasonable effort to safeguard the adopters name and location from all parties. Adopters are cautioned that posting information on social media may inadvertently expose their personal information to the public, including the dog’s former owner.
- The adopter agrees that if North Atlantic Westie Rescue determines that the terms and conditions of adoption have not been met, the adopter will surrender custody of said dog upon demand.
If you have any questions about our adoption terms and conditions, please contact us.