|
|
| Education · Support · Rescue · Shelter · Wheelchair Assistance | |
|
|
|
National Capital Area CFC Number 71315 |
|
| Pets with Disabilities is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the adoption of dogs and cats with disabilities. The organization serves as a shelter and an adoption placement aid for animals that have been injured through trauma or disabled by illness. Pets with Disabilities provides invaluable support and resources for the families of disabled pets and for shelters attempting to place special-needs animals into loving homes. For the animals it helps place, Pets With Disabilities is a bridge to a better life and a forever home. | |
|
Relinquishing
a Dog Dogs with certain disabilities are often relinquished to our rescue. In fact, a high percentage of the dogs available for adoption have come from home situations directly into rescue without going into a shelter. If you are considering giving up your dog, please understand that dogs with disabilities do NOT do well in the shelter environment. Please read the information below and email us with additional information concerning your specific situation - the relinquishment process will begin with a completed "relinquishment form" located at the bottom of the page. |
|
WHAT
DOGS ARE ACCEPTED IN THE PROGRAM Rescue is an appropriate solution to helping your dog with a disability transition into a new home. In fact, rescue is one of the best ways for a blind, deaf, or wheelchair bound dog to find the right home. We are extremely cautious about adopting dogs into well matched homes, so we care for your dog as if he or she was our own. There are numerous reasons to give up your dog - life changes, but mostly many people are just unable to care for their dog once they have become disabled. While we want to help every dog in need, we evaluate each one very carefully since we cannot handle aggression. A dog with a disability that also has behavior issues will be impossible for us to handle and find potential adopters. Please keep in mind - our primary purpose is RESCUE, which includes re-homing the dogs accepted at PWD - therefore, please understand, we can only consider ADOPTABLE dogs into our rescue. Dogs must be able to get along with other dogs and be able to manage on their own throughout the day. Our intention is not to accept dogs needing permanent sanctuary. We are no longer accepting wheelchair dogs or incontinent dogs - due to those spaces being filled. We are volunteering our efforts, time and energy to help dogs find appropriate homes but we are in no way, specialists in aggressive issues. We do accept dogs of all ages and most disabilities. The cost of care for the number of dogs here is very high with food, medical treatment, heartworm testing and preventative, frontline for fleas & ticks, toys & bedding as well as the overhead for lights, heating, cleaning and maintenance of the rescue where the dogs play and run. The average cost per dog in our rescue is $500. Pets with Disabilities accepts dogs from shelters and directly from individuals, helping to keep them out of shelters. There is no funding for what we do except through donations from individuals, relinquishment fees and adoption fees. We cover whatever costs come up to care for your dog while they are here. We never turn a dog away from rescue if a donation is not given, BUT we cannot rescue dogs without financial support from others. We request a $300+ donation when relinquishing your dog to us. The dogs that come to us will probably spend months with us, before finding the right home. We are a one of a kind rescue. The dogs flourish here, and get adjusted quite quickly. (We can discuss "donation options" if you are unable to provide the donation at the time of relinquishment) Additionally, you must provide detailed information about your dog's behavior which helps us help the dog quicker. Once relinquished to PWD, the dog is now ours to care for and cannot be returned. Our general procedure is to submit a completed relinquishment form, then we talk with you over the phone, then have the dog evaluated (by us, another rescue person or a trainer), then you transport the dog to us in Maryland. We are more than happy to keep you informed as to when your dog has been placed. We love to share the good news! But, we don't feel it's appropriate to connect the new adopter to you because they need to feel the dog they are adopting is theirs now, with no strings attached. We do, however, give new adopters the opportunity to contact the former guardians, if they like. It is their choice. Any donations you'd like to make at the time of surrender are welcome.... dog's toys, bedding, food, collar, leash...we will pass along whatever you provide to the new adopters. |