Adoption Procedure

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Poplar Farm Kennels
Nr Ely
Cambridgeshire

Visitors by appointment only. We are not open to the public.

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INTRODUCTION

We are a no kill shelter based in Cambridgeshire.

We have up to 50 dogs to care for between the two of us and our team of volunteers and as you can imagine, there is not a lot of spare time. Caring for the daily needs of the dogs we cannot break off from kennel routine and attend to unexpected visitors so we are not open to the public - visits need to be arranged to fit in with the daily routine. We don’t have a block of show kennels, at the moment so all dogs are brought out into the paddock to meet their visitors. As we like to spend a reasonable amount of time with prospective owners we need to plan our workload.

Our policy is always to do what is in the dog’s best interest. Generally new dogs are quarantined for two weeks and vaccinated once their health has been proven. Males are neutered immediately and females spayed mid season.

All homes are vetted before any dog is re-homed and an adoption fee will be charged, however we take a flexible approach and our main requirement is that dog and home match.

We will normally only home dogs within 60 minutes travel time from PFK

ADOPTION PROCEDURE

The following sets out the procedure we need to follow in order for us to manage both visitors and the dogs.

Step 1: Complete a rehoming questionnaire, either for a specific dog you have seen on the web site or a general enquiry for the type of dog you are interested. You will need to save it to your computer, fill it in and re-save it and then email it back to us. You can print and post the form back to us if you want to.

Step 2: We will respond to the email (as soon as we can) giving details of the dog/dogs, which are available and suitable and asking for clarification of any points arising from the questionnaire if required.

Step 3: If you like any of the dogs we suggest we will then arrange a convenient time for you to visit. Please note that we require all family members including dogs to have met the new dog at least once before adoption. Where there are existing dogs, in the prospective new home, then more than one visit may be necessary to ensure the dogs are compatible.

Step 4: Providing the initial visit(s) is satisfactory to all we will arrange a home check prior to completing the adoption.

It is our policy to mark a dog as “Reserved” as soon as serious interest from a potentially suitable home is established, we then carry out the necessary checks and introductions which can take some time

To see the dogs that are looking for a forever home click on the Needing Homes bar to the left

The Questionnaire is here. please save it to your PC, complete and return by email to poplarfarm.kennels@tiscali.co.uk with Re-homing and the dogs name in the subject line or 'cut and paste' the form into an email.

ADOPTION FEES

PFK has no set adoption fee, Most rescue centres ask for donations varying between £100 and £150. We ask you to read the information below and then make a donation of as much as you can afford. Every penny you donate goes back towards caring for the dogs.

Please note that we receive no funding other than our adoption fees and occasional donations from the public. Budget shortfalls at the end of each year are made up from our own private incomes.

Typical costs for preparing a rescue dog for rehoming are shown below: -

Vaccinations	£40 per course
Neutering	Typically between £40 and £100 depending on size and sex of dog (bitches are more expensive)
Microchipping	£10
Worming	£5 approx
Flea treatment	£8
Health check	£15
Food and kenneling	Depends on length of stay and dietary requirements

This all assumes that the dog is healthy. Dogs often come in requiring veterinary treatment that runs to hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds before they are fit to be rehomed. Some never reach that point.

We prefer to home dogs locally but we will re-home anywhere in England, subject to a home check, provided the adopter is prepared to travel to us to view the dog. In some areas it will not be possible to arrange a home check and a vets reference will be asked for.