Adoption Process

Hunter Animal Rescue advocates and practices mandatory desexing. HAR considers this an essential element of responsible pet ownership. HAR fosters will not be rehomed to families with undesexed animals, unless due to veterinary advice. You may be required to provide a copy of the desexing certificate.

If you are renting you will require a letter from the landlord or real estate stating you are allowed to have an animal.

All HAR cats and kittens are rehomed as exclusively indoor pets only, for both their own safety and that of our wildlife.

Carers will advise if particular animals must be rehomed with other animals as well as fencing, exercise and other requirements.

Carefully consider the the information provided about each foster animal, ask questions, the foster carer knows them best.

Be honest when completing the form, it’s the carers best indication of whether the particular foster is a good match for your family. It is also important to be honest with yourself. You may have the best intentions of walking/grooming your new best friend twice a day, everyday, but can you really find the time? Think about the amount of training you want to put into your new dog. Puppies and kittens may be cute, but are notoriously more work, while adult dogs are usually calmer and generally house-trained.

Think about your family now and also your future plans. Adopting a cat or dog could be a commitment of 10-15 years or more. The oldest cat lived to 38 years and the oldest dog to 30!

Don’t focus entirely on breeds! Whilst breed gives a great general indication of a dog’s personality and needs, there are always variations within that. Rescue animals breeds are also usually a guess, an educated one but still a guess. Each dog/cat is an individual with their own preferences and quirks. Dog breeds are categorized into groups, eg – Herding, Hound, Terrier, Sporting, each group containing breeds that have been adapted over the years to perform specific functions. Australian working breeds for example, Cattles, Kelpies, Border Collies were developed to control large flocks of sheep or herds of cattle. They still retain that ability today, even though most of them never lay eyes on a Merino they are energetic and intelligent and will require exercise and stimulation. Breed is a good way to know what a dog’s looks and personality might be like, but it’s never a guarantee .Even within breeds there are enormous differences in the way a dog acts and reacts to the world. Those differences can be due to how much they were handled as a youngster, how well they were trained after bringing him home, and of course the genetic luck of the draw. In the end, your dog’s preferences and personality are as individual as you are.

Don’t be discouraged if the carer decides a particular foster is not the perfect match for your home and family. The perfect new best friend for you may be the next one in care.

All Hunter Animal Rescue animals complete a quarantine period once leaving the pound or shelter to ensure they haven’t picked up anything nasty.

All animals are treated for fleas and worms and are vaccinated to help keep them safe.

All animals are vet checked on arrival in care and any concerns addressed.
Should there be a health concern with a HAR animal they remain in care on medical hold until it is resolved. Should it be a medical condition that will be ongoing, details of this will be provided to potential new owners so they can make an informed decision.

That’s why we offer a trial period. Contact the foster carer and discuss your concerns. If possible they can advise on ways to help with a specific problem. If you still think it isn’t going to work out, you can return the animal within the trial period. The dog/cat returns to the carer and the search continues for a forever family. A non-successful trial period is not a reflection on your family or the foster, sometimes it just doesn’t work out.

Please be patient, our carers are all volunteers. They may be waiting to see how the foster goes at a meet and greet before replying, so they can let you know if the foster is still available. They may be in the process of sorting through numerous expression of interest forms or they may just be really busy trying to balance work, family and foster animals.

The HAR adoption fee covers the cost of the vet work we provide as standard for each of the animals. The vets that work with Hunter Animal Rescue provide services at a reduced rate to help rescue animals, this is why we can offer these vet worked animals for adoption at such reasonable adoption fees. HAR is a registered charity, staffed entirely by volunteers and every dollar we get, through donations, fundraising or adoption fees goes towards helping rescue more animals. More information on adoption fees

HAR advocates and practices mandatory desexing in an effort to assist in the reduction of pet overpopulation. All HAR animals are desexed.

Almost 7000 dogs and 17500 cats were destroyed in Australia in the 2014-15 financial year by the RSPCA alone*. Whilst all shelters do their best to reunite or rehome animals there are simply too many dogs and cats needing homes.

Cats, kittens and adult dogs will be desexed before rehoming, unless otherwise recommended by our vets.

New owners of puppies or any other animal which rehomes prior to desexing enter into a desexing agreement with HAR and must present the animal for desexing by 6 months of age or other agreed time. Failure to do so is a breach of our adoption contract and we may seize the animal.

*data from RSPCA 2015 annual report.