Adopting a German Shepherd Dog
At German Shepherd Dog Welfare Fund, it is more than rescuing dogs and re-homing them. It's also about their welfare for the rest of their lives. So we try to make the re-homing process as simple as we can, but of course it must always be about the dog.
The first step is to register your interest using the form at the bottom of this page. You may have seen a photo of a German Shepherd that catches your eye here on our website, or on social media, but remember, it is hard to get a good match just from a photo, although we do our best to give as much information as we can about the relevant dog.
Before proceeding you should consider whether German Shepherds are the breed for you.
We will ask you questions such as:
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Who is in the home?
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Are there any children or elderly?
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Do you have any other animals/pets?
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Do you work?
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Do you have a secure garden?
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Have you ever had a German Shepherd before?
Obviously, we will ask you if you are looking for a male or a female and which age bracket you are looking for. We then do our best to pair you with the best match. But please note we rarely rehome our dogs in homes with young children or cats and in many cases with other dogs. If you work, then we wouldn’t put a youngster there that is going to get bored easily and start wrecking your home.
PLEASE NOTE - AN ADOPTION FEE WILL APPLY
Even though you may have seen a dog on our website or on social media that you like the look of, we may feel after discussing with you that the dog is not a suitable choice for you. Please don’t take this personally, it doesn’t mean we do not want you to have a dog from us. It is our duty to find the dogs in our care the best possible home that is suited to them.
Not all our dogs are on our website. We do our best to keep it updated but we are all volunteers so sometimes we get busy and do not always have the time. Or it might be that a dog is new in and we are assessing it before we put it on the website for re-homing. It is always best to make contact so we can help you find the dog you are looking for.
Next steps
Meeting the dog: Once we have found you your perfect match, we then ask that you come to visit the dog in question at least three times. It may be more if the dog has any issues. This is mainly so that the dog can get to know you before taking it home with you. We do not believe in sending our dogs off with strangers. It is traumatic enough for a dog to move home, so we like to make the transition as easy as we can.
Home check: We will carry out a home check. This is to check that you live where you say you do but mainly to check that your garden is secure. We do not care if you have carpets or curtains or designer furniture, we just need to know that our dog will be safe living with you. Whilst the home check is being carried out, the home checker will fill in a questionnaire which we will keep on file.
Online course: Once the home check is done and we feel we have the right dog for you, you will be asked to do a short online course. This consists of some reading with some relevant information about dog ownership followed by several questions. We’ve recently changed this course so that it’s more focused on adopting dogs. Once completed, you will be required to email it back to the course provider who will then issue you with a certificate.
Once you have received your certificate and you have visited the dog for the appropriate number of times, hopefully you will then be able to take your new best friend home with you. You will be allocated a liaison officer so you can come straight to us should you encounter any problems. We are always on hand should you encounter any issues, and we always like to hear how our dogs are doing. We have a Facebook group which we encourage you to join.
If you’re still interested in adopting our dogs, then please complete the form provided below.
We look forward to hearing from you and good luck finding your perfect match!
If you are interested in adopting
please have a look at our dogs for adoption
PLEASE NOTE - AN ADOPTION FEE WILL APPLY
Contact
If you are interested in adopting a dog, please fill in the adoption enquiry form.
For anything else, please email or call us.
07724 150 525