The grass is Always Greener on… theothersideofthefence.org, a non-profit corporation dealing with the prevention of cruelty to animals and global education EIN #86-1174463 CHARTER #N00932776 520 County Road 5351 Poplar Bluff, Mo. 63901 jayh@ontheothersideofthefence.org Phone- 573-686-7551 ADOPTION APPLICATION PLEASE READ BEFORE FILLING OUT ADOPTION APPLICATION We do not adopt our pets to just anyone who applies for a pet. We are not implying you are not a good home. We care for and LOVE each rescue like our own. We can not imagine them living a/another life as an “ornament”, or living a life of parasite infestation and/or dying of heartworms. Roaming around unsupervised leaves us trembling with only the thought of such irresponsible behavior. Pets depend on us for their care and comfort. We require all of our pets to be kept flea/tick and worm free, plus receive monthly heartworm prevention. If you plan on de-clawing or tail docking or ear cropping, please move on, we consider these operations inhumane and will recover our $1000.00 penalty in court if the pet is de-clawed, or had it’s tail or ears cut off unless proven medically necessary by a veterinarian. You are agreeing to adopt an animal WITHOUT ANY health guarantee, as stated in the contract you have/will sign before bringing your new pet home. NO pet will be adopted from our rescue with ANY KNOWN HEALTH PROBLEMS NO MATTER HOW MINOR without everyone involved having prior knowledge of such condition! Also, NO pet will be adopted from our rescue while showing ANY symptoms of sneezing, coughing, runny nose, runny eyes, diarrhea. You will receive any records we have kept on pet upon approval for adoption. All our rescues are vaccinated, however vaccines help prevent and are not 100% reliable. All of our rescues are wormed. We use Fenbendazole and/or Ivermectin and/or Revolution for cats and generic Drontal Plus and/or Fenbendazole and/or Canex. These vaccines and wormer's take care of common disease, however others will show no signs until a certain age or amount of stress. It is very common for a new pet to experience stress after being adopted. They go from being rescued, often being extremely grateful, and become attached very fast to their rescuer. They find their place in with a lot of friends, before “being abandoned” again with their new family. Although it usually only takes a few days for the pet to settle in and start to feel the excitement of having their own fabulous home, the stress may have been enough to irritate something which had been dormant. Coccidiosis (an intestinal protozoan), tapeworms, and many other issues may not show any signs until after adoption. Diarrhea, is the most common. Although the adopted animal may pass great looking stools while in our care, they may experience runny stools for several days and possibly weeks after adoption. Causes for diarrhea most commonly include stress and the feeding of PURINA or PEDIGREE brand pet foods. New pet owners are often shocked and upset their new pet has diarrhea. The first thing you should do is switch to a higher quality food THAT DOES NOT CONTAIN CORN. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL VETERINARY COSTS after adoption of pet. If the pet has not been spayed or neutered prior to adoption YOU are required by LAW, as pursuant to section 273.400 to 273.405 of the “Animal Care Facilities Act” and a $1000.00 penalty will be due to Theothersideofthefence.org. The adopter will forward the spay/neuter certificate to Theothersideofthefence.org. UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED BEFORE ADOPTION AND IN THE CONTRACT AND SIGNED BY BOTH PARTIES, YOU, the adopter is responsible for the costs of the pet to be spayed within 2 weeks of adoption or two weeks from the time the pet turns six months old. For example: When a small breed puppy under 6 months of age is adopted for a donation fee of $350.00, we are NOT REQUIRED to reduce the adoption fee to include the price of spay/neuter. If the adoption fee is reduced to help the new adopter cover the costs, or we include the spay/neuter at a later date as part of the adoption, it will expressly stated and written in the contract and signed by both parties. Otherwise you are responsible for all costs. A quick trip your vet is always a good idea. A complete Blood Count (CBC) is always a good idea for pets over 2 years of age. We do not check for Feline Leukemia or heartworms. However if you would like to pay for the full vet visit to have these checked before adoption, let us know. We do not treat for heartworms, as we start each pet on the slow kill treatment/prevention dosage of .10cc's per 10 pounds of body weight of ivermectin 1%. THANK YOU. This completed questionnaire will help us pick the very best pet for you, your family and your lifestyle. It is very important that we find the correct home for every rescued pet in our program. Completing this questionnaire will tell us whether you would do better with an active or lazy, soft or dominant, independent or submissive pet. Please fill out ALL of the information requested. An incomplete application will be discarded. (Use as many sheets of paper as necessary). Name: Date: Address: City: State: ZIP: 1. How long at current address: 2. Telephone number: 3. Number and ages of children living in household: 4. Number and ages of adults living in the household: 5. Do you plan on having children in the next 2 years? Yes [ ]No[ ] 6. What type of area do you live in? City[ ] suburb[ ] Rural[ ] 7. What type of housing? Apt. [ ] Condo/Duplex[ ] Trailer/House[ ] Other[ ] 8. Do you RENT[ ] or OWN[ ] your home? b). If you rent or lease, do you have permission from your landlord: to own a dog? Yes [ ] No [ ] to own a cat? Yes [ ] No [ ] 9. What other pets have you previously owned? b) What happened to them? 10. Have you owned an animal in the last 3 years that was not spayed or Neutered?Yes [ ] No [ ] 11. What other types of animals live at your home? b) Where do they spend most of their time? c) Are they spayed/neutered? Yes [ ] No [ ] d) Are they currently on flea/tick and heartworm prevention? Yes [ ] No [ ] 12. What do you know about the pet and particular breed of the pet you wish to adopt? 13. Do you have a DOG SECURE fenced yard? Yes [ ] No [ ] b) Is the yard FULLY FENCED [ ] or PARTIALLY FENCED [ ]? c) Describe TYPE and DEMENSIONS of fence: 14. If you don’t have a fence, where and how will the pet be exercised and be allowed to eliminate? Please be as descriptive as possible. 15. Do you have a cable or kennel run? Yes [ ] No [ ] b) Please describe: 16. What member of the family will be taking the MAJOR responsibility of caring for this pet? 17. What are your plans and goals for this pet? 18. Have you ever trained a pet in obedience class? Yes [ ] No [ ] 19. Will you take your pet to an obedience class if needed? Yes [ ] No [ ] 20. Where EXACTLY will the pet sleep at NIGHT and be kept when there is no one at home? b) Please be very descriptive: 21. Where will the pet spend most of each DAY? Indoors [ ] or Outdoors [ ]? b) If INDOORS, please choose one of the following and provide extra specifics: crate [ ] basement/garage [ ] free run of house [ ] limited area of the house [ ] OTHER [ ] Please be very descriptive: c) If OUTDOORS, please choose one of the following and provide extra specifics: fenced yard [ ] cable run [ ] tethered [ ] kennel [ ] outside shelter [ ] OTHER[ ] d) Please be very descriptive: 22. How long will the pet be left alone each day? 23. Do you believe in pet crates? Yes [ ] No [ ] 24 If you do not believe in crates, how and where will the pet be kept when no one is home, or while being house trained? Please be very descriptive. 25. What will you do if your pet is destructive if left home alone? 26. How will the pet be exercised daily? 27. What is your definition of disciplining a dog? 28. Describe in GREAT DETAIL what you would do if your pet potty's on your carpet? 29. List types of behaviors you consider unacceptable? 30. What circumstances justify getting rid of your pet? 31. If you move, what will you do with your pet? 32. When you go on vacation, where will your pet go and who will care for it? 33. Who is the veterinarian that you have or would use? 34. How much will you spend on heartworm treatment EVERY MONTH for the life of the pet? b) What would will you use? 35. How much can you afford to spend monthly on flea/tick prevention? b) What type will you use? 36. How much can you afford to spend on food monthly? b) What type of food do you plan on feeding the pet? c) How often do you plan to feed? All day access [ ] 1x a day [ ] 2x a day [ ] 37. How much can you afford to spend monthly on toys and stimulation? 38. How much do you expect to have to spend on a pet the first Month? 39. How much do you expect to have to spend on a pet the first Year? 40. Are you willing to allow a representative from Theothersideofthefence.org to periodically contact you by phone. Yes [ ] No [ ] b) If no, why? 41. How long have you worked for your current employer? 42. Have you ever had to take an animal to a humane society or animal rescue? Yes [ ] No [ ] b) If yes, please describe the circumstance. 43. Do you plan to declaw? Yes [ ] No [ ] 44. Do you plan to dock the tail? Yes [ ] No [ ] 45. Do you plan to dock crop the ears? Yes [ ] No [ ] 46. Have you ever bred animals for profit? Yes [ ] No [ ] 47. List any Humane Societies, Organizations, Breed or Training Clubs you are associated with: 48. What are the requirements of dog ownership in your community? (i.e., licensing, rabies, leash laws, and number of dogs you may legally have) 49. List your life activities in which you and your dog will enjoy together? 50. Did you see a specific pet of ours you are interested?Yes [ ] No [ ] b) If yes, which one? 51. How much can you afford to donate for such a wonderful companion? PLEASE READ BELOW! Theothersideofthefence.org is considered to be a "hard rescue organization". We are not a government run facility, but a small no kill rescue. We are supported mainly out of only 2 Board members personal pockets. MOST of our rescues come with minor medical conditions such as mange and/or pneumonia. We also accept dogs with serious medical needs and arrange for expensive procedures such as long term care for heartworm treatment, emergency tooth extractions, emergency eye removal, soft palate removal, to name only a few. Our veterinarians are generous and loving professionals, who support our efforts. In order to pay veterinary bills, mortgage and utilities for the rescue, food, treats, and all other costs associated with running an animal rescue per month (we care for approximately 50 cats/dogs at a time and cost is in the thousands), we must ask for an "adoption fee" or "adoption donation." These range from $110-$550 for our dogs and $35-$350 for our cats. PUREBREED adult dogs $250+ PUREBREED pups 8 weeks-2 years $350.00+ PUREBREED cats $150+ PUREBREED KITTENS 8 weeks-2 years $350 We always have a dog of the month, whose adoption donation is $110, plus you get a $60.00 gift card to your local pet store-so you really only pay $50.00!!! We always have a cat of the month, whose adoption donation is $20, plus you get a $20.00 gift card to your local pet store-so the adoption donation is really free!!! Why is the adoption donation range so drastically different? If we charged the least for all the animals we would go bankrupt in a month!!!! If we charged an even middle range for all the animals, no one would adopt our precious “normal” pets, who have usually cost a small fortune to get adoptable. We are forced to charge more for the highly wanted ones and much less for the ones who will be lucky to find a home – through no fault of their own, but merely because of their appearance. How do we come up with our adoption donations? We look at how much the pet has cost the rescue to care for up until adoption. We look at the long term cost to care for the pet. (For example- St. Bernard's are often abandoned because the pet parent did not realize what a responsibility the breed is to care for. A person who can not afford the adoption donation might look at adopting a pet with less of an adoption donation requirement, so as to reduce the possibility of the pet becoming a financial “burden” on the family in the future. ) We look at specific breed rescue policies. for example we simply type “Shih Tzu rescue” into the goodsearch.com search engine when we get a full blooded Shih Tzu and soak up information about other rescues all over the country. How much does it cost to care for each homeless pet? This varies drastically!!!! HEALTHY dogs who will only stay 1 month or less cost approximately $125.00 while they are here. UNHEALTHY dogs, usually varies between $250.00-$500.00, however we get some who cost in the thousands. Stella, a new intake as of 3/30/10 needs a surgery for $800.00-$1000.00 to correct an elongated pallate which causes her to regurgiate her food/water and causes her to have a very difficult time breathing. She is a 6 year old puppy mill rescue who deserves to spend the rest of her life in a quality condition. Also, a homeless baby we named Cherry, just had Cherry eye corrected in both eyes for a little under $500.00!!! This is only two dogs in a 30 day period. Do we make money from adoption donations? NO!!! We are always BARELY STRUGGLING to get by, and are over $3000.00 in debt with The Columbia College of Veterinary Medicine for life threating surgeries for very deserving pets. As with most rescues, the majority of the associated costs come out of the founders/board members own pockets. The cost of flea tick and heartworm prevention for 50 animals ALONE is over $400.00 A MONTH ($6.00-$12.00 per pet)! We use Revolution and find it cheapest at petcarepoint.com, if anyone knows of a cheaper place to buy Revolution please let us know!!! Thank you all for understanding our application process. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ANY APPLICANT This is only an application. Once we have read over and approved you for an adoption, you must read and sign the adoption contract. Only then will you be able to take your new family member home. When you check the buttons below, you are stating your agreement and compliance to our application process. By checking this box, you are stating that you are financially and physically able to care for this pet. You understand that proper food and veterinary care can be costly, and you are  able to meet these requirements. By checking this box, you understand that if the information contained herein is found to be false, your application can be refused or said dog adopted shall be relinquished to THEOTHERSIDEOFTHEFENCE.ORG without a refund of monies paid. By checking this box, you understand that should you adopt from theothersideofthefence.org, the adoption fee goes toward the cost of caring for all of the rescue dogs, and that this fee is non-refundable. By checking this box, you have indicated that this is a valid and legal substitution for your written signature on this legal document titled "Adoption Application". (for electronically submitted forms)   SignitureX_____________________________________________ (for in-person submitted forms)