FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How long does it take once an application is submitted before notification that we were approved?
Little White Dog Rescue is an all volunteer group. Most of our volunteers have full time jobs and families. We try to process applications in a timely manner – our goal is to have them processed within 7 business days, depending on success in contacting references. We are very thorough in evaluating applications to determine applicants are responsible dog owners that understand those responsibilities. Please keep in mind that if an application is submitted during a holiday season, it may take a bit longer – as volunteers we have families to enjoy celebrating with during the holidays.
What is the process of evaluating applications to adopt a dog?
The first step is to contact a vet and personal references and then a home visit is scheduled. We either have one of our local volunteers conduct the home visit or contact a rescue partner in the area to do the home visit.
Applicants are notified of the need for the home visit and within 1 – 2 days upon completion of the home visit, there is notification of approval to adopt from Little White Dog Rescue.
Arrangements are then made for the formal adoption. Adoptive homes need to be willing to come to Omaha to pick up their new “furry” baby. We do not ship dogs on airlines in the cargo compartment. Adoptive families need to be willing to either pay for a person to accompany the dog in the passenger compartment of the airline or use one of the airlines that are “Pet Transports Specific.” It is up to the adoptive family to make arrangements for such transports.
Why do you charge for adopting dogs?
All of our dogs are taken to a veterinarian when they come into rescue. They are examined and given any vaccinations needed. Furthermore, any veterinary care needed to maintain the dog’s health is provided by Little White Dog Rescue. A lot of the time they have not received regular check-ups that include dental cleaning prior to being in our care. Just as with people, if a dog’s teeth are not cared for properly, dental disease is a result. This lack of care can cause significant health risks to dogs. In addition, poor quality food can create health problems. We care for each dogs’ veterinary needs no matter the cost. We provide the highest quality food for our foster dogs.
None of this is free. We operate totally from donations – that includes the adoption fee for adopting dogs. If it were not for the donations, we could not provide proper veterinary care and food for our dogs. We try to keep our costs within reason – the average cost per dog in $397.00
Are adoption fees ever lowered if an adoptive family cannot afford the adoption fee?
The average cost for bringing dogs into our rescue group is $397.00. All of our dogs are fully vetted – given whatever vaccinations needed and a complete veterinary examination. Often times, the dogs have not had good dental care and require cleaning and/or tooth extractions. There are times that some dogs require extensive veterinary care and these costs can be into the thousands of dollars. We never refuse the necessary veterinary care for any of our dogs. They are treated as we would our own dogs.
In addition, the yearly costs of maintaining proper health and dietary needs of dogs is about $700.00+ and our concern is that if the adoption fee is too high, it would be difficult to be assured a family would be able to financial manage to care for a dog properly.
Can I make payments for the adoption fee?
It is not the policy of Little White Dog Rescue to accept payments. Since we are licensed by the State of Nebraska, we are required to keep extensive financial records and allowing payments makes the bookkeeping quite difficult.
Do you “hold” dogs for families that need to wait a month or more to be able to afford the adoption fee?
We rarely hold a dog for a family, unless it involves making arrangements for transportation to come to Omaha, NE to adopt a dog.
Where does Little White Dog Rescue get the dogs available for adoption?
Our dogs come to us from city shelters, mass breeding facilities, and owners who can no longer care for them.
Is there someplace I can go to meet all the dogs?
Since we are an all volunteer group, our dogs are placed in foster homes. We feel it unfair to ask our foster families to either allow people to come to their homes to “view” dogs or ask them to go to a location for a potential adoptive family to come to “meet” dogs.
However, we do frequently have events at local pet stores where the public can see our dogs. We ask as many of our volunteer foster families to bring dogs to these locations as possible. It is also a learning experience for the public to understand the purpose of rescue groups. Visit our Events tab to view them.
If I don’t live in a state surrounding Nebraska, does that exclude me from approval to adopt?
We have adopted many of our dogs to families that don’t live in states surrounding Nebraska. However, the approved adoptive family needs to make arrangements to either drive to Nebraska or provide the appropriate transportation arrangements. We do not ship dogs on airlines in the cargo compartment. Adoptive families need to be willing to either pay for a person to accompany the dog in the passenger compartment of the airline or use one of the airlines that are “Pet Transports Specific.” It is up to the adoptive family to make arrangements for such transports.
Are all of your dogs “house-trained”?
Since our dogs come from all kinds of different circumstances, some may have no understanding of going to the bathroom in specific areas. All of our foster families work hard to house-train their foster dogs. However, we are reluctant to “guarantee” that there will not be accidents in a new environment. Adoptive families are told the dog needs to learn to adjust to their new environment and “learn the rules of the new home.” It is not uncommon for even a very well-trained dog to have accidents in an unfamiliar home.
We encourage adoptive families to be diligent in learning the dog’s “signals” they need to go outside. In addition, it is important to refrain from using harsh words or methods if a dog makes a mistake. Dogs don’t know if they have made a mistake and it happened earlier when we “rub their nose in it” and scold them. They need to be restricted in space until they understand our expectations. There are numerous books from reputable trainers to help training dogs.
Why should I adopt from a rescue group?
Rescue groups take dogs that are released from shelters, commercial breeding facilities or surrendered by owners that can no longer financially afford a dog or are moving and the dog cannot accompany them. We typically describe these dogs as “unwanted” dogs – through no fault of their own. You only need to do an internet search to discover the hundreds of rescue groups saving these dogs.
What is the “Seniors for Seniors” program?
We often get dogs that are considered “seniors” – age 8 and above. Often times, people are reluctant to adopt these dogs because of their age. We developed this program for people that are age 65 and above to allow them to adopt a “furry” friend – if they are willing to adopt one of the senior dogs, age 8 and over. The adoption fee is adjusted to $200.00 to account for the fact that many older adults are on a fixed income, but we know they would provide a loving home to one of our deserving dogs.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How long does it take once an application is submitted before notification that we were approved?
Little White Dog Rescue is an all volunteer group. Most of our volunteers have full time jobs and families. We try to process applications in a timely manner – our goal is to have them processed within 7 business days, depending on success in contacting references. We are very thorough in evaluating applications to determine applicants are responsible dog owners that understand those responsibilities. Please keep in mind that if an application is submitted during a holiday season, it may take a bit longer – as volunteers we have families to enjoy celebrating with during the holidays.
What is the process in evaluating applications to adopt a dog?
The first step is to contact vet and personal references and then a home visit is scheduled. We either have one of our local volunteers conduct the home visit or contact a rescue partner in the area to do the home visit.
Applicants are notified of the need for the home visit and within 1 – 2 days upon completion of the home visit, there is notification of approval to adopt from Little White Dog Rescue.
Arrangements are then made for the formal adoption. Adoptive homes need to be willing to come to Omaha to pick up their new “furry” baby. We do not ship dogs on airlines in the cargo compartment. Adoptive families need to be willing to either pay for a person to accompany the dog in the passenger compartment of the airline or use one of the airlines that are “Pet Transports Specific.” It is up to the adoptive family to make arrangements for such transports.
Why do you charge for adopting dogs?
All of our dogs are taken to a veterinarian when they come into rescue. They are examined and given any vaccinations needed. Furthermore, any veterinary care needed to maintain the dog’s health is provided by Little White Dog Rescue. A lot of the time they have not received regular check-ups that include dental cleaning prior to being in our care. Just as with people, if a dog’s teeth are not cared for properly, dental disease is a result. This lack of care can cause significant health risks to dogs. In addition, poor quality food can create health problems. We care for each dogs’ veterinary needs no matter the cost. We provide the highest quality food for our foster dogs.
None of this is free. We operate totally from donations – that includes the adoption fee for adopting dogs. If it were not for the donations, we could not provide proper veterinary care and food for our dogs. We try to keep our costs within reason – the average cost per dog in $397.00
Are adoption fees ever lowered if an adoptive family cannot afford the adoption fee?
The average cost for bringing dogs into our rescue group is $397.00. All of our dogs are fully vetted – given whatever vaccinations needed and a complete veterinary examination. Often times, the dogs have not had good dental care and require cleaning and/or tooth extractions. There are times that some dogs require extensive veterinary care and these costs can be into the thousands of dollars. We never refuse the necessary veterinary care for any of our dogs. They are treated as we would our own dogs.
In addition, the yearly costs of maintaining proper health and dietary needs of dogs is about $700.00+ and our concern is that if the adoption fee is too high, it would be difficult to be assured a family would be able to financial manage to care for a dog properly.
Can I make payments for the adoption fee?
It is not the policy of Little White Dog Rescue to accept payments. Since we are licensed by the State of Nebraska, we are required to keep extensive financial records and allowing payments makes the bookkeeping quite difficult.
Do you “hold” dogs for families that need to wait a month or more to be able to afford the adoption fee?
We rarely hold a dog for a family, unless it involves making arrangements for transportation to come to Omaha, NE to adopt a dog.
Where does Little White Dog Rescue get the dogs available for adoption?
Our dogs come to us from city shelters, mass breeding facilities, and owners who can no longer care for them.
Is there someplace I can go to meet all the dogs?
Since we are an all-volunteer group, our dogs are placed in foster homes. We feel it unfair to ask our foster families to either allow people to come to their homes to “view” dogs or ask them to go to a location for a potential adoptive family to come to “meet” dogs.
However, we do frequently have events at local pet stores where the public can see our dogs. We ask as many of our volunteer foster families to bring dogs to these locations as possible. It is also a learning experience for the public to understand the purpose of rescue groups. Visit our Events tab to view them.
If I don’t live in a state surrounding Nebraska, does that exclude me from approval to adopt?
We have adopted many of our dogs to families that don’t live in states surrounding Nebraska. However, the approved adoptive family needs to make arrangements to either drive to Nebraska or provide the appropriate transportation arrangements. We do not ship dogs on airlines in the cargo compartment. Adoptive families need to be willing to either pay for a person to accompany the dog in the passenger compartment of the airline or use one of the airlines that are “Pet Transports Specific.” It is up to the adoptive family to make arrangements for such transports.
Are all of your dogs “house-trained”?
Since our dogs come from all kinds of different circumstances, some may have no understanding of going to the bathroom in specific areas. All of our foster families work hard to house-train their foster dogs. However, we are reluctant to “guarantee” that there will not be accidents in a new environment. Adoptive families are told the dog needs to learn to adjust to their new environment and “learn the rules of the new home.” It is not uncommon for even a very well-trained dog to have accidents in an unfamiliar home.
We encourage adoptive families to be diligent in learning the dog’s “signals” they need to go outside. In addition, it is important to refrain from using harsh words or methods if a dog makes a mistake. Dogs don’t know if they have made a mistake and it happened earlier when we “rub their nose in it” and scold them. They need to be restricted in space until they understand our expectations. There are numerous books from reputable trainers to help training dogs.
Why should I adopt from a rescue group?
Rescue groups take dogs that are released from shelters, commercial breeding facilities or surrendered by owners that can no longer financially afford a dog or are moving and the dog cannot accompany them. We typically describe these dogs as “unwanted” dogs – through no fault of their own. You only need to do an internet search to discover the hundreds of rescue groups saving these dogs.
What is the “Seniors for Seniors” program?
We often get dogs that are considered “seniors” – age 8 and above. Often times, people are reluctant to adopt these dogs because of their age. We developed this program for people that are age 65 and above to allow them to adopt a “furry” friend – if they are willing to adopt one of the senior dogs, age 8 and over. The adoption fee is adjusted to $200.00 to account for the fact that many older adults are on a fixed income, but we know they would provide a loving home to one of our deserving dogs.
