HOGPC Rescue & Placement Policy - Attachment C How to find a new home for your Great Pyrenees

Even if you can't keep your Great Pyrenees any more, your dog still depends on you to do what is best for him, just like he depended on you when he was a puppy. Now, more than ever, he needs you to make the right choices for his future.

YOUR DOG IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY! He has no one else but you to look out for his interests. It will take effort, patience and persistence to find him the right home. He deserves your best efforts.

The Most Common People Problems:

We are moving - we can't find a landlord who will let us keep a dog (contact a real estate agent for rental

properties that accepts pets.  Get a reference letter from your vet, current landlord, or obedience instructor-

this shows you are a responsible pet owner).

We don't have enough time for the dog (can other members of your family help care for the dog? Try a dog sitting

service to help while you are at work.)

The Most Common Dog Problem:

Behavior problems:  1.  Excessive Barking

2.       Constant running away

3.       Not getting along with other dogs in the family

4.       Dominance issues, i.e., growling over food, toys, etc.

A. Have you taken the dog to obedience classes?  Establishing dog manners helps everyone.  It also helps

    strengthen the bond between the dog and the family and help the dog understand you are in control, not

    the dog.

B.       Have you contacted a more experienced Great Pyrenees owner?  Many behaviors can be modified simply to make everyone happy. The Placement Committee volunteers are always available to help.  Ohio is one of the top states in the US with very high numbers of Pyrs that need to find new homes.  This large volume gives us the advantage of much experience with behavioral issues.

Suggestions for placing your dog:

The HOGPC can help through the Placement Committee.  However, you still need to work on your end while we work on ours. 

1.       Contact your dog’s breeder.  If the dog came from a reputable breeder, they assist you in placing the dog.

2.       Spay or neuter your dog now, if not already done.  Very few people want to deal with intact dogs and the health/behavior problems that go along with intact animals.

3.       Set a reasonable adoption fee. (e.g. $50-$150)

4.       Advertise.  Give a brief description of your dog and his needs (fenced yard, children, no other pets, etc.)  Never include the phrase “Free to a good home” (someone that is not willing to pay a nominal fee is not going to pay the expenses involved in keeping your dog healthy).  Your ad should look something like this:

Great Pyrenees: gentle, young adult male, neutered.  Friendly, housebroken, well behaved.  Best with children over 10.  Fenced yard, references required.  Your name & phone number.

5.       Interview callers:  Name, address, and phone number.  Is the entire family in agreement about plans to get a dog?  Own or rent a home?  Remember, you are looking for a permanent home for your dog.  Children?  Other pets? What happened to past pets? (If they gave previous pets away for behavior problems or because they moved, these are not suitable candidates for adoption.)  Fenced yard?  References? (Preferably a vet & personal reference & call the references.)

6.       Set up a visit with the prospective owners, you, and the dog.

7.       Offer to have the potential adopter speak to one of our committee members to help educate them about the breed.

8.       When you decide this is the perfect home for your dog, have the new owner sign an adoption contract with a waiver of liability.  Remember – a waiver of liability will not protect you if you have lied or misrepresented the dog to his new owners.

Over please

What does the HOGPC Placement Committee do on our end?

We do not inspect the homes.  However, we do fill out a questionnaire via telephone for potential adopters.  This helps us determine if the prospective party is a good candidate for a Pyr and if they know what they are getting before the Pyr is in the home.  This questionnaire also helps us place the right Pyr in the right home.  For example, we won’t place a working dog in a pet home with a bunch of kids and we won’t place a family couch potato on a farm to work.

We have a website on Petfinder.com.  This sight literally gets thousands of hits daily.  We will put your dog on our site providing the following:

1.       We need proof that your dog has been altered and is current on vaccinations.  Your veterinarian must write a short letter on his letterhead confirming:  the dog’s name, age, date of altering, type of vaccinations received and date last given.  Money is tight with everyone and we understand the financial strain of altering your dog before placement.  There are low cost spay/neuter programs available.  Our volunteers would be happy to pass this information on to you.  Keep in mind, you can ask for the expense to be reimbursed for your adoption fee.  

2.       We need a photo of your dog scanned onto a hard 3 ½ inch disc in jpeg format.  You can get this done at any Kinko’s for under $5.  You can email this to us or if you do not have internet access, you can mail it to one of our volunteers.  You can also email it to us at:  HOGPCplcmentpyrs@aol.com

3.       Please write a description about your dog.  You know him better than us.  Even if the dog is driving you crazy, think about the good points about him/her that make you smile.  That is what you write about.  Does he love those stuffed hedgehog toys that grunt?  People love to hear that.  This description is to “sell” your dog over any number of others available.  This description will accompany the photo on the internet.

4.       Let us know how you want to be contacted by potential adopters that read about your dog via Petfinder.  This contact information will be posted on the internet site.  We recommend using a separate email address if your account has more than one available.  This will help deter spam and you can delete it when the dog is placed. 

5.       You still need to interview potential adopters, as you will when you place an ad in the newspaper.

IF YOUR DOG HAS EVER BITTEN ANYONE:

If your dog is aggressive with people or has ever bitten anyone, you cannot, in good conscience, give him to anyone else. Can you deal with the lawsuit that could result from it? You stand to lose your home and everything else you own. Could you live with yourself if that dog hurt another person, especially a child?

AS DIFFICULT AS IT IS TO FACE, EUTHANIZING A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS, BITING DOG IS THE ONLY SAFE AND RESPONSIBLE THING TO DO.

WE ARE VOLUNTEERS.  WHILE WE DO STRIVE TO HELP YOU FIND A HOME FOR YOUR PYR, THERE IS ONLY SO MUCH WE CAN DO.  WE ARE WILLING TO MAKE ONE PHONE CALL OR EMAIL TO GET AN UPDATE ABOUT YOUR PYR.  BEYOND THAT, IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBLITITY TO GET BACK WITH US REGARGING UPDATES AND PETFINDER INFORMATION.  IF WE DO NOT HEAR FROM YOU WITHIN TWO WEEKS OF LEAVING A MESSAGE OR EMAILING YOU, WE WILL TAKE YOUR DOG OFF OF THE LIST.  IT IS UNFAIR FOR US TO REFER A HOME TO YOU ONLY TO FIND OUR INFORMATION OUTDATED OR EVEN WORSE, THE DOG PLACED.

                                                                                                      HOGPC Board Approved 22-Feb-04