FAQs
Pibbles & More FAQs
1. Can I meet my dog before making a deposit?
If you live close to the dog’s foster home, you are welcome to have a “meet and greet” to make sure it is the right dog for your family. This can also be a good opportunity to have the dog meet any other dogs in your household. However in some cases, our dogs are being fostered out of state; in those cases we will try to send you a short video clip of the dog, and we will put you in contact with the foster home so you can ask questions about the dog’s temperament.
2. Will my dog be healthy when I adopt him/her?
All of our dogs are vaccinated, altered, and dewormed before placement. You will be informed of any health problems that we are aware of; dogs coming from shelters occasionally have kennel cough or skin issues which are minor and treatable. We recommend getting a full veterinary exam within the first week of adoption.
3. What if I decide it doesn’t work out? Can I get a refund on my adoption fee?
Adoption fees are non-refundable, but we will ALWAYS accept one of our dogs back into the rescue. We are committed to our dogs for life. In fact, our adoption contract states that if you need to rehome the dog, s/he should be returned to PMAR rather than trying to find a new home yourself.
4. Do you do long-distance adoptions?
Rarely. We need to be assured that we can get a dog back to one of our foster homes if the adoption doesn’t work out, and we need to arrange a home visit. Obviously this is easiest for people who live in the NYC area or in Vermont, where we have PMAR board members. However, please contact us if you want to adopt one of our dogs; we have contacts in other areas. If we are unable to work with you because of the distance, please contact rescues closer to home. There are needy dogs EVERYWHERE in the United States.
5. If I see a dog on a NYC shelter photolisting, can I adopt or foster through Pibbles&More?
Many people want to save a dog who is in danger in a shelter, and we often place dogs directly from the shelters. However, we will NOT take a dog from a shelter for a home that has not been screened as an adoptive home. It takes several days to review applications, check references, and do a home visit, so if you want to adopt a Death Row dog, please get PRE-APPROVED. Unfortunately, too many people do not follow through on commitments, and our rescue foster homes are almost always full.
6. Why does it cost so much to adopt?
Taking care of rescued dogs is expensive, and our adoption fees do not even cover the costs of running our organization. Our costs include routine vet care (vaccinations, spay/neuter, deworming, etc), transportation for dogs, and emergency vet care. Once we take a dog into our care, we do everything we can to make sure it is adoptable. In the last year, this has included treatment for heart disease, pneumonia, parvovirus, parasites, and mange. We have also paid for surgeries for broken legs, amputations, ligament tears, and a broken jaw just within the last year. We can only keep our adoption fees as low as they are through fundraising and the kindness of generous donors.
7. I can’t foster or adopt right now, what else can I do to help homeless dogs?
Please see our page on “Ways you can help.” PMAR needs all kinds of help ranging from transporting dogs, to donating time or money, to networking to help us place dogs. Even if your house is full, you can help!
8. I want to adopt a dog, but don’t adult shelter dogs have behavior problems? Isn’t it better to get a young puppy?
For many people, an adult shelter dog is the perfect companion! Raising a puppy requires a lot of time and effort, and adopting a puppy without socializing it properly is a perfect recipe for creating behavior problems. Dogs in most shelters are temperament tested, and PMAR does not place aggressive dogs in homes. Furthermore, since all of our dogs live in foster homes, we know their personalities and issues very well. There are many, many dogs in shelters who have loving, agreeable personalities and they adjust very well to adoptive families. And our adoptive families say that saving a dog’s life is an awesome feeling.
9. I’m not allowed to have pitbulls where I live, do you have other breeds available for adoption?
Yes we do! Most of our rescues are pitbull mixes because we love their friendly personalities and they are most in need, but we have also placed mixed breed dogs who are primarily beagle, shepherd, lab, bulldog, Chihuahua, Rottweiler, and many others. If you are looking for a particular type of dog, please contact us.
10. What if a dog is aggressive or bites?
We do not adopt out dogs who have been aggressive to humans or dogs who are severely aggressive to other dogs. Some of our dogs do best as an only dog, and in almost all cases we know this in advance. There are too many loving, affectionate, friendly dogs who are killed in shelters every day, and these are the dogs we focus on.
