“Interviews, Facetime, home visit videos, interviews with adoption counselor, interviews with foster, foster and adoption counselor discussing, more discussion with any concerns brought up, etc. Very thorough, all for your benefit and the dogs. Then post adoption, free training access with Petacademy and two weeks online training and support for any major behavioral issues. When you adopt you are part of the MAD Pack and we want it to be successful. As an adoption counselor it is hard to tell someone they weren't chosen for a certain dog, but it's all to make the best match. Some dogs can handle a long transport, others can't. So sometimes an applicant isn't chosen for a dog not because they aren't a good dog owner. It can just be that it is not the right fit. But we will then look for the dog that is!"
Sandra Kemp, MAD Rescue Adoption Counselor
“MAD was great, there were videos of my boy #madloveblue and I was able to ask questions. Also may I suggest offering to foster. You get a chance to not only give a pup a temporary landing spot but if the personality fits with your pack, you can always "foster fail" and Adopt.”
Naomi Burchill, MAD Rescue Adopter and Foster
“We live in Kansas. Our first rescue, we talked to the foster many times. We had very strict criteria as our boys were younger and we had a resident Dachshund. Luckily, the dog was being fostered in a home with three young boys and a Chiweenie. Once we decided he was the boy for us, my husband flew one way to CA and drove back as he was 18 months old at the time so flying back was not our best option. To keep it affordable, I flew him on miles, cashed in hotel points for a couple of dog friendly hotels for stops and overnight sleeps on the drive home and got a hot deal ($120) on a one way rental mini van. Our other rescue was a puppy born into MAD. We spoke to the foster a few times before making the plunge but she was young so hadn’t developed any of her quirks yet. She was small enough, he was able to fly round trip to Florida in a day and bring her home as a carry on. In both instances, we never had an in person meet and greet prior to adopting. As a foster, I will always ask to speak to potential adopters. I want to make sure my foster dog is going into the right home. I also take tons of pictures and videos as well as notes on their quirks and personality, etc. I want the dog to thrive in its forever home so it’s always important to have conversations with the adopter beforehand.”
Amy Kidwell, MAD Rescue Adopter, Foster, and Volunteer
“As a foster, I typically talk to potential adopters and answer any questions they have, share videos, etc. I started off fostering, then we quickly foster failed and have fostered several since.”
Nicole Delgado, MAD Rescue Foster, Adopter, and Transport Driver
“This organization is by far the best around. The foster gets to talk to potential adopters first, see their home via interview video so they know if the dog is a good fit, they go the extra mile. I adopted 2 Malinois mixes. One from Pima County animal control in AZ, and one from this org... better believe I'm coming back here again when adopting. Hands down. (I have 4 now..so pretty full home). Please feel free to ask more questions, we all are happy to answer. ”
Laurie Jagielo, MAD Rescue Adopter and Foster
“I rescued through MAD. They are absolutely excellent at matching you with the right dog! I was in touch with the foster family. I live in North Dakota and my little angel came from California.”
Smaroula Dilioglou, MAD Rescue Adopter
“I drove from MA to KY to meet my girl! But before that her foster was awesome and answered all my questions and sent lots of videos and photos so I could see her in a variety of environments. I had specific things I was looking for (how she interacted with other dogs, sports potential, feelings about being crated) so her foster was able to answer those questions for me. Honestly, despite driving and meeting her it was still a rough first few weeks at home, but she is now doing amazing and is exactly the dog I was looking for!”
Rachael Bell, MAD Rescue Adopter
“I was once a foster, and now I do evaluations for intake consideration, transports, and work on the back end of the application process, so I’ve been on both sides and see a lot of the behind the scenes. Everything that we all do is to learn as much as we can about each dog, learn about each of our applicants, and match them with the best fitting dog (not just for the adoptor but also for the dog). Not every dog is suitable for every adopter and not every adopter is suitable for every dog. Many of our fosters invest countless hours into their foster dogs to work on any problem behaviors, training, and set them up to be successful in their adoptive homes. Our process is thorough, long, and can seem a little redundant in some areas, but it all serves a purpose. Many of our adopters don’t end up with the dog they originally applied for or it takes several months until their perfect dog comes into rescue, and most don’t meet their dog in person before the adoption, as meet and greets can only happen if the adopter is local to the foster.”
Haruko Yamakami, MAD Rescue Foster and Volunteer
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