**Pictures of dogs at the bottom
Hi Everyone,
I registered today even though I have volunteered with SOS Quebec and Ontario Dog Rescue for over a year now and adopted my boy Rex from them last May. I wanted everyone to understand how exactly they work (I am expecting my first child; so as I can no longer foster, I still find ways to help them since Josee has been so great to us).
Here is how my process went with Rex back in May 2010:
I contacted the rescue on Friday in the last week of April and let them know that my husband and I were interested in adopting Rex and would like to know more about the process.
They responded immediately (I will come to that reason in a moment) and sent us a pre-adoption form to fill out, along with pricing, their goals, agendas and guidelines (ex. if the dog is not fixed, you must get him/her altered before 3 weeks, which is understandable since rescues are trying to promote people to get their dogs fixed. Also you are expected to give a $100 retainer fee if the dog is not altered as a security deposit which you receive back after you prove the dog has been altered.) We got Rex neutered right away and received our cheque back promptly.
We filled out the application straight away and were approved that night. The reason everything happened so fast was the fact that we were lucky on our timing. They were doing a transport from the pound in Quebec to here in Ontario so Rex was actually scheduled to be part of the delivery. He arrived in his foster home in Niagara Falls that Sunday and I was given the foster mom's number to contact her. We arranged a time for my husband and I to come out and meet Rex and it was love at first sight. We had to drive a fair distance since we lived the opposite way of Toronto but well worth it. We got to take him home that day and Josee came out to sign all the paperwork. They gave us his medical records and proof of shots and we were good to go!
I know it is different for some. We were lucky because Rex was in a foster home in Ontario so we got to meet him before we adopted him. However, many choose to adopt the dogs straight from seeing their biography on petfinder.com without ever meeting them (since the dogs are still in Quebec). SOS understands that having not been able to meet the dog prior to adoption the dog may not be for your family. I believe they have a policy that if you are not satisfied with the dog or find that he/she does not fit your lifestyle, they will take the dog back into foster care (within a week or two of adoption). I find this very reasonable especially for large breed dogs when some do not realize just how much work a pup is.
Sorry for the long speech! One more little bit:
I mentioned to them after I adopted Rex that I would think about fostering in the future. I have since fostered a 5 month old female Labrador Retriever, a 1 year old male Husky/Golden Retriever mix, a 3 year old female Great Dane (I loved her to pieces), and two siblings 7 months old, Husky/Golden Retriever mixes. It has been really rewarding and definitely helps the rescue. Since they do not have a shelter, foster parents are greatly needed. The reason Josee transports the dogs from Quebec is because Ontario has a higher adoption rate. Also, the pound is located in rural Quebec (farm area) so many farm dogs breed with each other, resulting in many puppies showing up on the pound's steps.
I really hope this has answered a lot of people's questions and concerns. I actually have an ad on Kijiji talking about the rescue and how people should look into adopting dogs before buying. This rescue is not a puppy mill. They have rescued many dogs from puppy mills (the Great Dane I fostered came from a HORRIBLE situation, and I mean HORRIBLE. However, she was great and we turned her around. She was clearly over bred and I am so happy the rescue stepped in and took her out of the despicable place she was in.)
Here is the link to their site:
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/ON209.html
Here is the link to my kijiji posting:
http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-pets-to-g...AdIdZ271246322
1st Picture is my guy Rex whom we adopted
2nd Picture is of Rex and our first foster dog Lily
3rd Picture is of Mia our Great Dane foster
4th Picture is of Stevie and Sonny, the siblings we fostered
5th Picture is of Max, second dog we fostered. (Date is WAY off on the this picture).
