Adopt

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Adopt

Adopting a new pet is like a marriage. We want it to be successful and to be a life-long partnership. To ensure its success we need to know as much as possible about each individual/family’s needs and life-style so that we can recommend the best possible match. In order to do this we ask you to fill out our questionnaire in the Adoption Process section.

The following points are important for you to consider.

Experience and knowledge of dogs/cats, their behaviour, needs, habits, comforts, food, health and exercise.
Your family circumstances
Do you have enough space, time and money to care for a dog/cat?
Housing conditions
Are you allowed to keep a pet? Is there likely to be trouble with neighbors?
On average, how long are you away from home? Some pets left all day alone get stressed out from loneliness.
Are you able to make a long-term commitment to this dog/cat? Dogs/cats live an average of 15 years.
If you have a pet, is it neutered?

ARK’s policy

ARK’s policy is to promote neutering in order to decrease the number of unwanted animals. For more information on the benefits of neutering click here . Any puppies or kittens at ARK have been abandoned elsewhere, not born at ARK. All dogs/puppies are neutered BEFORE they leave ARK.

It is better to adopt an adult animal rather than puppies or kittens for the following reasons:

Puppies/kittens need special care and can easily get sick.
Puppies/kittens need a lot of your time in the first critical few months in order to become socialized and get a full range of experiences.
All the adult animals are handled and walked regularly and are accustomed to people. Cats are regularly brushed and handled by staff.
A puppy/kitten is only small for a short time. It grows into an adult within 6 months. It is difficult to guess the eventual size and character of a baby animal.
All adult cats/dogs have been fully vaccinated and if any animal has a health condition or any disorder or a behavioural problem we inform the potential owner.

We recommend easy to handle/gentle adult animals for first time dog or cat owners, people with small children, elderly people, or people who don’t have a lot of time.

Conditions of adoption

No dog should be tethered except for short periods of time or for safety during the first month after adoption. We hope that the dog can live in the house as one of the family or at least have a fenced enclosure in the garden where it can run around freely.
Please keep cats inside because of the high incidence of traffic accidents and feline aids and leukemia.
All animals need a week or two to adjust to new surroundings. Special care must be taken for this period to make sure they don’t get out or run away.
Make sure your telephone number tag is on the dog’s collar and that you have a photo of your dog/cat. Take your dog on different walks around your home so they learn how to return home.
We take back any ARK animal if it doesn’t adjust to its new home or has to be given up for whatever reason.