03/26/2025
HOW TO ADOPT.
PLEASE READ!
We feel that it’s time to post about the adoption process since we have spent an inordinate amount of time responding to messages from people primarily interested in Blake.
The first step in the process is to submit an application which can be found on our website. https://www.tibetanmastiffrescueinc.org/adopt-a-mastiff.cfm
It is our policy not to start discussing dogs with people who cannot take the five minutes required to fill out the application. This appears to cause intense irritation, because many people feel they should not have to waste five minutes of their time, but that we should waste hours of our time talking to people who have no real interest in adopting or who will be completely unqualified
If you complete our application, you will receive an automatic response, indicating that we have received it. We review every single application. However, very few will meet our initial criteria. For example, you must have secure, 6' fencing. The only exception to this is if you live someplace like Midtown Manhattan. Invisible fencing is not acceptable. Hundreds of acres are not acceptable. We will not waiver on this. In addition, you must come to meet us and to pick up the dog that you were interested in if you are approved. No, we will not send your dog to you via transport. We have only ever made an exception to this rule during the pandemic, when it involved somebody who had adopted dogs from us for more than 20 years, and lived in Canada. We understand this is a very large country, but we have had a number of people prepared to drive from the West Coast to the East Coast, or from Texas to Virginia, or from Minnesota to Texas, etc. The sad truth is that many bad things happen to dogs on no name transports.
Finally, you may have an excellent application, you may seem like a wonderful home, you may have secure fencing, and be willing to travel, but if we do not feel that we have a dog that is right for you, you will not hear from us. And by the way, asking us to let you know if we get a dog that might work for you, just isn’t going to happen. We have too much to do and too few people to do it to remember everybody. You need to stay in touch with us. Please understand that while many of the dogs in rescue are extremely friendly, some are on the more protective side of Tibetan Mastiffs, and will only be placed in an experienced home. Many do not do well with dogs of the same s*x, and will not be placed in a home with dogs of the same s*x, no matter how often we are assured by the adoptee that their dogs are very dog friendly. Some are uncomfortable with small children and if children are involved, the dog must be bombproof We do not want any dog or cat or person to ever be hurt by one of our dogs.
We realize that this may seem excessive and a general pain in the ass, but please remember, while we would like to be able to place every dog that comes through rescue in a matter of days, we need to get to know the dog and we need to find the right home for it. Of course, we have made mistakes, but we try to do everything we can to minimize those. Oh, and by the way, when at all possible, we will require a home check, so if you don’t want us to visit your home, or perhaps Google Earth will show us that in fact, you do not have fencing notwithstanding what you had told us, you will not get a dog.
We are sorry if we sound like The Grinch. And we hope this will not deter any good homes, but please remember, you must have fencing, and you must come and get the dog. No, we will not meet you halfway…
Oh yes - once we speak with you, we will call your vet and ask for references.
Tibetan Mastiff Rescue is a not-for-profit organization that was created in 2003.
