Adoption Policy
Before we can consider you as a potential adopter, please take a moment to carefully review our adoption process and guidelines:
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Application Submission: To begin the adoption process, we require you to fill out our adoption application. You can print and mail in your application form or complete the application online.
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Commitment and Requirements: Adopting a pet is a significant commitment. We require an application, reference checks, a home visit, and an adoption donation. The adoption donation varies based on the age and general health of the dog. Rest assured that each dog in our care has received all necessary vaccinations, deworming, heartworm testing (with treatment if necessary), dental care (if needed), spaying/neutering, and any other required medical attention. Your adoption donation helps us recover a portion of the expenses incurred for each rescued animal.
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Home Visits: We conduct home visits as part of our adoption process. While we do consider out-of-state adoptions, it's the approved adoptive home's responsibility to make the necessary arrangements for picking up their new furry family member. Additionally, all dogs requiring transportation must have a crate or seatbelt harness.
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Complete Applications: We emphasize the importance of providing fully completed applications. Incomplete applications may delay or hinder the adoption approval process. Please ensure you include vital information, especially your veterinarian's contact details.
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Adoption Restrictions: Carefully read the bio of any dog you are interested in, as there may be specific adoption restrictions. Please note that SCMR generally does not adopt to households with children aged 10 or under, although exceptions may be made depending on the individual animal and the family's location relative to the foster home.
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Fenced Yards: Homes with fenced yards are given preference, assuming all other aspects are equal. SCMR does not adopt to homes with electric fences, as they may pose risks to the safety of our dogs and can make them more accessible to potential threats.
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Limited Shelter Visits: Please be aware that SCMR operates with foster homes in various states and cities, primarily in the Southeast. We do not have a physical shelter for you to visit.
While we do not encourage giving pets as gifts, you can pay the adoption fee as a gift for someone special. However, the recipient must complete an adoption application.
We want to express our gratitude for your understanding and cooperation in adhering to these guidelines. Our mission is to find the best possible homes for our rescue dogs to ensure they never face a similar situation again.
Your support and commitment to adopting a rescue dog make a world of difference in their lives. When an application is approved, and all checks and the home visit go smoothly, we will finalize the adoption process with a signed and notarized contract, available for download on our website.
Can't adopt? Consider fostering.
All foster homes undergo the same screening that an adoptive home will. You must be committed to the potential lifetime care of the animals and be responsible for helping select and qualify their forever homes.
IF YOU CAN FOSTER, please fill out a FOSTER APPLICATION. A foster contract is also required once you are approved to foster our dogs.
Seniors for Seniors Adoption Policy
Southern Comfort Maltese Rescue exists to be the advocate for our rescues, giving them the voice they did not have. That is our one and only goal, to be their voice.
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SCMR works hard to make good fits for our rescues, placing them in loving homes that we have screened and feel are the right match. This includes adopting age appropriate rescues to families that are older. Maltese, given no catastrophic health issues can live to be 15 to 20 years old or more. Therefore, we aspire to adopt our younger rescues to younger families and our senior rescues to senior families.
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We do understand that some senior families may have just lost their beloved companion due to health issues, and "don't want to go thru that again", and now are seeking a young Maltese to adopt, however being young does not guarantee "healthy". We have rescued several very young dogs that were not in good health, had birth defects and did not make it to their "adult" years.
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Let's face it, there are no promises for tomorrow for any of us or our rescues. A person may feel healthy and well today, but what happens in 10 years? All that will likely change and the dog will also be 10 years older. We have received several requests to surrender dogs because the now senior pet parent is no longer able to take care of or keep up with the dog they committed to.
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Our senior rescues need loving homes as well - please consider adopting a senior. They bring so much joy and love into the home, and helping a senior is so rewarding. It is a blessing to be able to help them. The age rescue that SCMR is happy to consider adopting to applicants that are 70+ years old is 7+. This provides the best chance of placing a rescue in a truly forever home.
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In closing, SCMR may consider exceptions on a case by case bases; weighing the many criteria used to help select the right forever family for our rescue, we would be willing to have the discussion for adopting outside of our stated policy, but understanding this does not mean it will be a given that an applicant will be selected or approved to adopt outside of our Senior for Senior policy.