Why might a dog rehoming shelter reject your application?

Many of the most rewarding elements of dog ownership can come from adopting or rescuing a dog from a rehoming shelter and giving them a second chance at life in a forever home that will love and care for them properly. Adoption is definitely something you should consider if you are in the market for a new dog, and most shelters will have a wide range of different dogs, including pedigrees and puppies as well as older dogs and mixed breeds.

Whilst shelters are always delighted to find new potential owners for the ever-increasing number of dogs in their care, they also take the responsibility of finding a new home for such dogs and making sure that it is suitable and a good fit for their charges very seriously, and few shelters will simply allow you to turn up, sign the paperwork and walk away with your new dog the same day.

In order to ensure that you are the right fit for any given dog and are also up to the task of ownership and willing and able to care for the dog for life and avoid repeating the mistakes that may have led to the dog being surrendered in the first place, all good shelters have a set rehoming process and protocol to follow before they will approve an adoption.

This is likely to incorporate a range of factors such as interviewing you, watching you interact with the dogs that you are considering, asking for references and making a visit to your home-all before you will be approved to adopt one of their charges.

However, rehoming shelters do on occasion reject applicants after the process has been completed, and this can come as a big shock to the potential adoptee, who may not really understand even after explanations what has gone wrong, and caused them to be deemed as unsuitable to adopt a dog.

In this article, we will look at some of the potential reasons behind why a rehoming shelter may reject your application, in order to ensure that you cover all of the bases and can correct any issues that may be standing in your way. Read on to learn more.

The dog is not deemed a good match

First of all, not all dogs are a good match for all potential owners, and you may find that a shelter will reject your application for one specific dog that you have set your heart on, but that they will consider you for a different type of dog. This may be because the dog you want is too large, young, or has problems that the shelter feels require a certain type of management than they do not feel you can provide, but that may not mean that they will not consider you for a different one.

You do not have enough time to spend with the dog

During the interview, you will undoubtedly be asked about your lifestyle and free time, including your working patterns, holidays, and assistance that you have to help with the dog when you are busy.

If you work full time hours, you will be expected to demonstrate a plan for what will happen to the dog during the day while you work and how their needs will be met, and these are all factors that the shelter will need to consider in relation to each specific dog and their needs.

You may live with someone that would not suit the dog

Shelters usually require to meet all of the family that will live with your new dog and any other dogs you own too, and in some cases, this might mean a specific dog is not a good match for you. Some dogs cannot live safely with younger children and some need to be kept with no other pets, all of which can affect your application.

Your home is not appropriate for the dog

If the shelter arranges a home visit, they may decide that your home is too small, does not have a large enough yard or garden or is not properly secured to house a dog, but they will usually provide direction on what you can do to change this, or recommend a more appropriate dog.

You are unable to demonstrate the necessary knowledge

Some shelter dogs have problems whilst others are a pleasure to be around from the get-go-but in order to adopt or buy a dog of any type, you will need to be able to demonstrate a good understanding of the various factors involved in caring for a dog, including their management, training and breed-specific issues, as well as demonstrating your past experience with dogs.

If you are not able to do this, or appear to be looking to adopt without having thought things through, you will be rejected.

Your living situation is unstable

If you live in rented accommodation, are in an on again-off again relationship, planning a house move or are otherwise in a state of potential flux or instability, this will have to be taken into account too, in terms of your suitability to take on a dog and provide it with stability and a good routine at this time.

Your financial situation is unstable

You will also need to demonstrate that you can afford to care for the dog properly, and understand all of the different elements of canine care, such as insurance, vet’s fees, and all of the other little things that can soon add up.

Ask for direction

Shelters will almost invariably tell you why they have deemed you as unsuitable for an adoption, and their reasoning is rarely a hard “no-“ you may well be invited to make changes or return in the future to be assessed again.

Ask the shelter for guidance and try to review what you are told with an open mind, rather than simply feeling insulted or inadequate and potentially, trying somewhere else with less stringent rules-after all, adoption is something that should be performed with the best interests of the dog in mind, and improving your knowledge or making changes to enable this can only be a good thing.