In designing our new application, we sought the support of Philip Tedeschi, Clinical Professor of Animal-Assisted Social Work at the University of Denver. Philip is also the Executive Director for the Institute for Human-Animal Connection and directed us towards HABRI, the Human Animal Bond Research Initiative, who is revolutionizing the world of animal advocacy. This group is dedicated towards filling a growing body of evidence-based support for the benefits animals provide humans in interaction. Collaboratively, these networks provided us with more information than we were really prepared for and we did our research, hard. After multiple board revisions, the finished product is long, we know. But it’s also comprehensive and highly purposeful.
We are committed to our dawgs in each and every way. Our mission is “to make rescue dawgs’ dreams come true”—this means making darn sure that pup never ends up back in a situation like where it came from. We need to know what kind of owner you’ve been in the past and how you are going to be now. We need to know what kind of life you are going to offer your pup. Most importantly, we need to know that you’ve really thought about what rescuing a dog means. We’re not trying to trick anyone or find reasons to deny your application. Nobody is perfect, and we always try to have a conversation with the potential adopter if the application throws up any red flags. But rescue dogs aren’t perfect either, and we need to know that you are prepared to form a relationship with your new furry pal, not just take on and gently discard another pet.
We also complete a search in the database of registered animal cruelty offenders, a personal interview at the meet and greet, and a home-check before any adoptions are carried out. We just hope that this application can assist even further in our efforts to give each dawg what it deserves—the best. The sad truth is that MFDM and other dog rescues wouldn’t exist if some people didn’t suck. More and more shelters across the country are at or exceeding capacity, and nearly 3300 dogs are euthanized every single day. That’s disgusting. We want to make sure that the cycle stops here—that this dawg is forever home.