what's involved in rescuing a dog?

do you have to have a rattie (or experience with them) first? do you have to have have a vet reference?

jis curious...

My 2 cents......  

If you've never had a rattie, I strongly recommend doing research on this breed first!  Make sure this is the right breed for you.  They aren't for everyone.  They are very unique and special dogs!

I have 1 little rattie girl right now and am hoping to adopt another within a few months.  I've filled out an app with Ratbone, but have to say .....  If you don't have other dogs now , this is probably a really, really great place to adopt /rescue a Rattie from.  They seem to really care about their rescue babes which is why I decided to apply with them.  But... be prepared for the adoption process to take a while. They seem very busy with resuces, and I'm still very confused by the adoption process itself and wish there were someone I could talk with directly that could answer the questions the website just doesn't even begin to cover for me. 

If you already have another dog/s, try to get a meet-n-greet with your dog and the dog you're interested in adopting.  I'm not sure that's possible with Ratbone, and  that's my only concern with them.  If you're lucky enough to live in an area of the country where Ratties are prevelant (not the Pacific Northwest) this may not be an issue for you if adopting from Ratbone.  I think most shelters and rescue outfits that are local to you will not only allow but hopefully require introductions before you adopt.  

Where ever you decide to adopt from, the best thing you can do is educate yourself about the breed and the dog you're interested in as much as possible and be ready to make a comittment to that dog for the for the rest of it's life.  Good luck to you.  Hope you find the dog-love of your life!

Yes, Ratbones is very busy with rescues and sometimes it does take a while for things to get done - simply because there are so many ratties needing rescue out there and they only have so many volunteers! (HINT - we need volunteers for everything from transport to foster care, etc.) But it is a very thorough process that is followed when someone applies to adopt one of their rat terriers. My first foster was adopted a few weeks ago and I spoke with the applicant after he had  applied online several times over the course of a couple of weeks. The applicant lived in another state so was unable to meet the foster in person.

Anyway, references need to be checked, home visit done, etc. Because they want to be sure the ratties they rescue go to good homes!

As far as meeting a dog before adopting that's a great thing IF you can do it. But many RBR dogs are adopted to people in other states who have never met the dog before adopting them. The key here is the foster parents! We will talk to an applicant, answer any and all questions, tell you the good and the bad about your dog. We'll send pictures, videos, email you every day with updates, whatever you are comfortable with...and these dogs live with us just like our personal dogs so we know them very well.

I would be completely comfortable adopting a RBR rat terrier from across the country because I know how dedicated these foster moms are. They don't want an owner to be unhappy with a dog and return it - they want that rattie to go to it's forever home so they are completely honest....and most are very knowledgable about dog care and the rat terrier breed.

Just my two cent!!

Anyway, references need to be checked, home visit done, etc. Because they want to be sure the ratties they rescue go to good homes!

Absolutely!!  And that's why I was trying to say that if someone wanting to adopt already has a dog, they should do what they can to be sure the dog is going to be a good fit for the one they already have!  Meet-n-greets are a good way to help with that.  A "good home" would take into consideration how thier first is going to interact with the new one and vise-versa.  Right?  

I don't think it's necessary to first meet a dog before adopting if you don't already have another.  Adopting is a wonderful thing and RBR is doping great things to help these poor little ratties out there.  I'm glad there are people like you out there like you ,opening your homes and hearts for these precious babes.  

the shelter I got polo from just ask'd for me to bring my Pups down there to me HIM! it was COOL ,She look'd them over and desided I was doing ok! and the Boys thought Polo was ok too! so we went home thats  it!!!So it kind od depends on the rescue/shelter? and if the dog is in a program? you can get e-mail's from Petfinder.com on dogs that come in and need Imediate! rescue and you just call and set something up with who ever lists the dog its pretty easy! there are lots to choose from too!depending on how far you'll drive.

Lets not forget Ratbone is but one rescue out there for Rat Terriers.  Others that I know of are www.ratterrierresq.com  http://www.americanratterrier.com/ http://ratterrierresq.tripod.com/ , their are many JRT  and TFT rescues that have mixes of Rat Terriers and others and ALL of these rescues need your support and charitable hearts to continue...so share the wealth and support it will always be appreciated. Each rescue typically does things in a similar fashion and alot of the founders from each of them started out from the same organization.  I have found that the smaller ones have more personal touch in responding quickyl to you.

i adopted my first ratbone dog from ratbone rescues in 2005.

Nik (in my avatar) came to us from Indiana.  We live in Seattle.

I spoke with his foster mom for about 3 weeks and felt SO comfortable thanks to her willingness to share and the amount of time she spent with me.  He is a most amazing dog.

I adopted Paisley 2 weeks ago from RBR. The process took about 3-4 weeks. I was able to talk to her foster mom within a few days of applying and was able to get a good sense of whether she would be a good dog for me, Moose and I met her about 1.5 weeks into it. She had several applicants, some dropped out, some were not a good fit. There is time involved in checking vet references and other references. I felt her personality was represented well by her foster. Great experience - I think it is the only way to go. I provided personal references and a vet reference.

I did not have rat terrier experience. I have owned all my pets for their entire lives and I think that by itself goes a long way to show what type of owner you would be.

Christine~

Paisley is such a special dog.  There were a lot of apps on her-I had to make a special "Paisley" folder!

Dawn was so thrilled to have her go home to you!

Levecke

i don't have any past experience with rat terriers but have done plenty of research on the breed and have owned pets my whole life. however, i don't have a vet currently because i have only recently moved to washington. what would be my chances of being able to adopt without a vet reference though?

I adopted Eddie from a cat/dog rescue group.  I like you have had pets all my life but no rattie experience.  I had very little rattie knowledge.  I saw his pic on Petfinder and went to meet.  I spoke with his foster mom and a rescue rep, filled out an app. and the rest is history.  It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be at least through this particular organization.  I would have waited forever for Eddie though! He is such a special boy

BTW I didn't have a vet reference at the time of adoption because I hadn't had any pets for a while.  That wasn't a problem.  I'm not sure about RBR policies though.  I plan on adopting through them when I am ready for rat #2 though

this may be too late-but Lien Animal Hopsital in West Seattle is great!

Where are you in Seattle Ashley?

I live on North Beacon Hill.

Did you get your pup yet?