What Are the Criteria for Adoption?
- Must be at least 18 years of age
- Must own home or have landlord approval
- Must have a valid ID with current address
- Must have a good reference from a current veterinarian
b) ALL current pets must be up to date on all vaccines
c) ALL current pets must be current on heartworm, flea, and tick prevention
- Must have two good references from non-immediate family members
- Agree to a home visit when board members think appropriate
- Agree that dog will be an indoor dog, and not left outside a majority of the time
- Understand and agree to the financial responsibilities it takes to feed, vaccinate, and provide medical care
- Sign a legally binding adoption contract upon adoption
WHAT DOGS ARE AVAILABLE?
All of our available dogs are listed on Petfinder, and we keep this up-to-date as new dogs come into our possession.
I SEE AN AVAILABLE DOG I’M INTERESTED IN ON FACEBOOK OR PETFINDER. WHAT DO I DO NOW?
We have a thorough application process that ensures our dogs are going to the best homes possible. The first step is to fill out our online adoption application.
I WANT TO SET UP A MEET AND GREET. HOW DO I DO THIS?
To move forward with a meet and greet, you must first have applied and been pre-approved. See above for the application form. We will contact you once you’re approved to move forward with a potential meet and greet.
HOW DO I CHECK ON THE STATUS OF MY APPLICATION?
Please know that we do our best to process applications in a timely fashion, but please keep in mind that we are a volunteer-based group. What you can do to help the process along is to make sure that you have given your vet permission to speak with us and your references are aware that they will be getting phone calls so that they know to answer. The calls will comes from (918) 518-1167. You can always email us at [email protected], call us, or message us on Facebook to inquire about the status of your application.
PLEASE DO NOT REACH OUT TO US ON THE STATUS OF YOUR APPLICATION UNLESS IT HAS BEEN MORE THAN 5 DAYS SINCE YOU SUBMITTED.
PLEASE DO NOT REACH OUT TO US ON THE STATUS OF YOUR APPLICATION UNLESS IT HAS BEEN MORE THAN 5 DAYS SINCE YOU SUBMITTED.
HOW MUCH IS IT TO ADOPT, AND WHAT DOES MY ADOPTION FEE INCLUDE?
Adoption fees are $295 for altered dogs. Your adoption fee includes a complete round of vaccinations (or multiple rounds for puppies, dependent on age), one month worth of flea, tick, and heartworm prevention, microchip, and neuter/spay, if done before being adopted.
Adoption fees are $395 for unaltered dogs. If a puppy is not old enough to be spayed/neutered at the time of take-home or if you take a dog into your possession before being spayed/neutered, you will start in a foster-to-adopt contract that will move forward to an official adoption once the procedure is complete. We ask that the procedure be completed at 6 months of age for puppies and as soon as possible with dogs older than 6 months. Adopter agrees to pay the $395 adoption fee, and sign and abide by the terms of Helpless Hound's Foster to Adopt Agreement. This $100 pre-payment is to be paid at time of possession of the dog.
The terms of the Foster to Adopt Agreement are as follows:
Adoption fees are $395 for unaltered dogs. If a puppy is not old enough to be spayed/neutered at the time of take-home or if you take a dog into your possession before being spayed/neutered, you will start in a foster-to-adopt contract that will move forward to an official adoption once the procedure is complete. We ask that the procedure be completed at 6 months of age for puppies and as soon as possible with dogs older than 6 months. Adopter agrees to pay the $395 adoption fee, and sign and abide by the terms of Helpless Hound's Foster to Adopt Agreement. This $100 pre-payment is to be paid at time of possession of the dog.
The terms of the Foster to Adopt Agreement are as follows:
- Adopter agrees to spay or neuter by 6 months of age if adopting a puppy or at time approved by a veterinarian for an older dog under special circumstances (i.e. heartworm treatment).
- Adoption will be fully completed upon alteration surgery. Dogs adopted within 1 hour of Tulsa will be required to have the procedure completed at Alta Vista Animal Hospital, and should be scheduled by the Adopter and confirmed with Helpless Hounds. The procedure will be booked under HH’s account. Adopters more than 1 hour from Tulsa may also use Alta Vista Animal Hospital, or may choose to use their own vet. In this scenario, a copy of the bill for the service must be sent in as an attachment to the alteration confirmation form after being paid. Personal vets may have sterilization fees exceeding $100, but Adopter agrees to cover any fees above the $100 pre-payment.
DOES AN ADOPTION INCLUDE A TRIAL PERIOD?
Yes, we understand that it takes time to make sure everyone is a good fit, so we offer a 4-week trial where your adoption fee is refundable. After that time period, we will always take a dog back, and we ask that you NEVER re-home the dog yourself.
DO I HAVE TO SPAY/NEUTER MY DOG?
YES! For most of our dogs, we will have them spayed/neutered before adoption; however, in special circumstances, or with puppies not old enough yet for the procedure, the process will start with a Foster-to-Adopt contract and will move into an official adoption once the dog is spayed/neutered.
IF HELPLESS HOUNDS DOESN’T HAVE THE DOG THAT I’M SPECIFICALLY LOOKING FOR, CAN I STILL GET PRE-APPROVED?
Absolutely! By indicating the type of dog you’re looking for and getting pre-approved, you will be at the top of our list when a dog comes to us that we think might be what you’re looking for.
DOES HELPLESS HOUNDS HAVE ANY SPECIFIC POLICIES IN REGARDS TO OTHER DOGS IN THE HOME?
Yes, we have several set in place to ensure you and our dogs are set up for success:
- We cannot adopt out to anyone who has a dog under 1 year old that has not been in the home at least 6 months. If a puppy meets this criterion, we also will not adopt out unless the puppy has had ALL of its boosters/vaccines and is 30 days out from the last round of vaccinations.
- We under no circumstances will adopt out littermates. Littermate syndrome is a great thing to research if you have questions about this policy.
- It is ideal for adopters to have had each/all dogs in their homes for at least 6 months before adding another, as this gives ample time to get to know/understand each individual dog; however, if dogs are over the age of 1, FULLY vaccinated, and spayed/neutered, we will handle these applications on a case-by-case basis.
- If an exception is made to this, and another dog has recently been adopted from another rescue, we require said dog to have served a minimum of a 14-day quarantine in the adopter’s home before one of Helpless Hounds’ dogs being introduced into the home.
I NEED HELP WITH A DOG THAT IS IN MY POSSESSION, IN THE POSSESSION OF SOMEONE ELSE, OR THERE IS A SITUATION WITH A FOUND/STRAY DOG. WHAT DO I DO?
Found/Stray Dog: If you find a dog, and can, we always suggest posting it online and taking it to a local vet to check for a microchip. Legally, we cannot put any dogs into our program until owners have been actively looked for for 10 days.
Surrendered Dog: If you are looking to surrender a dog that you own, please use the link below to fill out our Intake Request Form. Once this is completed, we will discuss whether or not we have the availability to take the dog and whether or not it fits our mission. Filling out this form does NOT automatically ensure we will take your dog. We will do our best to help and will direct you to other resources if we are unable to help.
Surrendered Dog: If you are looking to surrender a dog that you own, please use the link below to fill out our Intake Request Form. Once this is completed, we will discuss whether or not we have the availability to take the dog and whether or not it fits our mission. Filling out this form does NOT automatically ensure we will take your dog. We will do our best to help and will direct you to other resources if we are unable to help.
I AM INTERESTED IN FOSTERING. WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Please fill out our Foster Application Form, and once approved, we will reach out to you to add you to our foster group
When fostering, we provide all supplies needed, and all we ask is that you provide the care, love, and support that our dogs need until they find their forever homes.
