Looking to adopt

[Sue]

Thanks for the information...this site appears to be only for dogs in RI.

No. They are based in Rhode Island. They adopt throughout the northeast.

You're best getting a dog through a rescue group. They've been vetted, tested, and won't place, say, a cat chasing dog to a family with two cats.

This is their area of operations:

[POPTOP]

Just remembered. A couple of breeders I know network to try to find homes for labs they know are in need of a home. Unfortunately, I'm in the Midwest so unable to connect you with any of them.

[barry581]

It may be a bit far, but these folks Home
do a great job in the mid-atlantic region.

[Labradorks]

I meant to say do they still facilitate adoptions......

They do, but not in your area, I'm afraid.

[stewbert]

There's a young black lab available thru Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge (RBARI) in Oakland

[Bluesman16]

No. They are based in Rhode Island. They adopt throughout the northeast.

You're best getting a dog through a rescue group. They've been vetted, tested, and won't place, say, a cat chasing dog to a family with two cats.

This is their area of operations:

When you say they adopt throughout the Northeast, does that mean that people come to them from that geographical area to adopt in RI?

[Bluesman16]

Gee, that's a shame. That's exactly what I am looking for regarding networking to find a Lab. That kind of help doesn't seem to exist in the Northeast. Almost everything regarding adoptions seems to be tied to Petfinder.

[Tanya]

i don't understand - is there something wrong with petfinder?

[Bluesman16]

I have had some difficulties with Petfinder...I have found that some of the organizations have very little actual information about the dogs who they are trying to find homes. It seems that many of the dogs are not even fostered in this area, so the information available is really limited. The last dog that I adopted came from a home that could no longer care for her adequately. I was able to speak with the family....they even brought her to our house to see how she would interact with our other dog. The two potential dogs that I have had leads on recently needed to be met right after surgery, one being offered on a "take it or leave it" proposition at a meet&agreed at a local pet store. So you see, the experiences that I've had recently on Petfinder have not been good.

[Tanya]

rescues AND many shelters use petfinder as well. Shelters have so many dogs and often so little staff they of course can't have as great a write up (if anything). for them it's more about getting the photo out there and maybe a few basic items so people go in and meet the dogs.

Petfinder is the main resource for posting dogs needing a home. There is also petango (at least those are the two used around here, with Petfinder being much more popular). Of course there are many other small pages and such but wouldn't give you as much of a list as petfinder.

How I use petfinder is to search for local rescues, then you go to the rescues's page to find out more about them (their process, how they work, do they seem legit) and then see what other dogs they have. Breed specific rescues (so a lab rescue) often have a wait list of people waiting for the "right match' so some dogs will never hit petfinder/their page. For a breed specific rescue I always recommend people fill out an application right away and get the ball rolling.

Rescue is a "big thing" now so you have lots of rescues that are more about "saving the most dogs" and placing dogs quickly. others will keep dogs for a full assessment (a few weeks at least) then find the right match. You just will have to do some digging to find the right kind of rescue for you.

you can also google for dog rescues in your area and take a look at the pages see which ones may work for you, see if they have events nearby so you can meet them and have a chat.

Paws-ibilities: Bergen County Animal Rescue Groups