Thank you for your interest in adopting from New Zealand Chihuahua Rescue. Please read the below information, adoption FAQ and adoption agreement for information on our terms and conditions. The dogs we have available can be found at the above link under "available dogs".
When re-homing our dogs our main aim is the welfare of the dog and to find the most compatible home for them. It is not a case of first in, first served. We work first and foremost for the dogs in our care and strive to ensure we find the best possible match in terms of a new home. We appreciate your patience and respect of our decisions relating to the dog adoptions.
Stage One - Submit an Adoption Application and Supporting Information:
To apply to adopt is easy, simply complete the adoption form below and submit this via email to the Trust, together with photos of your property. If you are renting, we require written consent from your landlord or Housing New Zealand.
If you cannot email the application, it will need to be printed and sent to our PO box with photos of your property.
Please Note: We do not accept applications via Facebook messenger, or a quick chat over the phone. We also do not contact prospective applicants via phone to discuss individual dogs without the adoption forms and supporting information. The reason being, as you can appreciate, we receive a large volume of queries and would not be able to personally contact each and every prospective adopter. The forms streamline the process for our organisation and all of the information we require is noted on the form. As volunteers who work full time outside of the Rescue, it is a more efficient way of us confirming whether you and your family are a match for any particular dog.
Failure to supply the required information (ie. no property photos) or incomplete forms may result in a delayed or rejected application. Please read the Agreement portion of the application form for your obligations and ensure that you are able to agree to these.
If you have any queries, please see our website and adoption FAQ first. Secondly, feel free to email us via the contact form on our website if your question is not answered by our FAQ.
If we feel that you are a match for a dog in care, we will be in touch to progress this. If we do not have a match for you currently, we will email you back and confirm if you have been placed on the database. We reserve the right not to enter into arguments or reasoning in terms of why we have not selected a particular adopter. As noted above, we are looking for the most suitable match.
Stage Two - Meet and Greet and Home-check:
If you are considered a good match for a particular dog, the Managing Trustee will be in touch to organize a "meet and greet" with your prospective dog. At the meet and greet we will also conduct a home check and make sure fencing is complete. If outside of Canterbury, we will organize with another rescue to complete the same.
If there are no dogs that currently match your criteria but you are approved, we will advise you that you have been added to the database in the event that a match is found.
Stage Three - Trial:
If successful, the dog will go on trial with the prospective Adopter. At this time the adoption fee is to be paid to the Trust and will remain in the trust account throughout the duration of the trial period. Please ensure the fee is paid into the trust account prior to the day the dog is organized to be dropped off as the account is checked prior to changeover. If you wish to pay via cash, please inform the Rescue prior.
Trials are for a maximum of one month. During this time our Team will check in regularly with you, please feel free to make contact with us also to provide updates or ask for any support or advice you may require. At the end of the one month period, all going well, you will be advised in writing that the trial period has concluded and the trust is happy to deem the dog successfully adopted.
In the event that the Adopter, or the Trust, terminate during the trial period, the dog is to be returned into the care of their foster carer and the adoption fee is refunded to the Applicant in full. All items supplied with the dog must be returned.
For information on adoption fees, out of Christchurch adoptions, de-sexing, council registration and much more, please see our adoption FAQ as below. We are happy to answer any additional queries you may have via email or our "contact us" box.
Please Note: We do not provide harnesses, leashes, bowls, crates and the like upon adoption, these items are retained for other dogs in the care of the Trust.
It is the Adopter's responsibility to purchase these items prior to the dog arriving for it's trial. Dogs do come with their bedding, any vet books provided to us, an Orijen/ACANA adopter pack and PetNSur pet insurance offer and 30 day trial if the dog is less than six years of age (ask us more about this!)