We strive to make a difference in each and every animal/pet we bring to our rescue. Moreover, our commitment and dedication are most important in finding their “forever loving” homes.
Our adoption process can be a bit tedious In order to ensure we are not failing our rescues. Our 501c3 animal rescue is a military family owned and comprises incredible & dedicated volunteers as well as our family.
We accept all breeds, ages, and gender. Our mission is to help as many as we can by dedicating our lives, time, compassion, love, and the many sacrifices it brings to whatever they need even when it has required us to donate or invest our own personal money to assure them a better life.
We’re committed to our rescues in providing a safe, healthy, and loving environment into their next journey to a “forever” home.
Therefore, our commitment requires strict guidelines for placing our rescues with the right applicants/families as we process each application. Likewise, this requires each applicant to understand and agree to this process and commitment. Although ALL applicants will be reviewed for processing – only serious and very committed applicant/s will be considered, processed, and approved for adoption.
Our Adoption policy
All adoptions are conducted at the discretion of Serendipity Animal Rescue, Inc No rescue/s will be adopted or fostered without an application received and approved.
Applications can be found on our website: https://serendipityanimalrescue.org. Anyone interested in adoption must fill out an application in its entirety to be considered. Otherwise, it will not be processed.
Once your application is received, we will process it accordingly (usually a 2-4 day turnaround). At first look, we’ll review for being the right fit, right home, or family for both you and the rescue being applied for.
Disclaimer: We verify address, ownership of the home, landlord if renting (a letter of approval from the landlord will be requested), and criminal record, we verify with your local animal control any known neglect or animal abuse cases. We do interviews and require videos or FaceTime of your main living areas and the yard your rescue/pet will be living at. We will call your personal references (please note: family or friends living with applicants are not acceptable references).
Once all interviews, videos or Face Time, and references have been verified or completed, then we are able to notify the applicant of approval or denial. If we’re unable to contact your references or have no response back or are unable to verify information, the application is automatically denied.
Once the application is approved, a meet and greet is then scheduled to meet your rescue. All family members are encouraged and highly recommended to attend meet & greets as well as other fur babies. If meet and greets do not go well – we will recommend and suggest other rescues we think would be a “better” match for you or your family. After all, we have many looking for a loving forever family. However, if meet and greets go well, then we will be able to finalize your adoption at that time if so desired.
This process may seem a bit overwhelming or unnecessary, but we find it very necessary to identify the right fit, family, or rescue. The last thing we want is for our rescues to end up abandoned, taken to an animal shelter, or back in trouble again, so we strive to get it right the first time although we know there are those percentages that will be returned back to our rescue. These are our babies prior to transferring them to become yours. Families are forever- that is our motto!! All re-homing of your adopted rescues is prohibited and as per our adoption contract will be returned back to our rescue. No exceptions!!
All current pets in the home MUST be spayed/neutered, current on vaccines, and rabies, licensed in your county, and microchipped. Therefore, a family vet reference is required if you have other pets. All information required may be verified at any time prior to or afterward if one of our rescues is adopted by you.
Although a fenced yard is generally an ideal situation and requirement, we do consider each applicant and rescue lifestyle, size, breed, age, etc in the decision process. We understand not everyone lives in homes with yards. Therefore, we consider each situation on a case-by-case basis in what is best for the rescue and their safety needs.
Since our mission is finding FOREVER homes, there may be multiple applications for one rescue. So we process each application according to the best fit for the applicant, family, and rescue. We take placing a rescue in the right home seriously and while we do want to have a successful placement and happy ending, not every applicant will be approved. Although we do appreciate every applicant the opportunity to adopt one of our rescues, submitting an application is not a confirmation of approval or that you will receive the rescue you applied for.
Every application is processed wholeheartedly with the goal of placing you with a new rescue/family member. A lot of time, research, and heart goes into processing your application. It also takes away the opportunity for other missed or possible adoptions while we are processing your application. Please only apply for a rescue you’re 100% ready to adopt now. We do not hold rescues for any reason.
Of Note: Our adoption fees vary, according to species, size, age, health concerns if any, or other issues. We do offer some discounts that could be applied in some cases. Our adoption fee covers de-worming, heartworm tested (if over 6 months), started on heartworm and flea/tick preventative, heartworm treated if required, vaccinated, including rabies (if age appropriate) and microchipped as well as spay/neuter. If not yet spayed/neutered it must be done within 30 days and at our preapproved vets, following the adoption. All puppies not altered due to age will undergo a spay/ neuter at a future date indicated on the adoption contract to be done. Therefore, for compliance and/or tracking purposes a certificate from the vet must be received (email) to our rescue within 30 days of adoption. This is a mandatory agreement per the adoption contract. All violations of the contract are subject to legal action at the adopter’s expense.
Moreover, we expect our dogs to be adopted by families who understand these are rescue dogs, they WILL need time to decompress, learn routines, and have stability. We put our lives into saving these dogs we expect their new families to be prepared for a lifetime commitment before applying. Dogs are not recyclable or disposable.
OUT-OF-STATE ADOPTION: A transportation fee of $250 is required in addition to the adoption fee. This fee is required for travel outside of MD, VA, or PA and covers the health certificate, as required by the USDA, to travel as well as transportation cost.
Please be advised that our dogs are adopted by their forever families prior to being transported. Unfortunately, it is not possible to meet the dogs in person prior to adoption. We will FaceTime or Zoom and you may speak with the dog’s foster family or you make a personal appointment to do so in person. We only send well-behaved, well-rounded dogs, sending anything other fails the dogs.
Please check your local Breed Guidelines before applying to assure you are adopting a rescue dog that is the best fit for your family and lifestyle.
Emails are welcome inquiring about a dog prior to submitting an application. However, emails are not the same as submitting an application and may not receive the same attention timeline, therefore may cause delays in response and/or availability of interested rescue. Please fill out the adoption application found at https://serendipityanimalrescue.org. We try to get through applications as fast as possible.
Note: WE ARE NOT A SHELTER, WE HAVE NO BRICK AND MORTAR LOCATION – WE ARE AN ALL-VOLUNTEER RESCUE, ALL DOGS ARE IN FOSTER HOMES OR A HOME ENVIRONMENT.