FREQUENTLY ASKED ADOPTION RELATED QUESTIONS
Why is there an adoption fee?
Every animal in our care is Vet Checked, Desexed, Vaccinated, Microchipped, Worm/Flea treated and given any additional veterinary care required. Examples of this include Ultrasounds, X rays, Blood & other pathology testing, Biopsies, specialist surgeries etc. Happy Paws is a not for profit and does not receive any government funding, therefore, our adoption fees help us to cover these costs. In addition to our veterinary fees, other expenses include but are certainly not limited to transport charges from interstate and Victorian pounds, Pound release fees, Food, Kitty Litter, Petrol, Insurance etc.
What are your adoption fees?
Fees vary based on various factors including the numerous expenses as outlined above.
Can we visit your facility to meet the animals?
No sorry. Happy Paws operates as a Community Foster Care Network and does not have a shelter. Our animals live in private homes until they are adopted.
When can I expect to receive a response concerning an application I submitted?
For some animals we receive ALOT of applications and it takes a considerable amount of time to review each one. We aim to reply within three days, however, as we are volunteers this time frame may differ. The majority of our correspondence is via email so please check your inbox regularly. If an application is short listed, the potential new owner will be invited to attend a Meet and Greet. If your application was unsuccessful we aim to send a courtesy email as soon as possible
Why wasn't my application successful?
Many applications we receive do not meet the needs of the animal stated in their adoption profile. For example, if the profile specifies “no children under 12” or “no cats” and you have either in your home, your application will not be successful. Similarly, some applications contain minimal detail and as we can only go on information provided, these will also be deemed unsuccessful. Where we receive many applications, yours may meet all the criteria and be deemed successful but as there is only one pet we need to make a choice. In theses cases we will ask permission to keep your details on file and contact you when a suitable animal becomes available. Please be mindful our sole purpose is to find the best possible homes for our babies who we have rescued, rehabilitated and sometimes raised.
Can we place this animal on hold?
Due to the number of applications we receive for some animals we are generally unable to place them on hold past the time of the meet and greet. Our aim is to have our animals settled into their forever homes as soon as possible.
What is this animal's background?
Animals generally come to us through Victorian and Interstate pounds so we have limited knowledge of their past history. Any information we know is always passed on to new owners.
What breeds is this animal crossed with?
In the majority of cases we do not know the parentage of the animals as they generally arrive with unknown histories. If we aware of the breeds we always include this information in the animal's adoption profile.
