Bulldog Haven NW - Adoption, Rehoming, and Rescue Services
DOG ADOPTIONS
BHNW adopts dogs once they are ready and/or stable, if medical care is ongoing. For more information on our adoption process, adoptable dogs, etc., please visit the "DOGS" Page. Our adoption process is very thorough. We care for each dog as if they were our own and want to do our best to ensure the best placement in a forever home. We are not a rescue that rushes placement or omits proper vet care. We feel it is important to not just read about a dog's needs, but to experience them, so we can ensure they are going to be matched up to home properly and responsibly with first-hand information. It is also important to not pass on diseases or issues that could otherwise be resolved by watching and observing each dog for at least a week, minimum. It might seem easy to adopt one out within days of arrival, but it isn't responsible, and it isn't what our organization does!
REHOMING OF OWNER-SURRENDERED DOGS
We really do understand that rehoming is a hard decision, and we hope that having an option like ours would help ease the pain by knowing it is a very safe alternative to doing it yourself. We only place them in homes that are perfect for them!
If your dog has not been spayed or neutered, this is a must prior to adopting them. This will help you and your dog by weeding out people who just want to breed and might see them as a loving pets last. All dogs surrendered to BHNW are spayed/neutered prior to going into an adoptive home.
In many cases, owners request to be kept in the loop on the progress and placement of the dog, which we are more than happy to do. This is also very easy to do via our Facebook page. We can discuss other things if you have something else in mind.
Most of our volunteers have been doing rescue for many, many years. BHNW is a local organization, not a national one. This ensures that we can give each dog the care they need and deserve without being stretched too thin or too far; we also have the option of tailoring each dog and placement.
We understand it is very hard even thinking of the next home your dog may be going to. Rescue is a great resource that many people don't even know is out there. We are all totally unpaid VOLUNTEERS, volunteering, so your bulldog can find the type of home you would want for them. We keep track of and place all the dogs that come through our group as if they were our own.
BREED-SPECIFIC CARE FOR SHELTER DOGS
Our organization is devoted to taking our breeds from shelters. Although some shelters feel they may be a hot ticket item on a shelter's adoption floor, which may seem to be the case, what they may not realize is that since they are expensive to acquire, there are usually serious issues with dogs who do end up dropped off at shelters or intentionally unclaimed strays. We have years of experience with dogs who are specifically left at shelters, and they almost always have many of the same issues. Yeast infections of the ears and skin, mange (which is difficult to see on bulldogs due to the overlaying yeast that usually partners with it in the breed), food allergies, back/spinal issues, inverted tails, tail pockets, cherry eye, breathing issues which can lead to death without proper surgery, potty training issues (which Frenchie’s are notorious for), behavioral issues, and more. As a shelter, the best thing you can do for a Bulldog in your care is contact a breed-specific rescue. We are always willing to look over a dog you have, even if you do not intend to transfer it! If you think you may have a pregnant dog at your shelter, please contact us! Birthing for a bulldog and the pregnancy duration is very risky for both mother and unborn puppies. Dogs must be delivered by Caesarean Section, or the risk of death and complications for both is very high.
PLACEMENT OF SHELTER DOGS
When BHNW hears of a shelter dog who may need our help, we work hard to do whatever we need to do. We are willing to do anything from simple breed ID assessments for breed health and behavioral issues to transferring the dog into rescue and making sure it gets all the care it needs prior to being adopted out. If you are a PetPoint shelter, transfers are easy because we use them too!
IF YOU HAVE SEEN A DOG IN A SHELTER
Local-area shelters are aware of BHNW and the support that we are able to provide. While many choose to partner with us when Bulldogs come into their shelter, others prefer to handle the placement on their own.
While you are very welcome to mention our organization to the shelter and to let them know that they can contact us at [email protected] for support, it is our policy not to pursue Bulldogs that are currently in the care of an animal shelter or another animal rescue organization.
FOUND / STRAY DOGS FOUND BY THE PUBLIC
Our organization does not take in stray dogs unless contacted by a legal stray-service-contracted animal shelter to do so. BHNW has a long working history with many shelters across the northwest region. We understand how the shelter system works (a number of our volunteers work within shelters in some capacity), and we want to stick to our second part in this process and be here to lend aid to shelters in need of our help.
If you have found a Bulldog, Frenchie, or mix thereof and choose to personally house/keep a pet, you found instead of taking it to the shelter contracted for the area in which it was found; the law requires you to keep it for a minimum of 30 days before attempting to find it a new home or doing any non-emergency vet care such as vaccines and spay/neuter surgeries. Rehoming a found dog before the 30 days is up or not properly looking for and reporting the dog as found to the proper shelter is illegal and may subject you to theft and sale of stolen property charges. This goes for rescue groups like ours, also.
If you have questions about this, we would be happy to talk to you. If you have found a bulldog, we may already know it is missing. That is another reason to contact us.
