Before You Apply

Adopting is a very serious commitment that involves a lot of time, energy, patience, and love. There is also a financial commitment to bringing a dog into your life and providing proper nutrition, animal care services such as grooming, day care, and veterinary care. Please consider this before applying, as we will talk to you about it.

A non-refundable application fee of $25.00 will be required in order to complete the submission of your application.  This fee helps us to continue saving more setters in need.  Thank you for wanting to save a setter.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR CANADIAN RESIDENTS…..transporting rescue dogs from the US to Canada has eased, but please be patient with us during the process. Thank you for your understanding.

Requirements

  • You must be at least 21 years of age to foster or adopt from A&BESR
  • Your vet must confirm that you meet the standard of care for your dogs. You must be current for all core vaccines, as well as annual visits for wellness care. Core vaccines include Rabies, & Parvo, Distemper, Lepto (DHPP or DHLPP).
  • If you do not have a current vet, we expect that you have done research on who you will likely use & the approximate costs involved for care.
  • We require that any dogs currently in your home (and any owned in the past 3 years) have proof of a heartworm test being done in the last 12 months, and proof of heartworm preventative being given, unless not recommended by local vets. Please make sure your dogs are up to date on wellness checks and preventatives for Heartworm, Fleas, and Ticks.
  • Please view the following very short video on heartworm in dogs

Heartworm Video

Additional Heartworm Resources

Adoption Fees

  • Puppy to 1 year – $500
  • Dogs ages 1-2 – $450 
  • Dogs ages 3-6 – $400
  • Dogs ages 7- 10 – $300
  • Dogs ages 11 and up on a sliding scale to be decided by the Board on a case by case basis

Before transport or transfer of any adopted dog, the FULL adoption fees and signed contract MUST be submitted.

Transport

Above and Beyond English Setter Rescue coordinates and arranges all of our own transportation for our setters – those coming into rescue and those headed to their forever homes. Our Transport Coordinators work with an amazing network of volunteers across the country, and we can transport our setters almost anywhere in the Continental U.S. within a 1000-mile* distance, at no cost to our adopters.  West coast transports can be a bit challenging, so please be flexible & consider other options for transport. For adopters in Canada, Maine, New Hampshire, & Massachusetts, we will arrange transport to the nearest state border to your home city. Interstate transport of dogs by Above and Beyond English Setter Rescue to adopters requires a nominal fee of $50.00 for an Interstate Health Certificate (required by law). Typically, we are able to transport your adopted dog to within 2 hours of your home.

 *Dogs can be adopted outside the 1000-mile transport distance; however, adopters must be willing to either fly their adopted dog, drive to a location within the 1000 mile transport range, or make independent transport arrangements for their adopted dog.

International Rescue Requirements

Note that our international dogs have special medical testing requirements. In these countries, Leishmaniasis is endemic. While all our dogs test negative before coming to the US, the parasite can remain dormant in their system for many years, so potential adopters must be willing to commit to annual testing for the next 7 years. Typically, the test needs to be sent to a special lab, but any regular vet can draw the blood and send it to the lab. The cost of the test seems to vary widely by area, but is approximately $150-$250.

Fences

At this time, we do not require a fence, however we do look to make sure you have an adequate exercise plan in place for your new setter. The lack of a fence (physical or invisible) may make finding an appropriate dog for you a bit more challenging. Please note that each dog is different and requirements can vary from dog to dog. This information will be disclosed in their bio. The use of a tie out is strongly discouraged. Also, we ask you to carefully consider the use of dog walkers, dog parks, doggy day care, & other means to provide relief & activity for your dog if they are alone during long working hours.

Fostering or Fostering to Adopt

You can read more about fostering HERE. Many of our approved adopters choose to foster to adopt an incoming dog instead of going through the regular adoption process. When you are fostering to adopt, you to start out as a foster with your dog, which means that they go to you when they first enter into our care. During the foster period, you will take them to the vet for an exam and help resolve any health issues they may have coming into our care and provide them with love, patience, and some training as they adjust to your home. We pay for their vetting costs. This gives you an opportunity to have a trial period with the dog prior to committing to adopting, during which you can evaluate their personalities and needs (including any health issues) and decide if they would fit well into your family long-term. If they fit well into your home, you, as the foster, have the first right to adopt your foster dog. If you feel that the dog is not a good fit for your family, then the dog is listed as available for adoption and you helped the dog come into rescue and find their happy forever, as you will be the person who ultimately ends up picking their forever family from among approved applicants.

Please note that we don’t just give people any random dog to foster. We take into account your preferences and needs, and work with you to try to find a foster dog for you that meets the characteristics you are looking for in a dog you want to adopt. We provide all available information about a dog when we present you with a potential foster dog, and you can make a decision based on that information. For some dogs (domestic owner surrenders, international dogs) we have some sense of their personalities and what type of home they might need. As with any new dog coming into your home, you will need to expect an adjustment period for the dog, that will require patience and lots of love from you. A foster dog may initially require more from you but with patience and understanding, allowing them time to adjust and learn, they often become the loving family member that you would have wanted to adopt when you applied. Many of our adopters choose to foster to adopt as it usually ends up being a quicker way to find a dog that fits into your home without any initial long-term commitment and vet costs, and if the first dog you foster doesn’t end up fitting well, being able to find a forever home for them still ends up being a very rewarding experience. (Note that the dogs on our website that are listed as available for adoption already have foster homes and are not eligible for our foster to adopt program.)