The following procedures only apply if you are interested in adopting a dog that is in the care of the Oldies Club rescue. For a dog that we are advertising for another rescue, please contact that rescue using the contact details at the bottom of the dog’s website entry.
Contact us
The first step is to contact us by e-mailing rehome@oldies.org.uk or by telephoning 08445 868 656. If you get our Voicemail service please leave a brief message with a landline number and one of our volunteers will get back to you as soon as possible. Don’t forget to mention which dog you are interested in adopting, and where you are in the UK.
Apply to adopt
Once we’ve taken some basic details we will send you an Application to Adopt form, which asks for some more information about your home and household. You can return this to us by e-mail, or by post to the address given on the form.
Home visit
We will review the form, and if your home sounds like a good match for the dog one of our volunteers will contact you to arrange a Home Visit. The home visitor will want to meet all members of the household. They will check that you are able to offer a safe and secure home and that you understand the responsibilities of dog ownership and the care the dog will require.
Adoption visit
If your home visit is successful we will then arrange a time when you can go to the dog’s foster home and meet the dog. All family members and other dogs will need to go along; it’s important that everybody in the household is sure the dog is right for them and that introductions with other dogs go well.
You will be given plenty of time at this meeting to get to know the dog, talk to the fosterer about him/her and make a final decision about whether the dog is the right one for you. If the meeting goes well then you can take your new friend home!
Details of adopting an Oldies Club dog
When you adopt an Oldies Club dog you will be asked to sign an Adoption Contract. This specifies, amongst other things, that if at any time in the future you can’t keep the dog for any reason you must return him/her to the Oldies Club. We offer lifetime backup for our dogs and they must not be rehomed to a third party without our written permission.
Before adoption all Oldies Club dogs are fully vet checked, neutered (unless this is against veterinary advice in the light of other health issues), vaccinated, microchipped and have received any immediate necessary veterinary treatment such as dental care. We will advise of any known medical conditions and necessary medication to the best of our knowledge and as advised by our vets. We strongly recommend taking out a veterinary insurance policy.
In order to fund our ongoing veterinary costs and allow us to continue our work, we ask for a minimum donation of £150 per dog, payable on adoption. For very elderly dogs, a slightly reduced fee may apply.
Oldies Club offers full backup and support to adopters. If you have any questions or concerns at any time you are welcome to email us or call us for a chat.
Positive training methods
Oldies Club supports only positive, reward based training methods, as endorsed by the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors (APBC) and the Association of Pet Dog trainers UK (APDT).
The principles of reward based training are outlined by Victoria Stillwell here: http://positively.com/positive-reinforcement/why-positive-reinforcement/
We do not agree with any harsh or punitive methods such as use of choke chains, lead-yanking, scruffing or pinning, or techniques based on ‘dominance’ or ‘pack order’ as promoted by some popular TV trainers.
Anyone adopting a dog from Oldies Club must be prepared to agree to this on their adoption contract.
We are always very happy to discuss this further with our adopters. Oldies Club provides ongoing support after adoption, and will advise on appropriate ways to train your dog or deal with any behavioural problems, or can put you in touch with local trainers/behaviourists who support positive methods.
Rehoming over Christmas
Oldies Club does not believe in giving pets as presents and supports the Dogs Trust message ‘a dog is for life not just for Christmas’.
It is not advisable to adopt a dog at Christmas if you are expecting a hectic and rowdy festive period. The first few days and weeks in a new home are always unsettling for a new pet and great care should be taken to make this period as stress-free as possible. Family parties and drunken knees ups are not great for settling in a nervous new dog!
We will therefore ask adopters to wait until after New Year to collect their new pet if we feel the circumstances are not likely to be beneficial to the dog in our care. If you are planning a quiet couple of weeks at home though, please do get in touch to talk things through.