Before applying to adopt one of our Irish Terriers, especially if you are new to the breed, we recommend that you do a wee bit of research to determine if an Irish is the right dog for you and your life style. Most every bit of literature you will find describes the Irish as a loyal and loving canine companion, fearless, smart, spunky, and want to be in the midst of whatever their human is doing. What most literature won’t tell you is that they make their own mischief and find interesting ways to solve situations they view as a problem or a challenge. We believe the Irish Terrier to be the best breed around but they are not for the faint of heart. Patience and a sense of humor are two personality traits that are required to be “owned” by an Irish. After learning about the counter surfing, the pilfering, the prey drive, and all other crazy antics, and you STILL want a red dog in your life, our adoption procedure is outlined below:
Step 1: Read about our adoption policy.
Step 2: Submit Application. Complete the on-line Adoption Application. Please be precise and provide any information that you feel might be the reason we should place an Irish with you. Remember that your application is our first impression of you.
Step 3: Review of application. A volunteer will review and evaluate the information you have provided to determine if it is likely one of our rescued Irish Terriers would be a match for your home. A cursory review of the application is done within 24 hours of submittal. If you do not meet the adoption criteria for the current dogs, your application remains in our database until the perfect placement can be made.
Step 4: Veterinary Reference Check. A volunteer will verify your veterinarian as listed on your application to ensure that your current and past pets have received regular veterinary care, are up-to-date on vaccinations and spayed/neutered.
Step 5: Personal Reference Check. We will call and talk with the references you provide us in your application form.
Step 6: Interview. A volunteer will contact you via email and telephone to follow up on the information you have provided. Expect frank and blunt discussions and lots of questions. This is key to getting to know you on a personal level.
Step 7: Home Visit. A representative of ITRN will visit your home. We do this to view the environment that our redhead will be living in. We want to meet the other family members (2-legged and 4-legged) who our Irish will come in contact with on a daily basis. We are also verifying that the information you submitted on your application is accurate.
Step 8: Meeting. Once all of the above has been completed, when one of the Irish in our care seems like he or she might be a match for you, a volunteer will contact you to set up a potential meeting. Please note that sometimes the Irish comes along for the home visit and other times you must travel to meet the dog before adopting.
Step 9: Adoption. Once approved to adopt and the right dog is available, we require our adoption contract to be signed and the adoption fee is paid at the time the redhead goes home with you.