Geography Requirements
We are a relatively small rescue organization, and we perform home inspections to ensure the home and outdoor space/fences are safe for our dogs.
Unfortunately, we don’t have the volunteer bandwidth to travel greater distances to adopt to applicants who live outside the DFW Metroplex.
Our work focuses primarily on adopters in Dallas, Collin, Tarrant and Denton counties. If you live outside this area, we suggest you work with local rescue groups and shelters to find a dog.
Completing the Application
Our top priority is finding the home that best fits the needs of each dog. We evaluate each dog to determine what type of home environment would work best for it, and then do our best to match each dog to a wonderful adopter. In every case, we always choose the home based on what best meets the needs of the dog. Our procedures have changed over the past few years, but here’s how things work now. If you’re interested in adopting a dog, complete the application below.
Please FULLY answer ALL questions and provide as much detail as you can in your answers. That information is important, because it is used behind-the-scenes to see if what you are looking for is a potential match with the type of home needed by any of our dogs.
Veterinary Reference Checks
Once the application is reviewed and if the required vet reference checks are successful (it can take 7-10 days), you will receive an email letting you know that you are an approved adopter. If for some reason you are not approved, or we need additional information, we will also let you know that.
A positive Veterinary reference check looking 5 years back is required before adoption. At a minimum, your prior or current dogs should be current on vaccines, receive monthly heartworm medicine and receive annual exams.
Does Age Matter?
By the time a dog comes to MSRNT, it has lost at least one home. Our top priority is finding the home that can best meet the dog’s needs not only today, but for the remainder of the pet’s lifetime. We don’t want a dog to be adopted to a home where it could be displaced again down the road because its family now has young children and doesn’t have enough time for the dog, or because age is taking its toll on its owner and they can no longer give the dog the exercise or activity that it needs.
We do consider the age of the dog when matching him or her with its forever home. For example, if the dog is 1-3 years old we must consider that its lifetime could span 13-15 more years, so we look for a home that can handle a young, active dog and provide it with the exercise and stimulation it needs today, while still being able to care for the same dog as it ages and its needs change.
Conversely, depending upon its energy level (which we assess in a foster home), most adult or senior dogs will be happiest in a home that is calmer and quieter. Over the years our experience has shown that a senior dog is often a great fit with a senior ‘parent’ and younger dogs are happier in a home with a younger more active family.
While no one is guaranteed tomorrow, we do our best to make matches that reduce the chances of a situation where our dog may outlive its adopter.
After Approval
After you are approved, we ask you to be patient—waiting for the right dog who may be a match for you. If we find a potential match for you, we will reach out via email with a photo and information about that dog to gauge your interest. If you are interested, we can arrange a meet and greet. If you pass, that’s OK—your application will remain active for one year. If you don’t hear from us, it simply means there has not been a match.
Please understand that the nature of rescue work means that we usually can’t provide instant gratification. We are always getting new dogs, but we can’t predict the timing, or know what age/gender those new dogs will be.
Because we have some approved adopters waiting to adopt, at this time we are only working with experienced dog owners, and not accepting applications from first time dog owners. If you have Schnauzer experience and want to open your home to adopt a rescue dog, we encourage you to apply!
The system may not be perfect, but we are doing the best we can with the limited all-volunteer resources we have to work with. We greatly appreciate your understanding, patience and ongoing support!
Adoption Costs
Our adoption fee is a $400 tax-deductible donation. This defrays only a small portion of our expenses for the medical and other care we provide every Miniature Schnauzer we rescue, rehabilitate and rehome. We also treat some minis who require extraordinary care, including treatment by veterinary specialists, or necessary surgeries and medications.
Donations to support our work are always needed and very welcome!