• At HOMEWARD BOUND Large Breed Rescue, our goal isn't to find each dog the fastest home — it's to find the right home. Every dog receives individualized care and evaluation before adoption, and every potential adopter goes through a screening process designed to create safe, lasting matches.

    From Rescue to Adoption-Ready

    Dogs come to HOMEWARD BOUND from many circumstances, including shelters, owner surrenders, stray situations, and cases of neglect or emergency need.

    Once in our care, each dog receives appropriate veterinary care and time to decompress in a foster home whenever possible. During foster care, we learn about their personality, energy level, training, behavior, and compatibility with people and other animals.

    Dogs may also receive training, behavioral support, or additional medical treatment when needed.

    Before adoption, we make every effort to disclose all known medical, behavioral, and placement needs so potential adopters can make an informed decision.

    Ready to Adopt? Here's What You Need to Know 📝

    Our adoptions are not first-come, first-served. We select the applicant we believe is the best match for each individual dog based on the dog's needs, personality, and long-term well-being.

    Submitting an application — or meeting our basic adoption requirements — does not guarantee approval or adoption of a particular dog.

    As part of our adoption process, applicants should expect:

    A veterinary reference and review of current/recent veterinary history

    A phone interview

    Personal and/or professional reference checks

    A virtual or in-person home visit

    A meet & greet when appropriate

    Additional screening or placement requirements based on the individual dog

    Veterinary Requirements 🩺

    We take preventive veterinary care seriously.

    Unless there is a verifiable medical reason documented by a veterinarian, current household pets are expected to:

    ▪️Receive routine veterinary care and appropriate vaccinations

    ▪️Be spayed or neutered

    ▪️Be maintained on year-round heartworm prevention

    ▪️Be maintained on appropriate flea and tick prevention

    Veterinary records and/or references are verified as part of the application process.

    Please review these requirements before submitting an application. Applicants who do not meet our veterinary-care requirements may not be approved.

    Finding the Right Match ❤️

    Approval is about more than checking boxes. We consider the needs of the individual dog alongside the applicant's household, lifestyle, other animals, experience, environment, schedule, and ability to provide appropriate lifelong care.

    Some dogs may require a fenced yard, another dog in the home, no cats, no small animals, no young children, breed experience, or other specific accommodations. These requirements are determined individually and will be disclosed whenever known.

    An applicant may meet HOMEWARD BOUND's general adoption requirements and still not be the appropriate match for a particular dog.

    Meet & Greet & Adoption 🐕

    Applicants selected to move forward may meet the dog and speak with the foster family about the dog's routine, personality, training, and known needs. Resident-dog introductions may also be required when appropriate.

    Once an adoption is approved:

    The adoption contract is signed, the adoption fee is collected, and available veterinary records and transition information are provided.

    Our dogs are adopted as indoor companion animals and may not be sold, given away, rehomed, transferred, or surrendered to another person, rescue, or shelter.

    If you can no longer keep a HOMEWARD BOUND dog at any point in their life, you must contact HOMEWARD BOUND and the dog must be returned to the rescue in accordance with the adoption contract.

    After Adoption 🏡

    Our responsibility doesn't disappear when a dog goes home. We're available to help with transition questions, adjustment concerns, and other issues that may arise.

    We ask adopters to remember that moving into a new home is a major transition. Even a dog who behaved one way in foster care may need time to adjust to a new environment, people, animals, routines, and expectations.

    Our goal isn't simply an adoption. It's an adoption that lasts.

    HOMEWARD BOUND Large Breed Rescue

    Healing, Hope, Home.