OK so you want to adopt a dog from a rescue here in NH
FIRST never adopt sight unseen.
Don't long distance adopt so a group can ship direct to you and avoid NH laws
Rescue groups in NH must be licensed as a shelter/rescue and have a home base IN NH. They can have foster homes that do not need to be licensed themselves as long as all adoptions are done at the licensed facility or Petco/Petsmart, not the foster home
Some groups try to get around this law by
being licensed as a broker. Brokers are NOT allowed foster homes.
NO LEGITIMATE rescue will be licensed as a
broker instead of a rescue/shelter. Doing so is just an effort to
circumvent NH
laws, in particular the quarantine and inspection laws. There is NO
EXCUSE for a legitimate rescue to operate in NH without a proper
shelter/rescue license!!
MAKE SURE the group you deal with has a NH RESCUE/SHELTER license.
Make sure the dog is in a foster home for a period of time before you adopt it.
Make sure the dog has a current (less than 2 weeks old) health certificate issued by a NH veterinarian
There is a blog entry is making the rounds about how the "new" NH law regarding foster homes is killing shelter dogs. There is no new law, the state merely clarified the current rules making it clear that BROKER licensed rescues could not have foster homes (and they were never supposed to!).
In contrast there are MANY properly licensed NH rescues who work hard to follow the laws and provide carefully screened adoptors with the best and healthiest dog for their home
For more about the laws regarding NH
Rescues and the difference between a legitimate properly licensed group
and a Broker licensed group, click here
North East's Miss Madeline (Maddie). Was a baby girl born April 7, 1999 Maddie Came to us as a scared, fearful, snarly 8 1/2 week old . We were her last hope and if we could not straighten her out she would be euthanised. We kept her awhile, trained and socialized and Maddie was successfully adopted out to a family who loved her
North East's Tonka (Tonka) Tonka was a boy born July 24, 1999. His mom (Shayna) was picked up as a stray in Massachussetts and was sent to a shelter foster home where one night she gave birth to 5 pups! Tonka was adopted successfully
North East's Tessa (Tessa) was a sweet
petitie young lady who was born approximatly Sept 1 1999. Until Nov. 26
1999 she had never seen the outside of the basement where she was born!
She had fleas and every worm known to dogs. (We got rid of all of those
pests right away!)
The entire world was new to her and some of it is a bit scarey. However
Tessa had a sound temperament and by the time we adopted her to her new
home in January she was a perfectly normal puppy!
North East's Shenandoah (Shannon) was
found on a snowbank in a store parking lot by a man driving a snow plow
in Maine. We never discovered if she was dumped by someone or somehow
got "misplaced".
She was born sometime in December of 1999 and after several months with
us was adopted successfully to a very experienced home.
North East's Chief Brody (Brody) was born into rescue. His mom , Charlotte, was picked up as a stray and it soon became apparent that Charlotte was expecting! Brody was born 2/3/00 in a litter of 10. Brody was adopted in 2000 but 1 year later he was returned after he was permantly disabled in a front leg by a car accident. He was later adopted by the same family that adopted Maddie above!
Brokers
have NEVER supposed to have foster homes. NEVER.
rule clarification is at 1704:10 e
Some "rescue" groups have chosen to have a broker license for their own reasons (My personal suspicion is that it is to get around premises inspections and the 48 hour quarantine and NH vet exam/health certificate) Broker definition is at 437:2 in the link below
Legitimate rescue groups with a NH Shelter / rescue license are inspected randomly at hours convenient for the license holder, must hold dogs 48 hours after importation to NH and obtain a NH vet exam and health certificate. There are MANY NH rescue groups so licensed that obtain their dogs from as far away as Texas and California. (and a group can partner with a boarding kennel to be their inspectable premises instead of a group member's home)
Legitimate rescue groups with a proper shelter/rescue license can indeed still foster dogs. (1704:10) The dogs can be placed into fosters to address behavioral or medical rehabilitation. ALL dogs pulled from shelters need at minimum a few days to a week in a foster home to address behavioral issues- house manners, housebreaking, crate training, and medical issues-parasite treatment, bladder infections, respiratory symptoms etc, etc.. so meeting the state guidelines is not hard
Two examples of legitimate rescue groups properly licensed by the state of NH are https://www.facebook.com/NorthEastRottweilerRescue?fref=ts and https://www.facebook.com/4tLoD?fref=ts
There is NO legitimate reason a rescue would have only a broker license and be operating in NH. NONE.
Additionally the occasional operator section (1706) does NOT allow joe schmoe to sell dogs in Walmart parking lot to unsuspecting adopters. There are VERY specific rules for this unlicensed groups and individuals to do this including a quarantine and vet exam/ veterinary presence .
DO NOT believe the frenzy these people are causing (and they are creating a nightmare at the state vet office which is already very underfunded and now flooded with calls and emails from the misinformed.)
Choose rescues to deal with in NH that are properly licensed and do NOT deal with rescues licensed as only brokers
Here are the actual rules. They are VERY clear and not rocket science (5 links below)
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rules/state_agencies/agr1700.html
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/XL/437/437-mrg.htm
Broker Application: http://agriculture.nh.gov/publications-forms/documents/broker-license-application.pdf
Shelter Application (Rescues need this one): http://agriculture.nh.gov/publications-forms/documents/animal-shelter-application.pdf
Commercial
Kennel Application (10 or more litters/year or 50 or more dogs/pups): http://agriculture.nh.gov/publications-forms/documents/commercial-kennel-application.pdf
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Diane Richardson P.O. 160 Georges Mills, NH 03751 (603) 558-9042 click the howling puppy to email us! |