Safe At Last Animal Rescue

Safe At Last Animal Rescue is an all-volunteer not-for-profit group dedicated to saving the lives of shelter animals. Every day, staggering numbers of wonderful animals are discarded in shelters across the country. Irresponsible pet ownership -- be it, the failure to spay/neuter or follow through on one's commitment -- results in a tragic loss of life. We, at Safe At Last, feel these animals need a voice. It is Safe At Last's mission to help ease the suffering, as well as stop it at its source. We do this by taking animals into our organization from shelters across the country, fostering them in our homes, providing them proper veterinary care, and then matching them with wonderful forever homes. Further, to help assist with the financial plight in many of the shelters, we send the bulk of our adoptions fees back to the shelters. We also do fundraisers to raise much needed monies for the shelters, many of which are barely able to keep their doors open. These funds assist the shelters in buying the basics (food & medicines) for the continuing influx of animals. These monies also allow the shelters to provide more advanced medical care (e.g., heartworm treatment, special surgeries), thus increasing the likelihood that these animals will be able to get to rescue. Safe At Last is also working directly with shelters to assist in facilitating adoptions directly from those facilities. This not only gets more animals out of the shelters and into forever homes, but also provides much-needed financial support. Finally, Safe At Last is dedicated to education (both online and event-related). Educational efforts are multi-dimensional. We educate relative to stopping the overpopulation problem at its source, by emphasizing the need to spay and neuter. We also educate to increase awareness regarding animals already in need, stressing adoption via rescue rather than pet shops or breeders. Finally, we educate regarding responsible pet ownership and general "pet-related" matters. At Safe at Last, we remain committed to saving shelter pets, one life at a time.

The adoption process will begin with an extensive adoption application, accessible on our website. In addition to a series of questions (e.g., to ascertain the adopter's likes/dislikes, lifestyle, and general suitability), the application will require, among other things, a veterinary reference and two personal (non-family member) references. In lieu of a veterinary references, we will require 3 personal references. We will also require submission of digital photos of home and yard, as well as a home visit. Approved adopters will be required to take their pup or dog to the vet within 7 days of adoption. Each animal adopted from Safe At Last will go home with a medical booklet, complete with all details of vetting done prior to adoption, with explicit instructions as to the follow up required. All animals will be UTD with all age appropriate shots prior to adoption, and barring any health reasons that would preclude it, they will be placed on topical protection for fleas/ticks, and based on age, also started on heartworm preventative (or provided with the first dose). Any animals older than 4 months will be spayed/neutered before adoptions. For animals under 4 months old, the adoption contract will require spay/neuter by the time the animal is 6 months of age. We will require proof of same and will assign one of our members to have the task of following up on proof of spay and neuter. Under the contract, the adoptive family will not "own" the animal until we have received proof of spay and neuter. Failure to have the surgery performed will allow us, under the contract, to reclaim the pet.