Adopting with AFOT
Tootsie, our very first dog to be rehomed in 2018, meeting her new family.
A full 100% of our energies go into one sole aim – finding loving and caring homes for the abandoned, neglected, and abused dogs who have little or no future in Turkey.
Turkish (and indeed Foreign) Rescue dogs are different to UK Rescue dogs, some have tried to survive on the streets, suffered hunger, many have been in Turkish Government shelters which are death camps for dogs, some have been brought in as pups leaving their mothers too early and do not naturally have the skills their mother would have taught them. Some have suffered abuse in some form or another, some very mild, some severe, with the majority never living in a home. Most Turkish dogs are dog friendly as they have been used to getting along with other dogs either on the streets, shelters sanctuaries or enclosures, and what you do find with Turkish rescue dogs is the gratefulness they show you for adopting them, it is something very special, all adopters of Turkish rescue dogs will vouch for this.
Animal Friends of Turkey (AFOT) and their supporters go to extraordinary lengths and considerable expense to bring a single dog back to the UK.
Voluntary Adoption Donations
In return we expect something from those families who wish to adopt one of our dogs and offer it a chance of happiness, we place great value on these pets.
It costs AFOT between £2500-£3000 in order to rescue & rehome a dog from Turkey. This is before any illness or accident veterinary fees are taken into consideration.
Therefore, although this is a voluntary donation, preference will be given to the applications that can volunteer the donation below. This is only a suggested minimum donation, it can be greater of course. The remainder of the costs per dog over and above any donation made comes from funds raised by AFOT supporters and members of the public by fundraising, sponsorship, appeals and kind donations.
Our current minimum donation is £795 for all of the UK with the exception of Cornwall, Scotland & North Wales) which will be £995
Our current minimum donation for a dog in foster in the UK is £595
For Re-adoptions this will be discussed direct with the adopter
The voluntary donation can be donated in two instalments as follows:
• 50% (£397.50) payable within 3 days of receiving written confirmation of the adoption
• Remaining 50% (£397.50) payable 4 weeks before your pet is due to travel
• Please note if we are able to confirm a date for transportingyour dog within a month of written confirmation of adoption, then the full minimum donation is requested
If, after you have paid any donation whether it be a deposit or full donation, you change your mind, unfortunately we are unable to refund.
As we are a charity that often lives hand to mouth on the generosity of supporter donations, the offer of a donation can make the difference in making the transportation of their rescue dog possible thus enabling the rescue of another. Please note although the success of an application is not dependent on whether a donation is offered, it can have a positive influence in the consideration of an application due to the amount that has to be raised to get the dog to the UK.
All our dogs are neutered, chipped, wormed, flea-d and will be up to date with all their vaccinations before they leave Turkey. They will have had their teeth checked and cleaned (if necessary), their claws checked and cut (if necessary), along with a full blood count.
Please note, prior to any dog leaving Turkey the following disease testing will have been carried out:
Brucella
Leishmania
Anaplasia
E.canis
Heartworm
Official signed veterinary letters will be provided to you with test results.
ADVISORY: Cases of Leishmanias are found in Turkey, not unlike similar hot Countries, and whilst your dog has been health checked for this disease prior to its arrival to you, it is possible for this disease to lay dormant for up to 7 years. It is treatable if detected early so we would advise another blood test 12 months after arrival and familiarising yourself with the symptoms of the disease and should you be concerned book your dog in for an immediate blood test.
If you are keen on adopting one of our wonderful dogs then please browse through those currently available on this site, we work closely with our sister rescue MELEZ and if we are unable to match you with one of our own dogs we are always usually able to match a Melez one for you. If you are interested in adopting one in particular please mention this on your form. We operate with a successful matching procedure and whilst we will always try to match your preferred choice this may not always be possible.
Once we have confirmed an adoption in writing this dog will be reserved on our website and no other applications will be taken for it.
Our adopters are advised of when the dog can travel before written confirmation of the adoption is sent, this may only be a preliminary date as it is down to transport availability and is out of our control but you will be kept informed at all times. A lot of our dogs are travel ready and an adoption can go through fairly quickly. If a dog is undergoing the four month export process (Turkish regulations) they will be at different stages and the travel date will be based on where they are at that time. We offer a door to door delivery which can be by road (5 days) or by air/ferry 1-2 days into the UK. Our journeys can be followed via a private WhatsApp group set up specifically for the adopters and the AFOT Team. Once theyarrive into the UK our preferred UK transporter ‘Zoomies Pet Transport’ service will deliver your dog/cat safely to you.
Application and Home Check
We judge each application individually and on its own merit with the following set of criteria:
• We will not normally rehome to anyone who works full-time away from the home and is unable to offer our dogs the time and attention they deserve; for people who work from home, they must be able to demonstrate the dog will not be left alone for long periods. We do not normally rehome to people who have to leave their animals alone for more than 4 hours unless arrangements are in place for a dog walker or other family members who do not live in the family home
• We do not normally rehome a dog into a family with children under the age of 12 years, we would only consider this with good proven rescue experience and depending on the dog in question
• We will not rehome to anyone without a SECURE garden with boundary/fencing of a minimum 5 feet
• We will not rehome a dog into a home with un-neutered dog/s unless it can be shown this is for medical reasons with proof from a veterinary professional
• We will not rehome to breeders whether they are professional or casual breeders
• We will not rehome into a home where an animal in your care has been euthanised for reasons other than sickness or old age
• We will not rehome into a home where the applicant has previously handed back (for any reason) a previous animal
• We will not rehome to anyone other than the person applying living in the same home
• We will not rehome to anyone who has not had a dog before as an adult
• We will not accept applications from anyone under the age of 18
We very much wish to maximise the chance of finding the ideal match and we go to great lengths to bring the right dog and the right adopter together. It also helps to ensure we place our precious animals in a home that can deliver all those things set out above.
Once your online application has been approved, we will then process you to the next stage which will involve a phone call from one of our Team where we will carry out an initial phone check running through your application and asking any further questions we may have and explaining how we work. This also gives you the opportunity to ask any questions you may have. During this phone check we will discuss progressing your application to the home-check stage whereby arrangements will be made for a home check visit with a home check volunteer. We use a nationwide charity who offer this service, your ID will be required before a visit can be arranged. The AFOT team member who is dealing with your application will let you have the name of who will be carrying out the home-check and the home-checker will contact you direct to arrange a mutually convenient time. PLEASE NOTE: It is imperative that ALL members of the family are present at this visit.
After a successful home-check you will be required to complete a free compulsory webinar as part of our adoption process criteria before any adoption can be agreed.
If you are successful in adopting an AFOT dog you will require the following as a minimum in order to welcome your pet home:
AN ID TAG (UK LEGAL REQUIREMENT)
A LONG LEAD (NOT EXTENDABLE)
A STRONG COLLAR AND/OR HARNESS
SLIP LEAD
BOWLS FOR FOOD AND WATER
A COMFORTABLE BED
PUPPY PADS (EVEN FOR AN ADULT DOG UNTIL THEY LEARN OR FOR ACCIDENTS)
POO BAGS
TOYS
GROOMING EQUIPMENT
FOOD (FROM OUR RECOMMENDED LIST IN OUR WELCOME PACK)
TRAINING TREATS
A CRATE CAN HELP (BUT SPEAK TO OUR TEAM FOR ADVICE ON YOUR DOG’S REQUIREMENTS)
APPROPRIATE DOG SAFETY BELT FOR THE CAR (If intending taking in the car)
AND FINALLY…
If you are happy with our policies and would like to apply to adopt one of our dogs then please complete the adoption form by clicking here (your application will be acknowledged within 24 hours).
Please note Animal Friends of Turkey (AFOT) reserves the right to refuse any application.
