505-792-2846

If you wish to make a monetary donation, you may also donate via PayPal, or contact us if you prefer to donate by check.

1. Submit an Adoption Application, or call ADRTC at 505-792-2846.

Applications are available online. You can also call the ADRTC phone number from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. any day, and either leave a message, or talk to one of us. We generally return all calls in 48 hours, and most often in 2-4 hours. If you should not hear back from us, please try again, as sometimes numbers are not left accurately (remember the area code), or clearly enough to understand.

2. Complete an interview with a Placement Specialist.

This interview offers the Placement Specialist the opportunity to learn your needs, and the circumstances in which a dog will be living. This helps the Placement Specialist to understand what characteristics you will require a dog to have, and learn about your preferences. Your previous experience with dogs, other pets, and planned activities that are important, along with information in regard to your family, physical living area, and time to spend with a dog.

3. The Placement Specialist will make recommendations as to which dog(s) you should consider, and help to arrange an appointment for you to meet the dog(s) that are recommended as best meeting your needs. You *must* be able to visit us to meet the dog. We only adopt dogs to people who can come to visit and meet the dog at the foster home.

Sometimes, we don’t have a dog that will fit your needs at the time you are applying. Most times, we have dogs in foster care that will meet the needs of most families who apply to have a dog. We set up an appointment for your family to meet the candidate dog at the home of the fostering family. If the meeting goes well, and you desire to adopt the dog, and the Placement Specialist feels this is a good match, then a simple Adoption Contract is completed for the dog you will be adopting.

The Adoption Contract provides for the return of the adoption fee should the dog not work out in your home during the first 14 days. This is provided to all ADRTC dogs. While we never like to have dogs returned as a result of an unsuccessful match, we understand that this will happen–and should, as we would rather make an error by providing a family the chance to adopt a dog, than exclude a family from a potentially successful adoption because we are too careful. Our staff can never know all the circumstances of an adopting family, and dogs will react differently in a new situation than when living with a fostering family.

Our interest is in obtaining the best home for any dog that we rescue, and providing the ongoing support necessary to making the relationship as successful as we know how. We too, learn from every dog, and every new situation, and enjoy sharing our knowledge with others with the same interests. Thus, we offer lifetime counselling and support for every dog we place.

We welcome your questions at any time, before applying, during the process, and at anytime after you have adopted a dog. We also enjoy hearing about your adventures with your ADRTC dog.

While ADRTC is nonprofit, and in fact has only a volunteer staff–no staff members are paid, ADRTC does have costs. Every dog is spayed/neutered, and all vaccinations are given that are needed.

All dogs receive an Alaskan Collar with an identification tag from ADRTC that stays with them when they are placed. Many dogs also come with an additional training collar to make it easier to handle them.

Some dogs have additional medical needs from simple worming medication to the treatment of infections or injuries they sustained before rescue. Some dogs require bathing, as they arrive so dirty and often smelly that they cannot be adopted to anyone, or even brought into a foster home.

ADRTC attempts to use all public channels for advertising that we can identify and find useful in the task of locating good homes for dogs being fostered. This has never been sufficient, so ads are placed in local papers to inform more people of our services. These classified ads increase our costs substantially. Advertising costs can be averaged over a large number of dogs to provide an average cost, but no specific cost can truly be attached to an individual dog. Generally, 20% of the fees from adoption are paid to advertisers.

ADRTC retains a reserve fund for unexpected medical costs in the event of a dog becoming severely ill while in fostering, and to cover additional expenses incurred in running ADRTC. Some funds are used for specific items, such as reproducing forms and materials for Adoption Information. Other funds are kept as a reserve for future contingencies brought about by changing responsibilities and demands.

At least once a year, we endeavor to take on a “project dog”. These dogs are highly deserving of rescue, but may have a medical issue that requires a large outlay of funds to resolve. We hope to continue rescuing the special dogs that require us to have faith in people and their willingness to see another fine dog rescued that has exceptional expenses associated with the rescue, fostering, and placement, but a reserve fund is a good business practice that guarantees the dogs get good care while we are also raising funds through other means. We believe the public does care about special needs dogs, and will continue to support our work through generous donations, as well as through adopting other fine dogs we offer all year long.

Even if ADRTC were a well endowed foundation, it is likely that an adoption would still require the adopting party to demonstrate a financial commitment to the dog. Since an adopting party has to pay for future veterinary care–vaccinations, and regular checks–and quite possibly other medical care, we believe that each adopting family should be prepared to provide an assurance that they value the addition to their family by reimbursing ADRTC for the costs already incurred in rescuing the dog. If a family cannot afford to adopt the dog, then it may be best not to do so, as the dog has real costs in food and medical care at a minimum.

Unfortunately, northern breed dogs often do have additional costs in their own housing and maintenance. They do require a secure yard, bedding or crate, bathing and grooming, licensing, and protection from fleas and infection.

In general, a family should expect to pay $300-$700 a year for good dog food, and $300 a year in medical costs for a dog. Since most ADRTC dogs are between the ages of 1 and 3 years, they have an average of 10 additional years of life. The average adoption cost of $200 is a very minor cost when viewed as a percentage of the lifetime costs of the dog–and this analysis is a very positive one, as it assumes the dog never becomes ill and has additional medical costs.

The minimum lifetime costs for a dog should be viewed as an $8000-$10,000 commitment, and anyone signing an adoption contract must understand they are agreeing to make that as a minimum commitment. If there is any uncertainty as to the ability of a family to absorb these costs, then a dog is not necessarily a good addition to this family.

One of the most tragic calls we get all too regularly is the one that begins, “I need to have my dog go to rescue…” It usually continues with, “He/she is 8 years old, and we just can’t keep her/him…”

Such a northern dog is most likely to be killed sooner, rather than later. We have too many fine young dogs needing homes, and just cannot take on dogs that are older, as the public just does not call us or take an interest in older dogs. There are no retirement homes for older dogs, so when adopting a dog, consider the long term welfare of the dog, and be certain that the entire family is prepared to make the commitment to the dog that it expects to make to any other family member.

The Arctic Dog Rescue and Training Center, ADRTC, can not exist without foster homes. Currently, there are too few foster homes, as we only have one primary facility., Optimally, it is better if we only have 3 dogs being fostered in our home. This is a small number, and certainly not likely to be enough for the entire ABQ area.

Additional foster homes are highly desirable as new members helping in the fostering process make it possible for existing homes to “take a break”, and tend to other necessities of life. Our numerous volunteers also contribute to the easing of responsibility on foster home members, and volunteers are highly valued for this support. If you can volunteer even a few hours a month, your efforts are appreciated at ADRTC.

Since ADRTC is a small organization, just beginning its first year of existence, the process for becoming a foster home is relatively uncomplicated. We naturally prefer families who have a stable living situation and a fenced yard. Because we do handle a wide variety of northern dogs, we can selectively assign dogs to accommodate a range of housing/neighborhood situations.

Previous experience with northern dogs is highly desirable, but not essential if a love of dogs motivates the home to learn the breed habits and behaviors of the northern breeds. A desire to learn is as important as the desire to have dogs around all the time. A prospective member(s) should be prepared to always be learning and expanding their knowledge along with their experience.

Generally, the process of becoming a foster home comes about with the interested family calling ADRTC and expressing an interest. A telephone interview helps to establish an understanding of expectations on the part of the family, and ADRTC. While ADRTC is new to New Mexico and Albuquerque, we, the founders, have more than 10 years of experience with more than 400 dogs that we have personally rescued, fostered in our home, and trained before placing them in good homes.

We plan for a current foster home member to visit the new prospective foster home to survey the home and yard, and make any notes or recommendations which might prove helpful, or even essential in fostering a northern breed dog. At this visit, the visiting member can determine the needs and requirements that the foster home may have for equipment, training, or support. We believe in assisting each volunteer in learning as much as they can about these wonderful dogs.

The visiting member of ADRTC makes recommendations back to our Fostering Committee, which currently consists of 3 people. These recommendations help us to plan as to how to meet the needs of the prospective foster home. Provided we can meet all needs, and we feel that the foster home is equal to the challenges imposed in fostering northern breed dogs, we discuss participation with the family members of the new home, and determine the type of dogs that will best help them to begin the fostering experience.

At ADRTC, we consider it vital that all new foster homes receive *extensive* mentoring and training. We never leave the fostering of a dog to chance. Foster home members must be willing to communicate frequently and openly about all aspects of the fostering process. The fostering of a northern breed dog in ADRTC is not for the self-contained individualist, as it is a team effort with an emphasis on shared interdependence at all stages of the process.

At ADRTC, we believe the strength of the organization, and the success of the fostering experience requires sharing our strengths whenever, and wherever possible. This philosophy has in the past, enabled us to recruit numerous volunteers who assist the fostering process through their efforts, though they themselves do not foster dogs in their homes. This integration of abilities and talents requires an ability on the part of all members to function in a climate of mutual respect, open communication, and a sense of excellence in what we do together–the rescuing, fostering, training, and successful adoption of dogs to qualified families.

Since the organization of ADRTC depends on shared values rather than set regulations and rules, we mutually agree on the participation of members, and we are all used to working with considerable flexibility. New members who wish to foster will have the opportunity to have “easy” fosters while they learn more about what they themselves can and cannot contribute, and while they expand their knowledge of the northern breeds by having a variety of four pawed instructors marching through their homes. Instructors will vary from the older strong silent type, to young and brash firebrands who think they know everything about life, and who have enthusiasm far in excess of their judgment or socialization.

All foster homes start with only one dog at a time, and only take on an additional dog when they volunteer to do so, which may be never. Some foster homes will already have their own dogs, and find that they can only take in a limited number or type of dog and keep harmony in their home and neighborhood.

While a dog is being fostered, a foster home has the responsibility of increasing the dog’s assets. This may meaning additional training for the dog, improving the health status, or the emotional status of a dog. At ADRTC, dogs will not be simply “kept” until they are placed. Our ability to know the dog thoroughly, and enhance the value of each dog is what establishes ADRTC as a viable rescue organization.

All foster homes are expected to contribute to “marketing” of the dogs they foster, and act as the primary avenue of placement and follow up for the dogs placed by them. This requires a willingness and an ability to work well with many kinds of people with diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds. All foster homes and volunteers must adhere to the ADRTC mission statement: To rescue, foster, train and successfully adopt out northern breed dogs to qualified families in a climate of mutual respect, open communication, and a sense of excellence.