My experience of adopting a rescue dog in Ireland
It has been two years since I adopted my first dog. Even though I was inexperienced in terms of having my own dog, I had cats when I lived in Italy and I did some dogsitting for friends while in London.
When I arrived in Ireland in 2018 I even did some pet sitting for Airbnb owners who weren’t at home during the day! In hindsight they should have paid me for my service.
A match made in heaven
Animal rescues are at capacity and they constantly ask the general public to help them by adopting their cats, dogs and other animals.
I contacted two different rescue centres and filled out their adoption form. I looked through several pages of beautiful dogs waiting for their forever home and it was a tough choice as they all deserved a better life.
I was interested in adopting a collie or collie mix because I love how intelligent they are. They need a lot of exercise and mental stimulation, but also they tend to be fairly healthy throughout their lives, which is a bonus.
My first request for adoption in one rescue centre wasn’t successful but the second request I made in another centre got the go ahead. The second rescue centre was the Galway SPCA. For context, I was going for a walk in my neighbourhood and I saw a couple walking their dog. I asked them where they got their dog from and they said they rescued it from the Galway SPCA. They also said they were very impressed with the way the centre is run and the volunteers.
I agreed with the Galway SPCA that I would foster my dog for a while to get to know him and then fill out the paperwork for the adoption.
Fostering is a great way to have the companionship of a pet with a lot of support from a rescue centre. You also get dog food supplies as part of the deal.
The adoption or fostering process follows these steps:
you first have a phone interview with the rescue centre after you have filled out your form
you have an in person meeting with a volunteer who visits your home to assess its suitability, in particular if you have an enclosed garden
you meet the dog in person and bring him home.
Because I don’t have a car the centre kindly arranged to deliver my dog straight to my home with their van.
I was quite nervous and I wanted to make a good impression so I baked some chocolate brownies for the volunteer!
We spent some time talking about what my dog needed, his habits and how/when to feed him. Thankfully my dog seemed to feel calm and safe in my home, which was a relief.
The adoption form
You need to fill out a detailed adoption form to express an interest in fostering or adopting a rescue dog. The information will help the centre with matching you to a dog; of course, you can say which dog you have seen on the website that you would like to adopt. However, the volunteers may advise you against your choice in case your lifestyle and/or the dog’s character and habits (including any medical conditions) are not a good fit.
The form includes questions about your work schedule, how many hours a day you can commit to look after your dog, whether you have a secure garden and whether you have an active lifestyle.
There are also questions about your previous experience living with a pet, and whether you already have other pets at present – sometimes rescue dogs may need to be the only pet in one household as they may suffer from anxiety or may not get along with cats, for example.
In many cases, the rescue centre will say whether a dog can live with small children or if older children are better suited.
Galway SPCA’s adoption fee stands at 250 euro in 2024. The fee covers the costs for neutering, microchipping, vaccinating, de-worming and applying flea treatments to the animal that is up for adoption.
Once you pay the adoption fee the microchip information gets updated with your details.
My first weeks with my rescue dog
On the day I was going to meet my new foster dog I was very nervous and excited. The dog seemed to be curious about a new environment and was quiet, observant and well behaved.
Shortly afterwards I took him around the neighbourhood for a short walk and he was a dream walking with the lead: he was very obedient and didn’t pull.
In the evening I could see that he wanted to stay awake at all costs and he was standing up while his eyelids really wanted to close. He didn’t bark or do anything much. He probably thought this was just a temporary stopover.
Come night time, I was worried that he might feel scared: I could hear him downstairs walking around the living room, his nails tip tapping on the floor. It turned out he simply needed to pee so I let him out.
The following morning, after I didn’t sleep much because I was trying to listen for any noises, I went downstairs and he was happily sleeping but even happier to have his breakfast! We went for a lovely walk and then he took a nap.
The first three days he was behaving like a polite guest, checking in with me before doing anything. The thought of this big responsibility of looking after a fairly large and strong dog was daunting.
They say that dogs shouldn’t sleep in your bed. On the third night, I sat on the floor in the living room next to my dog’s bed and I felt sad because I would have loved to keep him company overnight. I don’t know if he sensed what I was feeling, but as I walking up the stairs to go to sleep, he followed me! I was over the moon!
I must say that I feel safer and can sleep better knowing that my dog is sleeping at the end of my bed.
After three months, I noticed that he was really settling in nicely. From behaving like a guest he was gaining confidence and now our “family dynamic” is that I am his butler. Throughout the first few weeks in the lead up to the formal adoption, the volunteers at Galway SPCA kept in touch regularly giving me advice and enjoying seeing my updates and pictures as my dog and I were building a bond.
It was time to complete the adoption process so I finalised all the paperwork and made it official shortly after.
Paperwork for dog owners
On top of the adoption papers, dog owners also need to obtain a dog licence from the post office. This is required by law. You can either buy an annual dog licence for 20 euro or a lifetime licence for 140 euro.
After you pay the fee you receive a paper certificate in the post that you need to keep in case a dog warden needs to check it.
After that, it’s our job as dog owners to look after our pets and give them the best life possible.
To wrap things up, I can say that my dog rescued me more than I rescued him.
If you want to support animal shelters, I would suggest you donate to organisations such as the Galway SPCA and any other local centre because they are doing a fantastic job and the volunteers need all the help they can get.
Eh eh, l'ho fatto apposta! Si chiama Milan 🐶
I adopted a dog in Italy and called him Paddy!