Looking to adopt a dog or puppy?

You should look further than your local animal shelter!

Have you been on the fence about adopting a puppy from Path of Hope? There are so many dog rescues out there that it can be hard to decide which rescue to adopt your next dog or puppy from. At Path of Hope Rescue, we offer long-distance adoptions.

Let’s hear from one of our Long-Distance Adopters, turned PHR volunteer, Merlene:

A little foster rescue puppy with dark brown fur long tail floppy ears and big beautiful eyes named Butterscotch standing on a white soft bedding with all 4 legs looking to jump forward — Butterscotch (F), one of our foster puppies who’s still looking for a foster home (Path of Hope Facebook)

“I have three rescue dogs that I adopted as puppies, all without having met them in person first. Adopting a puppy as a long-distance adopter does not have to be a scary concept.

Would I have preferred to adopt from a local shelter and skip the online process? Sure. But, sometimes the dog you are looking for isn’t available at your local shelter or dog rescue group and you have the option of either waiting for a local dog to become available or expanding your search criteria to other geographic locations.

For example, the dog that is right for you and your household might require a road trip to eastern Washington or saying “yes” to a dog at a Texas rescue and patiently waiting for weeks for that dog to arrive.

No matter which option you choose, the right dog or puppy for your family is out there. It might just take a bit more effort to get your dog home.

A little foster puppy still available for adoption with white brown dark fur big floppy eyes tiny paws and eye round eyes named Tony Bennett sitting on beige human sofa with baseball and soft cushion — I think he wants a forever home. What do you think? (Path of Hope Facebook)

I was late to the game in adopting a pandemic puppy in 2020. By the time I reached the decision to adopt a new family member, the shelters were pretty much cleared out of adoptable pets in the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area.

I have two senior cats and wanted to adopt a puppy so that the puppy could grow up with cats and have a good relationship with them. My first rescue puppy was from Path of Hope, a dog rescue I found via a PetFinder search for puppies with a distance of “anywhere”.

The Schitt’s Creek litter was being advertised at the time. After seeing those cute puppies, I headed over to Facebook to learn all about Path of Hope Rescue and started following the rescue.

It was just a few days later that the Sara Lee’s Pie Babies litter arrived off Texas transport in Spokane, and I put in my application before the puppies were even advertised on PetFinder. I ultimately adopted Rhubarb Pie from the Sara Lee’s Pie Babies litter.

A young foster puppy waiting at a dog rescue in Spokane Washington with white black bicolor fur short legs round body big floppy ears and curious eyes standing on sidewalk and dirt looking up — Breadstick (M) is around 10 weeks old and still looking for a loving home (Path of Hope Facebook)

Here are some things I appreciate about my experience with Path of Hope as a long-distance adopter:

They respond to every application they receive, whether or not the dog you apply for is still available. If the dog you want is spoken for, they tell you about other dogs that are available for adoption.
They have matchmakers that set up an interview with you to talk about you and your household, what you are looking for in a dog, what your housing situation and neighborhood are like, and recommend dogs based on all that information. The puppy I adopted was not the one I applied for. Because I live in an urban area with a lot of foot traffic by my house, the matchmaker matched me with a dog that was confident and not afraid of city traffic noise, and that did not tend to bark as a first reaction.
They care about where the dogs and puppies will be living happily-ever-after, and want to make sure that your set-up will be compatible with the dog or puppy you want to adopt. While my home inspection was done in person by a Portland-based home inspection team member, long-distance adopters have a video home inspection via FaceTime or Zoom. (Note: The rescue is always looking for more people to volunteer in roles such as the home inspection team, which can be done from anywhere. You can Apply Here.)
All the dogs and puppies live in foster homes where the fosters have an opportunity to get to know the dogs and share that information with the matchmakers. This helps ensure the best match possible.
Path of Hope has an in-home trial period. If it doesn’t work out for some reason during the trial period, you have the ability to return the dog to the rescue. While I didn’t adopt an adult dog, the in-home trial period is a week long for adults so you can really get to know the dog and make sure that dog is a good fit for you and other household pets.

A little young rescue puppy still up for adoption with white brown dark fur and cute ears big sad eyes called Brioche lying on green blue striped bedding next to a dog both looking at camera — Can you believe this sweet little guy hasn’t been adopted yet!? (Path of Hope Facebook)

They have a great new policy that all dogs and puppies will be spayed or neutered before going to their forever homes. When I adopted my puppy in 2020, I ended up making two trips to Spokane. The first trip was to pick him up at 8 weeks old, and the second trip was to get him neutered at his pre-scheduled appointment with the rescue spay/neuter vet. This felt like a lot of travel, but it was worth it to get the puppy I wanted during a pandemic. With the new policy, if you are adopting long-distance, all that vet care is taken care of before you pick up your new dog or puppy.
They encourage getting dogs and puppies into training and have a $100 training refund upon completion of 6 hours of a dog training course. I don’t know of any other rescues that do this. It is a great incentive to get your dog enrolled in classes and have that bonding time together.
Spokane is a beautiful city, and the drive to get there was an enjoyable road trip with a good friend. If you like to go on road trips, why not go on a road trip with purpose and bring home your new family member?

As you think about adopting a dog or puppy, I encourage you to consider Path of Hope and search further than your local animal shelters.. Best wishes as you search for the perfect dog or puppy to add to your family.”

To Learn more about our long-distance adoption process, visit our Adoption Process Long Distance page.

Merlene. Social Media Liaison at PHR.

Did someone say Cute Puppies!? We have a webpage called Available Dogs for all of our foster dogs & puppies who are still waiting for their forever homes and loving humans. Who knows, it could be You!

There are many stray dogs living on the streets of Texas, and we need your support to save them. Why don’t you head to our Why Texas page to learn about our mission? If you wish to support us directly, our Donation page is always open.

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