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It's been almost 2 months now that my girl Pearl has been gone and i am starting to miss the wonderful companionship of a Border Collie. I find myself staying up late surfing the web for a dog to adopt.

 

I am friends with a number of folks who volunteer at the local rescue, they have been hinting strongly that i should adopt a dog from our shelter.These are really dedicated rescue people who have rehabbed and found homes for some dogs(lots of pit mixes) that must have been very difficult to find good homes for. I would love to support their efforts, but I have my heart and mind set on a Border Collie. I would also like to support the AZ. Border Collie Rescue, but haven't seen any dog that seems right for me yet.

 

 

Online, I have seen a few dogs that may want to adopt me. Most of these are in far-away states, there seems to be alot of border collies east of the mississippi.

 

I am curious if it is possible to adopt a dog from a far-away state rescue?

would they even consider someone not from their area?

 

 

I'm feeling a little guilty about looking for a dog from somewhere not local, I know that if i wait long enough a close by dog will be available , but I dont want to wait more then a few months at most. Is this guilt justified? I figure a dog rescued is a dog rescued.

 

Any tips on the adoption process?

 

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when I was looking for a border collie in the rescue system, I was having the same problem as you, but backwards. all the dogs I wanted to adopt were west of the Mississippi! there were no dogs close to me that suited- blue ridge b.c. rescue. mid atlantic, buckeye, Carolina b.c.rescue or Atlantic region. the closest was 10 hrs away at glenhighland. there was also one out in Portland. Or. that I was interested in. neither rescue was too interested in adopting to me. I can understand Portland ;-), but was annoyed at glenhighland as I was willing to make the drive to meet the dogs and spend time there. I've adopted before from rescue (Carolina b.c. rescue, the girl in my avatar) so I was discouraged.

it seems there are cycles on where dogs are available. probably in another month or so something will come up in your area. also get in touch with Arizona b.c. rescue, fill out an app and let them know what you are looking for. sometimes dogs come in and never make it to the web page as they have a perfect home on file.

I put out word to the border collie community around me that I was looking and found a great dog that was not in the system but needed a new home.

so to answer the question- most rescues will not adopt out of their range. some will if you make some greater effort like driving the distance or getting a home visit from a sister organization. if you see a dog you believe is good for you, make the effort, they can only say no, push a little and if they still say no, then move on. unfortunately there is always another border collie in need.

good luck and keep the faith.

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Well, adopting local will let you know more about a dog as you can meet it. Having said that, my best choices where made Via a picture. So there is that.

I do know All Border Collie of Texas does out of state adoptions. Maybe worth checking out their dogs.

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I agree with rufftie that letting your local/regional Border Collie rescue(s) know what you are looking for will greatly increase your chances. I volunteer for Blue Ridge BC Rescue, and we have quite a few adopters that have gone through the approval process and are just waiting for the 'right' dog to come along. And because of this, some dogs do not make it to the website.

 

Three specific suggestions:

1) If your local rescue(s) will pre-approve you for a dog, go through the process so the rescue is more easily able to place a dog with you right away. Don't wait until the 'right' dog shows up on the website.

2) Don't be too specific in your description of the ideal dog for you. Otherwise the rescue may not think you want a dog that could be perfect for you. We can't read your mind. You don't have to adopt the first (or second) dog that they think may fit.

3) Keep in touch with the rescue maybe once a month to make sure they know you are still waiting. At the same time, if you find a dog elsewhere, please let them know.

 

Good Luck.

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I don't know what you are looking for, but Eli is very pretty in utah. https://www.allpaws.com/adopt-a-dog/border-collie-mix/731827

 

I think you would have to just contact others outside of your area or check out their website. Some definitely say they will transport and there is an extra fee or you can come and pick them up. Others just do not do it, I think most in Illinois do not. My daughter's fiance wanted to get an australian shepherd there and we live in Indiana less than 3 hours from the place and they would not let him have it. He even told them he would drive the dog back every few months at first if they needed him to, his parents even live in Illinois and they still would not let him have it. That dog lost a very nice home unfortunately.

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Pearl's Pop, there are many many many more dogs in our system than are featured on our web page for AzBCR. Some of them are still in preparation for being made adoptable, some are young puppies who will likely never make it to the website because we have approved applicants just waiting for puppies and they tend to get snapped up. New dogs are kept a minimum of 2 weeks before being made available so we know how best to match them up with the best family.

 

It's not unusual for a dog to be adopted out before ever makinge it onto the website when it is a match for an already approved applicant. Your best bet is to submit an app and go through the approval process so when the right dog comes along (and it may be in our foster system right now) you will be ready. Also, several of our incoming dogs/stories show up on our FB page, I believe. There's a big adoption event this weekend in Phx. Many of our dogs will be there and so it's an opportunity to meet several of them in one place. Feel free to p.m. me if you'd like any more info.

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I think one reason that many rescues don't encourage out-of-area adoptions is because they want to be able to follow up on dogs and it's difficult to do that when people are far away.

 

The rescue I volunteer with will consider some out-of-area adoptions if the apps are very promising, but we don't ship dogs, so people have to be willing to come and meet the dog, and also to be prepared to return the dog to us if things don't work out as hoped. This alone precludes many people from qualifying as they simply can't, or don't want to, make that commitment. And we have to be able to find someone to do a home visit for us, though that's usually manageable.

 

That said, though we're in the Northeast, we have adopted a few dogs to Canada, surrounding US states, and one that I know of to California.

 

It also sounds like there may be more dogs available in AZ that you'd realized, too. So be sure to get your application in there and get the word out that you're looking and available to adopt.

 

So find out what the policies are for rescues you might be interested in adopting from, and if you feel you can meet their requirements and are willing to travel, by all means go ahead and apply and let them know that you're willing to do what it takes to make it work.

 

Oh, and as for not wanting another type of dog, I think most people here will empathize with that. After all, after a border collie anything else is just a dog. B)

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Sounds like going and being able to see many at the same place would be good but bless you for doing a rescue, there are so many dogs out there that need a home. It breaks my heart, I wish I could take them all but alas financially I cannot do that and give them all the proper care they would need.

 

You will know the right one when you see it. We lost our beloved American Eskimo 3 1/2 years ago. I have been looking every since but my husband could not bring himself to get another yet until we saw Mya's picture. I had shown him many others that I liked but the moment we saw her picture we knew she had to be ours. We went to see her and knew she was the one to bring home. So let your heart lead you to the right one.

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Thank you everyone for reading and answering.

 

i will be filling out applications asap, starting with AzBCR.

 

.

i agree/believe that meeting a dog is better then choosing from a picture and description. my first intro to Pearl was a short video, i was not impressed. the next day I went to meet her, when i sat on the ground and she put her paw on my knee and looked in my eyes I knew she was going home with me.

 

i dont know if i can make the azbcr adoption event this weekend but have marked my calendar for the next one.

 

btw it was Brody that caught my eye and prompted me to post this question.

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I can say it is probably good that they are so strict and ask that you fill out adoption forms and go through the process. I have heard about several here in Indiana that people adopted and then moved and actually left the poor animals behind by themselves. Thank goodness they were found and taken back into the system so they could be adopted out again but I cannot imagine how those poor babies felt. I cannot believe people could be so cruel to such sweet souls. There is nothing more loyal or loving than a dog I believe.

 

Bless you again for giving a good home to one. We will be looking forward to pictures when you decide which is right for you.

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Nancy has already said most of what I was going to say, but let me confirm that many of my fosters were snapped up before they ever appeared on our website. Needless to say, they were extra "special" dogs who went to fantastic homes. Our adoption coordinators work hard to match the dog with the right home (and vise versa). I strongly urge you to put in your application so that you get into our system and we can help you find the right match.

 

Oh and by the way, we (and many other rescues) do adopt out of state. It's a lot of extra work, so it's not very common, but it does happen.

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Some rescues will do long distance adoptions and some won't.

 

We had this discussion just a short while ago with our BC rescue group. We will do long distance adoptions, but all of our application/adoption rules still apply. That means if there are any children in the home we must have someone do a home visit, if not pictures of the home and yard are ok. The adoptor must also travel to the foster home to meet the dog. We figure if someone is willing to travel many miles just to visit the dog (no guarantees) they have probably put a good amount of thought into it.

 

We have two rescued BC's that we adopted from neighboring states, one way trip to visit them was 4 to 5 hours. I also went to see one that was a 6 to 7 hour drive and decided she was not right for our home.

 

Gina

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I got my application in azbcr and emailed about a few others in az.and have a lead on a possible dog in my town.

 

 

in my younger days i probably would have jumped in my car and driven anywhere to adopt a dog, but age has given me the sense to see that i should adopt closer to home.

 

i went back to my local dog park yesterday and met a gorgeous 3yr BC girl, reminded so much of pearl.

 

i hope to be posting about my adoptee sooner then later.

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