Why do I have to pay £5.00 to be registered
This fee is to prevent people from applying on impulse because they found the form on the web site and then not remembering they had done so when a dog was offered to them. This was an idea stolen from another rescue to try and ensure that those that applied were genuine about their request. It also ensures that the costs involved in processing the applications are covered without taking any money away from the dogs that need it. ▲
How long will I have to wait for a dog
The wait could be anything from a day to a year, every dog that becomes available for rehoming will be placed within a home within a 2 hour radius of his current location. Each dog requires a different type of home, some need to be placed with children and/or other dogs, whereas some need to be placed in a home where they are no other dogs and/or no children. Some are fine as someone's first bulldogs, whereas other need breed experience. We look at everyone waiting in the area until we find a home that matches that dogs requirements. If that's you then we call you and the rehoming process begins. If not you will stay on the file for a year. ▲
In order to maintain a solvent charity, we need to charge an adoption fee on every dog that is adopted. This fee is decided by the age of the dog and is the same regardless if we have spent £10 or £1000 on the dog before it could be rehomed:
You agree to paying this fee at the time of application and it will be requested when we send you the adoption papers ▲
Why do I have to be within a 2 hour radius of the dog's current location
There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, the waiting list is so extensive it is much easier to search in the area the dogs is already, but also by keeping the dog local means that the same volunteer can deal with the move from start to finish. We have also found in the past that where people are happy to travel long distances to collect a dog, they're not quite so keen to do so if for any reason the placement fails, besides it's fairer on the dog to keep his travelling time down and in the case that this is someone's first bulldog they really don't want to be dealing with a dog that's become distressed in the car on the M1 with 100 miles still to go. ▲
Why am I only kept on the list for a year
Because despite the fact that everyone that applies to us is asked to tell us if they get a bulldog from a different source, few of them actually do. It takes a long time to select and check a family for a dog and becomes very frustrating to be told at the end of it that they no longer want a bulldog from the rescue. Space is of course another factor, it became impossible to keep all of the applications but in reality you stay in the filing cabinet for 2 years although your application is only considered active for 1. ▲
Why am I not homechecked until there's a dog for me
Sadly, we don't have enough volunteers to homecheck everyone on application, but we've found that by doing the home check when there is a dog available for that specific family means we can check your home against that particular dog, making the home checking state much more reliable. ▲
If we receive your application form, but do not receive the relevant £5.00 administration fee we will send you an email requesting that you go to http://www.bulldogrescue.co.uk/applicationpayment.htm and complete the payment. Please ensure you quote the reference number that relates to your original application form. If you believe this email to have been sent in error, please forward your PayPal confirmation that would have been sent to you at the time of payment and we will use that as proof of payment. ▲
Sometimes we will receive your payment without actually receiving the application form itself. This is usually because after making the payment you didn't close the payment window in order to go back to the original application form to hit the submit button. In this case we will require that you return to the form at http://www.bulldogrescue.co.uk/application_form.htm and recomplete it using your original reference number (not the new one that will show). If you have problems with the on line version of the application form, you can instead use the print friendly version at http://www.bulldogrescue.co.uk/adoption_print.htm which can then either be faxed to 01730 815422 or posted to us at Bulldog Rescue, PO Box 18, Midhurst, West Sussex GU29 9LD. Again if you know the application reference number please remember to quote it, if not then just leave it blank but you must ensure that the name on the application matches the name on the payment or we won't know which payment to tally it to. ▲
I've applied for a bulldog but haven't heard anything yet, am I being ignored?
No you are not being ignored, we get a lot of applications in on a daily basis, and we aim to collect all the applications for a particular dog over a period of time and then look to see who is the most suitable so please don't reapply as it won't get you nearer the top of the list. ▲
My £5.00 administration fee has gone through but the application form rejected what do I do?
Do not use the "return to form" option if this happens to you as it will clear the form, instead use your back button and check that you have agreed to all the items in the declaration at the bottom or the form will not send. If you find it happens a second time please go to the print this form option and send it by post or fax but please ensure you include the same reference number as your payment and not the number that comes up on your second attempt ▲
