Our Return Policy

By entering into the Adoption Contract with Spirit of Hope Rescue (hereafter SOHR), you are agreeing to take guardianship of an animal and all responsibilities for its care.  These responsibilities include, but are not limited to, providing:  adequate shelter, routine and emergency veterinary care, regular grooming, complete nutrition, frequent activity, supervised socialization, and behavioral training.  Your application to adopt an animal through SOHR has been approved based on the information that you provided including, but not limited to, the applicant's:  financial ability, family stability, and sincere willingness to work through any challenging or problematic behaviors.

All domestic animals require training.  SOHR strongly encourages that you, the adopter, invest the time and financial resources in shaping the pro-social behaviors of your animal by completing either obedience training or seeking the assistance of a professional trainer.  SOHR will provide the adopter with a one-time refund of $50 when provided with proof of completion of obedience training.

Our team of volunteer Adoption Counsellors make every effort to match the right dog to your home to ensure it is the right fit for you, your family and your lifestyle.  There is a two week trial adoption period that if, for whatever reason there is an issue with the dog fitting into your home, the dog may be returned to SOHR and a refund of 50% of the adoption fee will be provided.  No refunds will be made after the two-week trial adoption period has ended.

No animal adopted from SOHR, is to be given away, surrendered to another rescue or shelter, or advertised for sale by you, the adopter, without the expressed written permission of SOHR.  It is the adopter's responsibility to contact SOHR to discuss options for re-homing the dog.  Options may include, but are not limited to:  re-homing the dog to a family member or friend of the adopter; SOHR advertising for a new foster or adopter through its website, public and private social media pages or third-party websites; having the adopter work with a reputable trainer or behaviorist; seeking a placement with an out of province rescue; and all at the adopter's expense and/or at SOHR's discretion.

SOHR is not a public shelter and does not have a holding facility for its animals.  If the adopter is no longer willing or able to care for their animal, SOHR may require the adopter to explore other placement options as noted above before accepting an animal's return to rescue.  SOHR is a foster based rescue; therefore a foster must first volunteer to accept a surrendered animal into their home home if the adopter requests to return the animal to rescue.  Until a suitable foster or adoptive home is found, it is expected that the animal will remain with the original adopter, suitably cared for as required by the Adoption Contract and law, until such a time as that animal can by placed by SOHR.  Once an appropriate foster home becomes available, SOHR will contact the adopter to arrange for the animal to be delivered to the designated foster home.