Procedure:

 

1. Rescue contacts the Home Visitor and requests a home visit. Rescue provides information from the application and contact information to the Home Visitor. Rescue informs the applicant to expect a home visit, and that the Home Visitor will call them to schedule the visit.
    

2. The Home Visitor contacts the applicant family and makes an appointment to conduct the virtual home visit. Ask the applicant what technology they are able to use: Facetime/Skype/Zoom?
    

3. Please ask that all family members be present for at least part of the home visit. The principle caretaker of the dog must be present for the entire visit.
    

4. After the visit, the Home Visitor reports back to the rescue organization by submitting the home visit report online at: www.echodogs.org/hvreports

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The Home Visit:

 

The purpose of the home visit is to meet the prospective adopters and to see the environment that they will provide for their dog. The rescue organization essentially wants to know "Would you be comfortable leaving your dog with this applicant?" Do you think that the applicant will provide a good, and loving home? In your opinion, will this home keep the dog's needs in mind and provide for the dog's safety at all times?

 

When the meeting is over, do not tell or imply to the applicant whether or not they are or will be approved. The information you obtain is for the rescue organization to make the final decisions on all the long-distance adoptions. Not every home is right for every dog. Even great people can be wrong for the specific dog they may have applied for, or the dog's evaluation may indicate that the dog they applied for is not suitable for a specific family and their lifestyle. Just let them know that you do not make the decisions on approvals, you just do some home checks for the rescue group as a volunteer.
 

 

TIPS:

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• Print out a hard copy of the form so you can review the questions in advance of your scheduled home visit.
   

• Take notes on your hard copy so you can easily enter all relevant information into the online form.
   

• IMPORTANT! Please be sure you go into as much detail as you can in the last section entitled “OVERALL OBSERVATIONS”. Your home visit reports are an important factor in determining if a foster parent thinks the applicant is a good fit for their foster dog.