Sarah's Treasures Rescue does NOT have a shelter building. All of our pets are in foster homes. Our foster families provide valuable insight into each pets' personality, temperament, and unique features which help place him/her in the best home possible.

Sarah's Treasures Rescue is incorporated in the state of South Dakota and we have appliced for our non-profit status from the IRS. We have no paid staff or workers and 100% foster home and volunteer operated. All donations go directly to the pets.

Sarah's Treasures Rescue takes in pets from many different situations. The majority of our pets come from "High Kill" Shelters -- many of the ones we choose to pull are counting down to their last day. We also do take in small numbers of owner surrenders and a few strays turned into us by families. When an owner surrenders a pet, we believe that each owner should be updated when his/her pet has found his/her forever home. We believe it's hard enough to give up a family member without 'ever knowing'. This information is very brief and simple and we know it gives the family piece of mind to know that their pet is happy in a wonderful and loving new family.

All of the pets taken into rescue are treated as one of our own. Some pets stay for long periods of time and others only a short bit, but in between, the pets are safe, loved, and happy. Each and every pet is seen by a vet and we start them on the road to get ready for adoption. The vet identifies any problems (if any) and the pet receives vaccinations and a deworming medicine. Pets are also spayed/neutered prior to leaving rescue if they are old enough. Pets too young (under 6 months of age) are required to be adopted out on a contract stating that the new owner will have the procedure done by a set date or the said pet will be confiscated and a fee will be assessed as stated in the contract. Furthermore, each pet receives a bath, a grooming, and is treated with Frontline Preventative against fleas/ticks. While in our care, each pet is taught basic manners and obedience. Dogs/Puppies are tested for Heartworm and on preventative and any Cats/Kittens are tested for FeLV/FIV.

Each pet's adoption fee is set individually to help cover some of the expenses we encounter to help fully vet and prepare each pet for adoption. We try our very best to keep our adoption fees as low as possible by balancing the "higher-expense" pets with the "lower-expense" pets. All records of vet care will be sent with the pet when he/she is adopted.

1) Everyone is required to go through the same process. We have no favorites -- everyone must fill out the application and have their references checked. We are truly searching for the perfect home for each and every pet that comes to our rescue.

2) We do not wish to irritate, frustrate, or anger you. Our process is detailed in order to find the best home for each and every pet -- we want them to find their permanent home -- meaning we will have lots and lots of questions. We have taken time to screen each and every pet and we know what they require and need to be happy in a home. Each and every pet takes that one special person/family to be 'the one' to love them forever.

All potential adopters must meet the following requirements:

1) Anyone interested in meeting and possibly adopting a pet from Sarah's Treasures Rescue MUST fill out an application. The application is not very long and it must be FULLY completed with answers specific to each question. Applications with any answers left blank will not be approved.

2) A vet reference and animal control/sheriff/police/city office reference is required!
The vet reference is used to verify all current and past pets. We must have the name that is listed on your Vet Account and you must specify his/her relationship to you.
If you do not or never have had any pets, you MUST list the vet you plan on using and the reason why you have chosen this specific vet.

· The Animal Control/Sheriff/Police/City Office Reference must list one of the mentioned. We use this reference to verify ordinances in your city or county. This is still required even if you live in the country as you must follow "County Ordinances" -- by even listing one of the mentioned, we will be able to track down and verify everything we need too.

3) The majority of our pets will be spayed or neutered before being adopted out. If you adopt a pet that is not spayed/neutered, you MUST have the pet spayed/neutered within 30 days (over the age of 6 months) or by the age of 6 months (puppies under the age of 6 months). If this is not performed by the set date, the pet will be confiscated back to rescue and a fee will be assessed as stated in the adoption contract you signed.

4) Once approved and matched to the pet for adoption, all adopters will sign a legally binding contract specifying the terms under which they will care for the pet, allow Sarah's Treasures Rescue to retain the right of first refusal if the pet ever has to be given up in the future, and allow Sarah's Treasures Rescue to contact and ensure that the adoption contract is being fulfilled.

List of Steps Every Potential Adopter Will Go Through

1) Before meeting any pet in person, you must complete the adoption application. By completing this basic and simple application, it helps minimize stress for both you and the pets.

2) Our process contains an application with basic information, references, and a simple phone or in person ‘interview’. We will ask lots of questions to ensure a good match and the safety and health of all pets involved in the decision to adopt a companion pet.

3) We do require you take time to talk with us. During this time, we will fill you in on what we know about the pet including history, needs, feeding schedule, exercise requirements, and obedience needs/knowledge. This is a perfect time for you to ask any questions you may have about spaying or neutering, obedience training, housetraining, veterinary care, how to deal with possible situations that may arise or anything else that you can think of. Also, some pets will require home visits. If a home visit is required, we will set up the appointment during the interview.

4) You will be asked to sign an adoption contract and pay an adoption fee. The adoption fee is set per individual pet and is used to help cover some of the expenses of caring and vetting the rescue pet such as spay/neuter, deworming, vaccinations, frontline, heartworm testing and preventative.

After our explanation of the process, we ask you once again to understand that this process is required for everyone. We also do not mean to irritate, frustrate, or anger you. We wish for you to understand that it’s stressful and upsetting and sometimes even devastating for the pets, our volunteers and fosters, as well as for you, when the adoptions don’t work out and pets have to be returned to us. So please, be patient with us and understand that by going through this process the way that we do really is the best way to ensure happiness for everyone involved.

Please confirm the adoption fee over the phone or in person. We try our very best to keep everything up to date and accurate, but sometimes mistakes happen and we fall behind in updating. Adoption fees are used to cover the vet expenses of each pet -- we try our very best to keep them as low as possible.

We currently accept checks and cash -- we hope to possibly accept credit cards in the near future. Please understand that if a check bounces, we will be contacting you and if you do not make payment, the pet will be taken back.