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Info for Adopters

​​If you haven’t yet submitted an application and would like to adopt from us, the link to our application is in the menu above.

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This page contains our adopter resource library. It is links to articles we have found informational and useful as well as links to trainers whose work/methods we like.

 

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Happy Dog Rescue Adoption Area:

  • Within a 4 hour drive of zip code 18330.

 

PLEASE NOTE: We do not ordinarily do long distance adoptions; therefore, we do not respond to applications from adopters who live outside of our adoption coverage area UNLESS you've already had an email conversation with Trish and she has sent you the link to our application.

 

In our opinion, these are commands you should DEFINITELY plan to teach your dog: Leave It, Focus, Sit, and Stay. If you teach nothing else, teach these and make sure they are practiced regularly.  Focus and Leave It training videos are linked below.

 

Articles & Sites of Interest to Adopters

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  • Baltic Amber collars for repelling fleas and ticks. If you have tried them, please let us know how well they work. We haven’t tried them yet, but they were recommended to us by a trained homeopath.

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  • Lehigh Valley PA recommended dog trainer: Jill Wright. Jill has helped us train our own dogs.

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  • Be SAFE - Kids’ guide to dog bite prevention

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  • Calming Collars for dogs with motion sickness. One of our transport drivers told us it worked very well.

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  • Canine Diseases Linked to Grains in Dog Food: Part 1 and Part 2

 

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  • Why AKC registered means nothing. It’s just a money-making scam. This is all too common for living conditions of “AKC registered” dogs. Wake up people! Don’t buy into this scam! This is where ALL pet store puppies come from! Unless your state has a law requiring stores to only have shelter/rescue pets available, then you’re buying from a puppy mill and supporting this cruelty. Here’s another story, and another. Do an internet search on puppy mills and you’ll find tons more. Look at images of puppy mills. Then tell your friends to do the same. If you buy from a pet store, you are financially supporting this horrific industry. The emotional and physical trauma the puppy mill dogs endure is beyond belief. Ask the USDA why they allow this to continue!

 

What type of dog is right for your family? Click here to find out. HDR mostly gets mixed breed dogs, but you can use this questionnaire to give you some idea of breeds that may be more appropriate for your family. Then you can look at the dogs on our site to see if they have traits similar to the breeds recommended for your family.

How much does it cost to have a pet? ASPCA breakdown of estimated annual cost by type of pet.

Resources & Information

Local Dog Trainer: Jill Wright at K-9′s In Training

Low Cost Spay/Neuter (Allentown) No Nonsense Neutering & (Poconos): EPAA

 

Area Dog Parks

Northampton County:

Nazareth: Nazareth Boro Dog Park on Black Rock Road. Black Rock Road is at the lower (east) end of the 
Greenwood Cemetary on West High Street. Call the Borough Office at 610-759-0202 with any questions.

Bethlehem: 25 Illick’s Mill Road Dog Park

Monroe County:

Hamilton Jackson Pocono Park and Open Space Commission

Lifetime Dog Licensing in PA

PA Residents: Did you know that if your dog is microchipped or tattooed, you can pay a one-time fee to license your dog for life? Yup, and it’s a pretty sweet deal too, especially if the dog is spayed or neutered. You can still do it annually if you so choose (but who wants the annual hassle?). There’s even a discount for seniors/disabled citizens on top of the discount for spayed/neutered dogs.

Northampton County residents: For more information, stop by the county courthouse or call (610) 559-3102.
Lifetime, transfer, duplicate and free licenses available ONLY at the County Treasurers Office:
Northampton County Courthouse – Revenue Office – 2nd Floor – 669 Washington Street, Easton

Residents of other counties: Please contact your local county treasurer for more information.

You need to take your dog to the vet and get 2 forms completed:
Permanent ID form
Lifetime License Application

Once you and your vet have completed these forms, take or mail them to your county office along with payment. Google “pa dog license monroe county” with your county name…i.e., Monroe County, Northampton County, Lehigh County) to find the location of your local county office.

Disaster Preparedness/Response

Prepare a disaster plan.

If you have family fleeing the gulf coast ahead of a hurricane, ask them to register here.

PETS Act: Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act. Background info on the PETS act.

Resources for Canine Behavioral Issues

Having problems with your dog? Unwanted/unacceptable behaviors and you don’t know what to do about it? Here are some of the resources we use to help our foster dogs.

Recommended Trainer: K-9′s In Training located in Phillipsburg NJ. Two of our own dogs have taken Jill’s class and graduated and over the years several of our unsocialized foster dogs have attended her classes as well. We are very happy with Jill’s training methods (all positive motivation based) and are now comfortable recommending her to our adopters. Her group classes are small and the price is reasonable too! If you sign up for a class, please let her know you saw her on our website. Thanks!

 

Tellington Touch: This is something that we were introduced to several years ago. It was easy to learn and we are amazed at the results. At the very least, we recommend you get the book and video. Even better…attend a formal training session. The TTouch website has a practitioner directory so you can search for a trained practitioner in your area if you decide you need professional help for your dog.

 

On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals: A short book but a real eye opener. Helps the novice to better understand their dog’s body language. We highly recommend this book. Also, visit the author’s website.

 

Fearful Dogs: Help for You and Your Dog

 

Blog: Hey, Old School Dominance Theory: School’s Out!

 

E-book: A Guide To Living & Working With A Fearful Dog

 

Please DO NOT ever consider taking your dog or cat to a shelter. Work with a professional to correct unwanted behaviors, reach out to a rescue for assistance with rehoming, see if your vet will help you rehome your pet if for some reason you cannot keep it, but NEVER take your dog or cat to a shelter. If you do, they will be sad, scared, probably get sick and very likely be killed if not adopted quickly. It is estimated that each year in shelters in this country, approximately 5 million dogs are killed. We don’t know the stats on cats, but we do know that there are far more dog rescues than cat rescues assisting shelters. We also know that cats breed far more often than dogs, so their population is likely much larger. Given these statistics, what do you think the odds are your dog or cat will make it out of a shelter alive?

Resources for Lost/Found Pets

There are pre-emptive things you can do that will greatly increase the chance of your pet being returned to you…but you must do this BEFORE they get lost. Go to Wal-Mart, Petco, or Petsmart and look for the ID Tag engraving machines. For around $4-8 you can immediately purchase an engraved tag. Put your home and cell phone numbers on it and put it on your pet’s collar. NEVER let your pet out of the house without this tag attached. Also, take your pet to the vet and get it microchipped, then send in the registration paperwork so your chip will be added to their online database. Once it’s registered, you can go to their website and add photos of your pet. Store the microchip info and a photograph in a safe place in case you ever need to use it. IF YOU MOVE, remember to update the contact info in their website and also get a new engraved ID tag with your new phone number(s).

A newer product line is coming out which can give you the ability to track your pet with GPS collars. We’ve never used any of these products, so please do your own research. If they work well, this may be the best/easiest way to find your missing pet if their collar is still attached.


Help, my pet is missing!

Things to do right away:

  • If your pet is microchipped, contact the microchip company and see if they offer lost pet alert services.

  • Call the local shelters in your county and surrounding counties and give them your contact info and a description of your pet. Get their email address and email them a photo.

  • Call the local radio/TV stations and do the same thing. Ask them to put out a plea to the community.

  • Make flyers and bring them to your local postmaster. Ask them to hand them out to the mail carriers to take with them on their route. Include your phone number so carriers can call you if they spot your pet.

  • Call all local veterinary offices and drop off flyers to each of them.

  • Start a page on Facebook and share the link with your FB friends.

  • Post flyers in the vicinity of where your pet was last seen.

  • Post an alert/photo of your pet on your local Craigslist and Freecycle groups. Be very careful with CraigsList…lots of scammers on there. When posting to CraigsList or Freecycle, don’t post your address, but do include the intersection closest to where the pet was last seen.

  • PawBoost.com: Send Your Lost Pet’s Missing Poster to Shelters, Vets & Volunteers Near You For Free!

  • FindToto.com, a lost/found/stolen pet alert phone calling system/website. You place a listing for a fee and they will call hundreds to thousands of your neighbors (depending on what package you choose), plus place an ad with photo of your pet on their site.

  • Report your pet lost on ZachAlert and Find Toby in PA.

  • Go to Petfinder and search for rescues/shelters in/near your zip code. Contact ALL of them and ask them to put up a courtesy/lost pet listing with photograph on their website. Ask them to contact other rescues/shelters they work with and pass the message on.

Resource for Injured Wildlife

Found a sick or injured wild animal? Locate a wildlife rehabilitator

Spay/Neuter

Links to low cost spay/neuter programs nationwide.

Dog Health & Nutrition Info

Consumer complaints about Purina dog food making their dogs sick.

EPA Consumer Alert: Increased Scrutiny of Flea and Tick Control Products for Pets. Their site has been updated.

$1,200 Vet Bill Around the Corner! Planning for your pet’s health care.

Have a dog with liver problems? Here’s a chat group where you can talk to people who have dogs with these problems. Here’s their website with some success stories from the members.

Over the years, we’ve done some research on the dog food industry, especially since the massive recalls in 2008 followed by a class action lawsuit. Below are a series of links we found useful. Please educate yourself about exactly what’s going into the food you feed your dog. 

Subscribe to email alerts on pet food recalls from the National Pet

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