The St. Mary's Animal Welfare League (SMAWL) is a non-profit membership organization working to help the homeless, abused and neglected animals in our local community and, in times of extreme need, in our larger national rescue community. Immediate goals include aggressive campaigns to find homes for homeless cats and dogs and to curb pet overpopulation through Spay/Neuter programs. Future goals include the building of a no-kill shelter in St. Mary's County. Services provided include pet adoptions, spay/neuter grants and discount vouchers, monthly low-cost rabies clinics and humane education. In addition, we recently started the regions only Pet Food Pantry to serve low-income and recently unemployed pet owners. SMAWL is an all volunteer organization and welcomes new members and volunteers. We offer a variety of volunteer opportunities, including fostering animals waiting for adoption.
Step #1: The Adoption Application. The initial step in our adoption process is the Adoption Application. This can either be done online or in person. The Adoption form must be filled out completely including vet references and two personal non-family references. Your application will be reviewed and your references will be contacted. We contact your veterinarian to ensure that your current or recently deceased pets were properly taken care of - this means being current on all vaccinations and spayed or neutered. In order to speed up the process, please contact your veterinarian and let them know to expect our call. Step #2: Personal Interview. You will be interviewed by a SMAWL Board Member or Volunteer either through phone, email or in person. This is an opportunity to learn more specifics about you, your family, your pets and the type of pet you are looking for. At this time, we may suggest that you consider a different animal---one that we may feel might be more acceptable for your situation. If you are completing your application in person, this will most likely be done at that time of completion. Step #3: The Home Visit. If all goes well with the application verification, we will schedule a home visit. A home visit is required to ensure that your home is everything you say it is on the Adoption Application. It needs to be a suitable safe environment for your new pet. All pets and family members should be home at this time. Step #4: Meeting Your Potential Adoptee. Once the Application has been reviewed and all references checked, arrangements will be made for you to meet with the animal you wish to adopt, either through the foster parent or the animal's Case Manager. As a courtesy to our foster families, we do not ask them to show their animals to individuals until we have completed the application approval process. If you have other animals, we recommend a neutral meeting place, such as PETCO or a local park to ensure the animals are compatible outside of their own territory. Step #5: Finalizing The Adoption. Once the adoption has been approved, we will contact you to finalize the adoption. You will need to sign the contract and pay our adoption fee. (Puppies (under 1) = $300, Dogs (over 1) =$250, Young Cats 2 years and under =$125, Older Cats over 2 years = $75). Foster to adopt over a two week period may be available on a case by case basis. Any applications received for adoptions from beyond St Mary's county line, will be subject to additional terms and conditions available on request.
Leonardtown MD 20650 | 0 mile away
We are a group of animal loving friends that have joined together to fill a niche in the Tri-County area of Southern Maryland. We are committed to giving "Second Hope" to hard to place animals (due to breed or age) that are searching for their forever homes. Collectively we have over 20 years of rescue experience, either with other rescues or by doing rescue on our own.
Hollywood MD 20636 | 5.8 miles away
Our missions are: To provide rescue and adoption for dogs, cats, kittens, puppies, and occasionally other small and furry animals. To provide information to the community on low cost spay/neuter programs and veterinary care, pet care, house/crate training, and animal behavior/training. Our hope is that our efforts will help decrease the pet overpopulation problem that is caused by lack of spay/nue
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Golden Retriever Rescue of Southern Maryland is a non-profit 501(c)(3), volunteer organization dedicated to finding homes for Golden Retrievers in need.
Great Mills MD 20634 | 7.8 miles away
Feral Cat Rescue, Inc. is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization dedicated to humanely reducing the feral and stray cat population in St. Mary’s County through a variety of methods without euthanasia. With our Trap, Neuter, Return, and Maintain program, feral cats are humanely trapped, then evaluated, vaccinated, and sterilized by veterinarians. Healthy cats too wild to be adopted are returned
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Sugar Faces Senior Dog Rescue was founded in July 2014 as Southern Maryland's first organization focused exclusively to rescue senior dogs. Sugar Faces' mission is to match abandoned senior dogs in Southern Maryland to loving families while providing a lifetime of encouragement and support. We have listened to pet owners, animal lovers and rescuers. We hear the same message over and over
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