Rehome Program

(Adoption Policy)

What happens if a dog does not succeed as a guide dog?

While our success rate is very high, the requirements for being a guide dog are stringent and not every dog will succeed. From time to time we need to "re-home" a dog that does not meet our standards because of health or temperament issues. If this happens, we release the dog from the training program and find the best possible home for the dog. This is what we call "re-homing" the dog.

Re-home Options

The first place we look to re-home the dog is the puppy raiser family that devoted more than a year of care raising the dog.  If the puppy raiser family is unable to adopt the dog or chooses not to adopt, we next consider persons on our waiting list for dog adoption.

Adoption Process

With a limited number of dogs available, the waiting list is long and it may be several years before we have a dog available for you to adopt.  We are selective, as we attempt to find the best possible home for each dog and the best match between dog and adoptive family.

When a dog becomes available, we will contact the family that most suits the needs and personality of that particular dog.  This may not always be the family that has been on the waiting list for the longest period of time. Each dog and each family have different needs and we try our best to match them appropriately.

When we do contact you about adopting a dog, we will inform you of the dog's background, medical history, and the reason it is being released from the training program. This information will help you with your decision-making process. In addition, all dogs released from our program will have been neutered or spayed.

The adoption fee is $550. This fee helps to defray the considerable expenses that Guide Dogs of Texas, Inc., has incurred in the healthcare, training, and maintenance of the dog.  The adoptive family is also responsible for transportation costs incurred in the re-homing process.

Once you have adopted a dog, you have certain responsibilities--in addition to caring for and loving your dog. Your dog must be examined at least once a year by an approved veterinary surgeon, and a completed certificate of health must be forwarded to GDTx at the address below. If at any time you cannot care for your re-homed dog or if we feel that the dog is not being appropriately cared for, the dog must be returned only to GDTx. 

The staff at Guide Dogs of Texas, Inc., will make follow-up visits to your home 3 months and 12 months after placement.  As the adoptive family, you will be responsible for transportation costs incurred by the GDTx staff for these visits.

For further information or to apply to become an adoptive family, please contact our training department at 210-366-4081, e-mail us at sandy@guidedogsoftexas.org or download the Rehome Adoption Application and send it to us.  Once you have been accepted onto our waiting list, you are encouraged to follow-up with the training staff on a quarterly basis.  The adoption process is lengthy and your continued interest will assist us in our placement process. Thank you for your interest!