+ What's a rescue dog?

A rescue dog is an animal that has been saved from a dangerous or distressing situation and rehomed. To clarify further, rescuing a dog from a puppy mill to get it out of a bad situation is not a rescue as supporting and funding these organizations in any way is counterintuitive to the work rescues are actively fighting against. Rescues charge adoption fees for vetting, housing, transportation and more while breeders use fees solely for profit. Puppy mills/ backyard breeders may even represent themselves as a rescue with the use of "agents" who will "sell" the dogs in unfavourable conditions to pull at heartstrings. A rescue will never post a dog on kijiji. Please do your research before deciding which industry to support.

+ What's a mutter?

Mutter is a term of endearment we created to refer to all the dogs in or adopted through PMR. We plan to save dogs of all breeds and ages with a focus on the ones who are more often overlooked in shelters, who happen to be our personal favourite; MUTTS.

+ Do you have a facility?

Nope. We are 100% volunteer run out of the comfort of our own homes. Our dogs are in foster homes and adoptions are facilitated through a meet and greet process.

+ I live outside of the GTA, can I still adopt?

As a provincially registered non-profit organization, we can adopt to anywhere within Ontario however all adopters must pick up from Toronto. In certain situations, this may also require a meet and greet in Toronto with no guarantee of approval. Unfortunately, we cannot adopt dogs to applicants who live out of province.

+ Will my mutter be spayed/neutered?

YES! Adoption is only half the battle in the fight to end animal homelessness. The other half is, of course, preventing it to begin with. Mutters who are adopted under 5 months of age will not come fixed as per health considerations. They will be required to see our partner vet between 5-7 months of age. This appointment will be booked at the time of adoption with PMR partner vet and will be paid in full by PMR. Any pre-surgical testing (i.e bloodwork, fecals etc.) the adopter chooses to add on will be at the adopters expense. Should the adopter choose to sterilize at a different clinic, the procedure will not be covered and the adopter MUST provide proof of spay/neuter before 7 months of estimated age. Failure to do so gives PMR full right to repossess the dog.

+ Are temperament and behaviour assessments guaranteed?

Everything we do is done in good faith and although we do our absolute best to provide accurate descriptions and disclose everything we know about the dog, nothing in rescue is guaranteed. The dogs we bring into our care are selected based on an assessment of the promising qualities they exhibit, with the understanding that it may require additional time for those redemptive qualities to reappear. As behaviours are a product of their environment and handler, our original assessments may not always hold true after the sudden change of environment the mutters experience. Transport, rehoming, acclimatizing to a new environment, people and rules can cause regression and it may take time, patience and consistency for them to display the sweet, loving, playful or gentle behaviour we chose them to begin with. In rescue, we often refer to the 3-3-3 rule whereby it takes 3 days to decompress, 3 weeks to start showing their personality and 3 months to be happily settled into their routine. As the majority of our dogs are adopted out much earlier than the 3 month mark, it is impossible for us to provide this information and is up to the adopter to ensure their dogs personality and preferences are being nurtured through love and conscientious training. Patience and understanding will be key in a successful adoption.

+ Why do you have a matching process?

An instagram/facebook post is only a snapshot of a mutter and there is so much more to a dog than a short bio and a few photos. As a result, we have a thorough interviewing and matching process which will ensure that our candidates and dogs are best suited for each other based on the dogs individual needs. What we gather from the application, interview, home check and references allow us to glean what home is best suited for a mutter based on the information and knowledge we have. That is not to imply we put a perfectly suited dog into a household. We can only do half the work, the rest is up to the adopter. As we seldom post the dogs in our care and depend on applicants who trust our process, we understand that our method may not be for everyone and it is in part what makes us different as no other rescues locally work in this way. Ultimately, it comes down to the applicant to choose whether or not to move forward with the mutter that they have been matched with. For us, rescue is about saving an animal's life, not finding the perfect pet. To understand more about our process, please read our adoption process.

+ How come I see so many adopted dogs on your social media that were never posted for adoption?

This ties into our matching process. The majority of our dogs go straight into adoptive or foster-to-adopt homes. These applicants were open to our process and matched with a dog, often straight from the shelter, that they ultimately chose to move forward with adopting. This loops around to our mission statement and values that rescue is about saving a life and not finding the perfect pet with respects to sex, age and especially appearance based on a quick snap shot of them via photo and bio. We understand that this may not be the rescue for everyone as a result of our process, but we strive to work with and adopt to applicants who believe in our mission and simply want to save a life.

+ Why can't I meet the dog before submitting an application?

Applicants must be screened to ensure both the safety of our mutters and fosters. Additionally, as with a bio and pic, a meet and greet is only a very small snapshot into a dogs personality and temperament. We do not allow meet and greets for puppies.

+ Why is there an adoption fee?

Adoption fees vary depending on age and oftentimes the adoption fees do not cover the expense of the mutter. We wouldn't be able to do what we do without donations and our incredible partners and donors. The adoption fees covers the following: shelter pull fee, vetting (including but not limited to core vaccinations, tick and flea prevention, heart-worm test for adults), spay/neuter, transport costs, foster costs and for dogs under 8 months, a microchip and any emergencies or health concerns that arise while in our care. As you can see, things add up quickly!

+ Do you have hypoallergenic dogs?

Though some individual dogs may cause fewer allergy symptoms than others, there is no such thing as a true hypoallergenic dog. For this reason, we will never advertise a dog as being hypoallergenic. If this is prohibitive to your circumstances, we recommend starting out as a foster!

+ How do you choose which dogs to pull from shelter?

Not only do we actively seek out rural shelters or areas with high kill rates resulting in lower chances of adoption - we also seek out the dogs in those shelters that have a lesser chance of being adopted even given the opportunity. This includes special needs adults, seniors and black dogs. We have an extra soft spot for the special needs dog as PMR mascot Tuna, is a special needs dog herself.

+ The mutter I applied for has been adopted. Do I need to apply for another mutter?

We keep all applications on file for 1 year, after this time it would be necessary to reapply for another mutter as circumstances change and your application may not be up to date.

+ I sent an e-mail/ application a few days ago. Why haven't I heard back?

We are a very small and passionate team of volunteers who work full time jobs often dedicating an extra 15-25 hours each, every week and sometimes more, as needed. We will always remain small, intimate and extremely thorough. If you want a quicker or more immediate response we recommend larger rescue organizations who may have the resources or paid positions to do so. We will only be reaching out to those applicants that we will be moving forward with at this time.

+ Why does the adoption application request so much personal information?

In efforts to protect our mutters, we strive to ensure the best possible fit as they're already getting what most shelters and street dogs don't get, a second chance. We want to be sure they never have to gamble on yet another. We strive for the best possible adoption success rate and we want to make sure our adoptive families are prepared and educated on what it means to have a dog for the next 10-15+ years. We greatly appreciate the cooperation during our screening process.

+ I applied for a dog and was informed that they are in a Foster-to-Adopt home, why am I still being interviewed?

We do not close applications for a specific dog until the adoption is finalized. As we work on a matching basis, oftentimes the dog an applicant has applied for may not be the best fit, but another dog in our care is! You will have only been contacted in this situation if you noted on your application that you were open to being matched with another dog, should your first choice be unavailable.

+ Do you have restrictions when adopting to households with children?

At this time we do not consider applicants with children under 6 years of age. Although we are open to applicants with children 6 and older, we remain selective as we never want to put our mutter in a situation whereby they are set up to fail, or put the safety of a child at risk.

+ Do you have restrictions when adopting to multi-dog households?

We want our mutters to have the attention and care they require to acclimatize into an existing dynamic and that is difficult to achieve as a fourth dog, therefore we do not adopt to homes who have 3 existing dogs.

+ How does the Foster-To-Adopt program work?

Successful foster-to-adopt (FTA) families will be matched with an incoming mutter from abroad and welcome their new furry member directly into their home. Our process is most suited for those who understand NOTHING is guaranteed and are prepared to handle some trauma as you will be their first point of contact after a long and stressful transport. Foster-to-adopt families understands that the information we receive about these dogs from the shelter is limited however we/our shelter partners do the best to provide as much information as possible. The type of people that should apply for our mutters are those who are prepared to confront and conquer any situation or problem that arises. It is mandatory that there is a true understanding, and compassion towards where these dogs came from.

Successful applicants must pick up their mutter at the arrival point in the GTA, prepare for their mutters arrival by purchasing all their mandatory supplies (please see “other cost considerations” above), book their mutters appointment with our rescue vet (with the guidance of your FTA coordinator), and maintain active communication with your FTA coordinator during the FTA period - and hopefully after :).

Successful applicants will be required to pay a $250 deposit on the adoption fee. The remaining portion of the fee will be due at the time of finalized adoption. By the two-week mark should you choose not to adopt, your $250 will be refunded to you within 30 days of your dog being adopted into a new family ONLY IF you see your mutter through to adoption. If you choose not to see your mutter through to adoption, you will forfeit your deposit as a donation to the rescue.