Yeah, it's quite the process. The rescue agencies have to "vett" you. You fill out an application on line and must meet several criteria. Often they only want the dog going to a house with another dog, and most times, they want the yard to be fenced. We meet neither of these requirements, so we had to look for a dog that didn't require this. Many of the rescue dogs come from closed up puppy mills in the south and west, and have only lived with other dogs. Hence the "other dog" requirement. They will have us meet the dog at it's foster provider, and if that goes well, they will schedule a tour of our house. All members of the household have to be present for that. If that goes well, we most likely will get the dog once we pay the adoption fee.
Most of the rescue operations run this way up here. There's also the possibility that another party looking at the same dog gets her in stead of us. It's a pretty involved process.
