ADOPTION PROCESS
Updated on September 13, 2023
AFTER SUBMITTING MY ADOPTION APPLICATION, WHAT'S NEXT?
For the sake of your privacy, only a single individual (the interviewer) reviews your adoption application. On average, each dog garners interest from 10-30 potential adopters. Keep in mind that our involvement is purely voluntary. We're genuinely trying to allocate personal time to ensure timely reviews of adoption applications. Your patience is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
WHAT IS YOUR ADOPTION PROCESS?
Thank you for your interest in adopting an abandoned canine from Korea. The majority of the canines we rescue either from the dog meat trade, high kill shelters, and illegal puppy mills in Korea are fostered in either Seoul or Incheon, Korea.
Our adoption process is unique and different from other local rescue organizations. We highly encourage you to check with your local shelters and rescue organizations and think of us as your last option. If you and your family have decided to adopt a pet from us, we ask you to fill out an adoption application to let us know you’re serious about adopting a canine from Korea.
Below, please find information on the overseas adoption process:
Please fill out our overseas adoption application on this site.
Please give us 5-7 business days to review your application. Upon receipt of your completed application, we will review it and contact you via email if you’re the right adopter for the rescued canine.
An interview via Zoom. Please make sure everyone in your household is available.
If all goes well with the interview, a home check is mandatory. (No Exceptions)
Time Frame: Typically 30-60 days.
Prior to their arrival, you will need to:
(a) Pay for adoption fee;
(b) Review our instructional guide sent via pdf;
(c) Sign our Adoption Agreement.
DO I QUALIFY TO BECOME AN OVERSEAS ADOPTER?
We look for potential adopters that are:
Residents of California. We only accept applications from other states if you are:
(a) Referred by one of our adopters or our partner rescue groups;
(b) If you reside in a city as our adopter(s) and/or our partner rescue groups.
You must be at least 25 years old to be considered as an overseas adopter (Per adoption regulations set forth by the shelters operated by the city);
Experienced pet (canine) owner(s);
Has a social media account for us to monitor pets after adoption; (Please note, we monitor all pets after adoption). If you’re not on social media platforms, you can send us updates via email or messages.
We ask you to submit a copy of identification via the secured app and/or we screen check you once your adoption application is approved.
WHAT IS YOUR ADOPTION FEE?
Our adoption fee is $350 USD*. Your adoption fee will go towards your newly adopted pet’s medical expenses such as; vaccinations including rabies, spay/neuter, testings, and medicines. The cost of vaccinations, tests, and other necessary medical expenses cost more than $350 USD. On average, we spend between $1500 to $2000 per canine using our personal funds. Joey & Bailey Foundation currently does not raise any funds. We take care of additional medical expenses while your adopted dog is in Korea. The only thing we ask from you in return is to spoil the dog you just adopted from us and keep us updated to see how he/she is doing with your family.
Once your application is approved, you will send the fees via PayPal to the rescue group in Korea directly. Joey & Bailey Foundation is strictly a volunteer group and we do not collect any fees directly. You will be also responsible for your newly adopted pet’s transportation fee. The Pet travel fee is $300 (including the travel crate) if your pet is traveling with a flight volunteer. (For more information on pet travel, please refer to the next section).
If the dog weighs over 32 kg (including the weight of the travel crate), there will be an additional fee of $300 for oversized baggage that is charged by the airlines. In this case, the adoption fee for large breeds weighing over 32 kg is $1100 including the custom brokerage fee.
* It is mandatory for you to retain a custom broker for the clearance of your adopted pet from United States Customs & Border Protection. Due to this, there will be an additional fee of $150. The fee will cover custom brokerage fees, bonds, and fees due to United States Customs & Border Protection and The Department of Homeland Security.
SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZE BREEDS:
THE GRAND TOTAL OF THE ADOPTION FEE WILL BE $800.00 USD TRAVELING WITH A FLIGHT VOLUNTEER IF YOUR ADOPTED PET WEIGHS LESS THAN 32 KG.
LARGE BREEDS:
THE GRAND TOTAL OF THE ADOPTION FEE WILL BE $1100.00 FOR A PET WEIGHING OVER 32 KG (INCLUDING THE WEIGHT OF THE TRAVEL CRATE).
AM I STILL RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FULL ADOPTION FEE OF $800 (FOR A SMALL BREED) AND $1100 (FOR A LARGE BREED) FOR A DOG FOSTERED IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA?
You’re still responsible for the full adoption fee as we don’t raise any funds for all of our dogs as our organization is operated by a group of individuals spending personal funds towards the rescues. Even our fosters here in Los Angeles and the Orange County area are responsible for all fees associated with fostering.
I SUBMITTED AN ADOPTION APPLICATION BUT HAVE NOT HEARD BACK FROM YOU. DOES THIS MEAN I WAS NOT APPROVED?
You will be competing against an average of 10-30 potential adopters. We wish we can respond to each and every applicant. However, we receive well over 20 adoption applications on a daily basis. Currently, only our Founder/Volunteer is reviewing the adoption applications as we respect your privacy.
Once again, we’re just group of girls volunteering our personal time in an effort to help find forever homes for recently rescued canines. If you have not yet heard from us three (3) weeks after you’ve submitted your adoption, it means that we have found a stronger applicant for the canine of your choice. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Based on the information you’ve provided for us on our adoption application, we choose the family we feel closely matches the recently rescued canine. Should you be interested in adopting another canine, please resubmit your adoption application.
We respect your privacy. We will securely delete your adoption application if you were denied.
HOW CAN I CHECK THE AVAILABILITY OF MY PREFERRED DOG FOR ADOPTION?
Firstly, we deeply appreciate your patience and your heartfelt desire to adopt a dog from Korea. For immediate updates regarding pet availability, please refer to the announcement banner at the top of our homepage. Additionally, stay connected with us on INSTAGRAM. For more in-depth information, visit the LATEST UPDATES section on our site.
In the event your preferred dog is already adopted, rest assured your submitted Adoption Application will be securely deleted, keeping in line with our commitment to your privacy. Due to the sheer volume of inquiries, we're unable to respond to every email and message daily. We hope you understand, and thank you for your continued support.
WHO CAN I SPEAK TO REGARDING THE DOG OF MY CHOICE?
Due to a high volume of emails received on a daily basis, unfortunately, we cannot respond to your email in a timely manner. We receive well over 50 emails a day. We ask you to fill out the online adoption application first. Once you submit your adoption application, we will carefully review your application.
Please give us 3 to 5 business days. In order for us to save time and focus on rescues, we will only contact potential adopters that are approved.
I RESIDE OUTSIDE OF CALIFORNIA. CAN I STILL ADOPT YOUR FOUNDATION?
We thank you so much for thinking of us. Presently, we are solely focused on finding homes in the State of California as we prefer to find homes for the rescued dogs in the city where our current adopters reside. The only exception is if you were referred by:
One of our adopters;
One of our volunteers;
One of our rescue partners.
THE DOG OF MY CHOICE WAS RECENTLY ADOPTED. WILL YOU HOLD ON TO MY ADOPTION APPLICATION UNTIL I FIND ANOTHER DOG ON YOUR SITE?
Unfortunately, we do not hold on to adoption applications except for our adopters for our records. If the pet of your choice was adopted by another adopter, we automatically delete every adoption application under that specific pet.
WILL I BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE CARETAKER OF MY DOG PRIOR TO THEIR ARRIVAL?
Absolutely. You will be behind the scenes of the overseas adoption process and become part of your adopted pet’s rescue. We want to make this a memorable experience for you and for your family. We highly encourage you to download an app called, KakaoTalk on your smartphone. You have the option to download this app on your smartphone or on your computer. This is the communication used by all Koreans. If you prefer receiving updates through our adoption coordinator, please let us know.
CAN WE MEET THE DOG FIRST OR FOSTER TO ADOPT BEFORE COMMITTING?
We highly encourage you to check with the local rescue organizations and/or local shelters first to see if there’s a dog available for adoption. Please think of us as your last option for adoption. As mentioned clearly on our site, all of the dogs we rescue are fostered in Korea. All of our adopters depended solely on photos on videos of the dog they were originally interested in adopting. If you don’t have instant chemistry with the specific dog and have doubts about even just 1%, then we ask you to rethink overseas adoption.
Since all rescued dogs are already fostered for more than 30 days to meet the quarantine period, the last thing we want for our dogs is to go through frequent changes in the environment. This will not only give them stress but it can take longer for them to get fully adjusted. In the event foster to adopt program was mentioned by us, we give you a week for a foster trial. Any fees that accrue on the dog you’re fostering during the trial period will be your responsibility. This includes all vets, food, and supplies. As we’re solely a volunteer just like you. Rest assured, we have a good reputation for sending only healthy dogs.
CAN WE TEST OUT THE DOG OF OUR CHOICE TO SEE IF IT WILL WORK OUT FOR OUR FAMILY?
As mentioned above, our rescued dogs did not travel over 5500 miles across the Pacific ocean for you and/or your family to just test out. Unfortunately, dogs are not items you can test out and return. How would you feel if you were abandoned by your own family 2-3 times? You’d be devastated. The same feelings apply to our rescued dogs as well.
As mentioned above, during the adoption process, the interviewer may offer a foster to adopt the program. This will be mentioned in the event we happen to find a flight volunteer and don’t have enough time to finalize the adoption or we’d like to see how you do with our rescue dogs during the trial period.
Any fees accrue on the dog you’re fostering during the trial period will be your responsibility. This includes all vets, foods, and supplies. As we’re solely a volunteer just like you.
MY KIDS ARE ALLERGIC TO DOGS AND WE’RE LOOKING FOR HYPOALLERGENIC DOGS. WHICH BREEDS ARE CONSIDERED HYPOALLERGENIC?
Sorry, there’s no such thing as hypoallergenic dogs. Many assume pet allergies are caused by a dog's fur. However, the main cause of pet allergies is the protein that's in the saliva and urine of dogs. We advise you to check with a veterinarian to see which breeds will work out for your family.
DO YOU OFFER A REFUND IF I NEED TO SURRENDER THE DOG?
You do not send the adoption fee directly to the rescuer and/or rescue group in Korea until we reconfirm the flight for your adopted pet. We give you plenty of time to rethink adoption. In the event, that your adopted pet arrives and you must surrender, unfortunately, we do not refund you as this dog traveled over 5,000 miles for you. Our rescuers already spent so much money on rescuing a dog. It is also your responsibility as an adopter to take care of their travel cost. We also need to find a new foster family here in Los Angeles and provide them with food and supplies.