To become an Approved Adopter, please follow these easy steps:
Step 1 - Education
Responsible pet owners learn as much as they can about the animal they want to adopt before bringing them home. All animals have quirks and habits that are good to be familiar with and well-prepared for. Decisions such as which gender is right for you, how many rats is the right amount, what should you feed them (or NOT feed them), do they need any shots or regular veterinary care, and many many more, are great to ask ahead of time so there are as few surprises along the way as possible. The more answers you know beforehand, the better the care you can give to your new fur babies when you bring them home. The "best practices" for certain pets can also change over time with new research and innovations. Past rat ownership is not a guarantee of rat care expertise.
Here are a few good places to start your research:
We also have a Helpful Links page where you can find additional resources for researching. We add to it as we find new things.
Remember, if you can't find the answers online, we are always here to help you as well! You need only ask. We will be reviewing applications to see if adopters show evidence that they have done proper research prior to requesting adoption. Failure to read through our website policies, research proper rat care, or ask questions when there is an obvious lack of up-to-date knowledge on pet rats can result in the denial of your application. A lot of effort at our rattery goes into helping adopters have the resources they need to be successful rat parents for our babies. When an applicant shows little to no interest in being well-prepared, it says a lot about the type of rat owner they will be. If a potential adopter does not have the time to gain knowledge on rats before buying, they are much less likely to have time to properly care for our Squeakin' Pups after adoption as well. There is a very strong correlation between pre-adoption effort and post adoption care.
MANDATORY READING:
Step 2 - Be Ready
It is very common for adopters to start their adoption process prior to obtaining the necessary housing, bedding, and food they need to care for their new family member, however, we will not approve any adopters who do not have these items already in their possession. We will need to know your cage type and any items you will be using for your rats when you apply. If you cannot supply that specific information or the information is vague, your application may be held up in processing and you will miss your window for adoption of specific babies you are interested in. This step is a natural outcome from step one. As you become educated, you should be selecting the proper items for your rats. If you need help in selection, please feel free to reach out to me for some suggestions. We also offer a wide variety of items on our website and Etsy page.
Step 3 - Adoption Forms
Filling out the application and disclosure forms will place you on our "interested" list. Applications are not approved until you are reach the top of our list and we are nearly ready to schedule you. If there are any issues with the forms, you will be notified at that time.
Our application for adoption can be found here:
New Adopter Application
The form has several parts. Part one is to obtain general information on the adopter (the adopter CANNOT be a minor child and should ideally be the person filling out the form.) Part two requests information about your preparedness to accept new rats. We like to make sure we help anyone who may have questions on food, enclosures, etc. Lack of detail in this section may result in denial based on not having done enough research to properly care for a rat. Please do not be vague. We are always happy to help with any questions, for example, if you are not sure what to feed a rat or what type of cage to get. Part 3 gathers information on the type of rats you are looking for. Selecting certain options may result in additional information being provided regarding certain types that do have a specialty wait list associated with them. Our types with specialty wait lists can be reserved without being on one of those wait lists, but it is rarer that they will be available if you do not join the wait list. The final section screens for any discounts you may be eligible for. It is not mandatory that you request any discounts and there is needed documentation for each discount. All discounts are 10% or less off adoption fees.
Please know that we do not ask any of these questions to disqualify anyone from adoption or "weed out the unworthy." Our questions are all there so that we can better assist each adopter in any area they may seem to need guidance on proper rat care or ownership. While we do have set ideals for what we would like to see in each section, our focus is always on helping our adopters, not keeping them from adopting. The more we know, the more we can help you. If there is any area that you do not meet with our requirements for adoption, we will inform you of the best practices or recommendations and help you to change or modify your current rat ownership plan. It is always our hope that we can assist and educate so everyone who wants to adopt with us can, however, we will not compromise on what we have determined is healthiest for our rats in a home.
We also have a Disclosures & Agreements form to fill out (filling it out at the same time as your application will expedite your adoption process.) You can find that form here:
Disclosures & Agreements
This form has a lot of helpful information for first time and veteran adopters. Filling out both forms does not commit you to adopting with us. If you change your mind at any time, your name will drop off our active list of adopters after 90 days from when you first apply for approval. If you choose to not fill out the Disclosure & Agreements form at the same time as your application, you may miss a chance to reserve babies later. I accept reservations from adopters with BOTH forms filled out prior to those who still need the Disclosure form.
Step 4 - Additional Items Possibly Needed
We require that all adopters submit a valid form of photo ID, which can verify name and date of birth (18+ status for adopting.) The photo ID is to help us identify you when we meet to deliver your new rats to you, and also a safety measure for Squeakin' Pups representatives who will be meeting up with adopters in person. If you are not certain your ID qualifies, you can always run it by us.
If you qualify for certain discounts you will need to submit the proofs for those as well. Only one discount can be applied to any adoption. You only need to submit proof for one discount. Documents should all be in PDF or picture file format (.jpg is best). If we have any sort of current sale on our rats, no discount can be taken off a sale price. We do not add discounts to any rats that are $15 or less already due to keeping the amount of each rat high enough to prevent adoption for "feeder" purposes.
Once your application is tentatively approved for adoption you will receive an email or Facebook message from us requesting the necessary documents you have not yet submitted. Your application is not officially complete until the documents are received, therefore the more you turn in at the beginning, the less time it will take to pick out your new rats and bring them home.
If you do not receive a message from us at the email you provided on your application withing 7 calendar days of when you apply, please send us a message. You can email us at: [email protected] or you can contact our rattery page on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/SqueakinPups
If you contact us on Facebook, future communications will likely be there. Many times emails from us can end up in spam or junk folders. Please be sure to check for that also or add our email to your approved senders list. We will not call, text, or mail you a notification for your approval. Once we send the approval via email or Facebook message, we are then waiting for you to get in contact with us in return for adopting.
Step 5 - Stay Connected
After your forms have been submitted, you will be placed in queue for adoption. We schedule from our list based on the following criteria:
1. Have all forms been submitted and the application approved for adoption?
2. Has the adopter responded to our initial email requesting confirmation that they are still interested in adoption?
3. Is this adopter the one who applied first of all those available to schedule?
4. Do I have the gender they want to adopt available for adoption now?
If the answer to all questions is "yes", you will receive a message from me to schedule for adoption. To confirm a date for adoption or a reservation for specific babies, you will need to pay a 50% deposit within 24 hours. There are times when reservations go very slowly, and other times where I may be scheduling reservations at a rate of 3-4 per day. Being somewhat flexible helps a lot.
If you ever have questions on where you are at on the list or rats in general. Please feel free to contact me. I am always happy to talk to everyone in between offerings as well.
Step 1 - Education
Responsible pet owners learn as much as they can about the animal they want to adopt before bringing them home. All animals have quirks and habits that are good to be familiar with and well-prepared for. Decisions such as which gender is right for you, how many rats is the right amount, what should you feed them (or NOT feed them), do they need any shots or regular veterinary care, and many many more, are great to ask ahead of time so there are as few surprises along the way as possible. The more answers you know beforehand, the better the care you can give to your new fur babies when you bring them home. The "best practices" for certain pets can also change over time with new research and innovations. Past rat ownership is not a guarantee of rat care expertise.
Here are a few good places to start your research:
- AFRMA Site
- The Rat Guide - Many portions are written in medical jargon, but still a good read. (I do not expect adopters to read it all - there are thousands of articles)
- RattyRat - The link takes you to an article on rat body language. This can be a great read for a new rat owner when trying to figure out if their new rats are playing or fighting.
- The Rat Fan Club Website
- The Rat Guru on YouTube
- We also have a variety of articles on our website under the menus Resources / Education . Please be sure to read all of these as well.
We also have a Helpful Links page where you can find additional resources for researching. We add to it as we find new things.
Remember, if you can't find the answers online, we are always here to help you as well! You need only ask. We will be reviewing applications to see if adopters show evidence that they have done proper research prior to requesting adoption. Failure to read through our website policies, research proper rat care, or ask questions when there is an obvious lack of up-to-date knowledge on pet rats can result in the denial of your application. A lot of effort at our rattery goes into helping adopters have the resources they need to be successful rat parents for our babies. When an applicant shows little to no interest in being well-prepared, it says a lot about the type of rat owner they will be. If a potential adopter does not have the time to gain knowledge on rats before buying, they are much less likely to have time to properly care for our Squeakin' Pups after adoption as well. There is a very strong correlation between pre-adoption effort and post adoption care.
MANDATORY READING:
Step 2 - Be Ready
It is very common for adopters to start their adoption process prior to obtaining the necessary housing, bedding, and food they need to care for their new family member, however, we will not approve any adopters who do not have these items already in their possession. We will need to know your cage type and any items you will be using for your rats when you apply. If you cannot supply that specific information or the information is vague, your application may be held up in processing and you will miss your window for adoption of specific babies you are interested in. This step is a natural outcome from step one. As you become educated, you should be selecting the proper items for your rats. If you need help in selection, please feel free to reach out to me for some suggestions. We also offer a wide variety of items on our website and Etsy page.
Step 3 - Adoption Forms
Filling out the application and disclosure forms will place you on our "interested" list. Applications are not approved until you are reach the top of our list and we are nearly ready to schedule you. If there are any issues with the forms, you will be notified at that time.
Our application for adoption can be found here:
New Adopter Application
The form has several parts. Part one is to obtain general information on the adopter (the adopter CANNOT be a minor child and should ideally be the person filling out the form.) Part two requests information about your preparedness to accept new rats. We like to make sure we help anyone who may have questions on food, enclosures, etc. Lack of detail in this section may result in denial based on not having done enough research to properly care for a rat. Please do not be vague. We are always happy to help with any questions, for example, if you are not sure what to feed a rat or what type of cage to get. Part 3 gathers information on the type of rats you are looking for. Selecting certain options may result in additional information being provided regarding certain types that do have a specialty wait list associated with them. Our types with specialty wait lists can be reserved without being on one of those wait lists, but it is rarer that they will be available if you do not join the wait list. The final section screens for any discounts you may be eligible for. It is not mandatory that you request any discounts and there is needed documentation for each discount. All discounts are 10% or less off adoption fees.
Please know that we do not ask any of these questions to disqualify anyone from adoption or "weed out the unworthy." Our questions are all there so that we can better assist each adopter in any area they may seem to need guidance on proper rat care or ownership. While we do have set ideals for what we would like to see in each section, our focus is always on helping our adopters, not keeping them from adopting. The more we know, the more we can help you. If there is any area that you do not meet with our requirements for adoption, we will inform you of the best practices or recommendations and help you to change or modify your current rat ownership plan. It is always our hope that we can assist and educate so everyone who wants to adopt with us can, however, we will not compromise on what we have determined is healthiest for our rats in a home.
We also have a Disclosures & Agreements form to fill out (filling it out at the same time as your application will expedite your adoption process.) You can find that form here:
Disclosures & Agreements
This form has a lot of helpful information for first time and veteran adopters. Filling out both forms does not commit you to adopting with us. If you change your mind at any time, your name will drop off our active list of adopters after 90 days from when you first apply for approval. If you choose to not fill out the Disclosure & Agreements form at the same time as your application, you may miss a chance to reserve babies later. I accept reservations from adopters with BOTH forms filled out prior to those who still need the Disclosure form.
Step 4 - Additional Items Possibly Needed
We require that all adopters submit a valid form of photo ID, which can verify name and date of birth (18+ status for adopting.) The photo ID is to help us identify you when we meet to deliver your new rats to you, and also a safety measure for Squeakin' Pups representatives who will be meeting up with adopters in person. If you are not certain your ID qualifies, you can always run it by us.
If you qualify for certain discounts you will need to submit the proofs for those as well. Only one discount can be applied to any adoption. You only need to submit proof for one discount. Documents should all be in PDF or picture file format (.jpg is best). If we have any sort of current sale on our rats, no discount can be taken off a sale price. We do not add discounts to any rats that are $15 or less already due to keeping the amount of each rat high enough to prevent adoption for "feeder" purposes.
Once your application is tentatively approved for adoption you will receive an email or Facebook message from us requesting the necessary documents you have not yet submitted. Your application is not officially complete until the documents are received, therefore the more you turn in at the beginning, the less time it will take to pick out your new rats and bring them home.
If you do not receive a message from us at the email you provided on your application withing 7 calendar days of when you apply, please send us a message. You can email us at: [email protected] or you can contact our rattery page on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/SqueakinPups
If you contact us on Facebook, future communications will likely be there. Many times emails from us can end up in spam or junk folders. Please be sure to check for that also or add our email to your approved senders list. We will not call, text, or mail you a notification for your approval. Once we send the approval via email or Facebook message, we are then waiting for you to get in contact with us in return for adopting.
Step 5 - Stay Connected
After your forms have been submitted, you will be placed in queue for adoption. We schedule from our list based on the following criteria:
1. Have all forms been submitted and the application approved for adoption?
2. Has the adopter responded to our initial email requesting confirmation that they are still interested in adoption?
3. Is this adopter the one who applied first of all those available to schedule?
4. Do I have the gender they want to adopt available for adoption now?
If the answer to all questions is "yes", you will receive a message from me to schedule for adoption. To confirm a date for adoption or a reservation for specific babies, you will need to pay a 50% deposit within 24 hours. There are times when reservations go very slowly, and other times where I may be scheduling reservations at a rate of 3-4 per day. Being somewhat flexible helps a lot.
If you ever have questions on where you are at on the list or rats in general. Please feel free to contact me. I am always happy to talk to everyone in between offerings as well.