Balkan Underdogs Rescue Back Up Policy

​

All good rescues will provide Rescue Back Up (RBU) for their rescue animals, be that a foreign or domestic rescue. If the rescue you are choosing does not offer RBU this is very risky for both the animal and the adopter. Some support and terms may differ from rescue to rescue so this policy sets out the terms of our RBU, gives clarity regarding our expectations from adopters and provides information on what support you and your dog or cat are entitled to from Balkan Underdogs (BU) as part of their Rescue Back Up.

 

BU offer RBU for the lifetime of ALL our dogs and cats, be this on first arrival to the UK or even in some cases many years later. Changes in circumstances, unforeseen events and many other reasons mean this RBU is a safety net for our dogs and cats to ensure that they are cared for and rehomed under our strict rehoming process.

 

Support is provided to you, the adopter, from the moment you decide to adopt a BU. This will be in various ways such as a dedicated adoption chat with direct contact with your dog/cat’s rescuer, along with several members of the admin team which includes at least one Charity Trustee. You will also be added (where an adopter or immediate family member has a profile) to our closed Facebook community support group where advice, support and guidance is always available. You will also be given the contact numbers of at least 5 BU Charity Trustees in your rehoming agreement, details of our other social media platforms and our website and email contacts

 

What you, the adopter can expect from BU  

 

• That you are given full details to the best of our knowledge on the dog or cat you are adopting. You will be given the opportunity to ask any questions of both the team and rescuer regarding the process itself and the dog or cat you have chosen to adopt throughout the adoption process.

​​

• BU are dual chip registered on the PETRAC database for every dog and cat we bring to the UK. The chip of your new BU will be registered to you BEFORE ARRIVAL in the UK by our team members. You will also be offered 30 days free insurance.

​​

• BU have the benefit of trained professionals such as vets, vet nurses, dog behaviourists and trainers to complement our extremely dedicated and experienced Admin and Trustee team. These individuals or organisations all volunteer to help advise our adopters, so contact with BU in the first instance of any problems or issues is expected from our adopters. If, after advice from the above volunteers you are still experiencing problems, we will help you source a suitably qualified local behaviourist to assist you. This will be at the cost to you, the adopter, but we are more than happy to support you in choosing the right one. It is extremely important any help you receive is from a suitably qualified professional that has experience with foreign rescues.

​​

• BU will initially offer advice from their combined experience and their bank of professional volunteers, if this does not start to improve the issues raised, BU will direct you to professionals in your area that can help. If, after taking on board both the advice from BU and trained professionals, along with consideration of the time to work with certain issues, the situation does not improve or for any emergency situations, our adopters can expect BU to take the animal back into our care at the earliest possible opportunity.

​​

• Our rehoming agreement has been designed by a firm of animal welfare law specialists and as such, should be read to ensure you understand and agree with its terms. Our Rescue Back up Policy is referred to in note 16 of this rehoming agreement.

​​

• You can expect to feel fully supported throughout the lifetime of your BU dog or cat.

​​

• You can expect a professional, honest, and effective solution to any concerns raised

​​

• Our vet liaison will contact your vet around a month after arrival to introduce our Charity and provide your vet with the opportunity to ask any questions they have. We will also make them aware of the RBU in place and dual chip registration for your dog/cat.

​​

• After your adoptee arrives, our Post Adoption Team will check in with you firstly at around 6 months post adoption and then annually thereafter for an update (unless the team have heard from you in the meantime). This is in addition to the initial contact that will be made during the settling in period of your dog/cat.

​​

• As per our Rehoming Agreement BU reserve the right to reclaim the dog or cat should the adopter be in any breach of the conditions of the rehoming agreement, or should they believe it is in the dog or cat’s best interest. The adopter can expect to receive notice of these concerns, in writing, in the first instance.

​​

• You can expect us to respond in the quickest time possible as volunteers. Whilst we will work extremely hard to rehome any dog/cat as quickly as possible it is necessary to appreciate that our fosters and kennels are throughout the UK and therefore time may be needed to arrange placement and transport. Full support and advice will be given to you on how to manage the situation until such time we can remove our dog or cat, which as previously noted will be as soon as we possibly can unless otherwise agreed with yourselves, such as a BU looking for a new home whilst remaining in your care. You will be always updated on expected timescales.

​

What BU expects from our adopters 

• That the Charity BU are your first port of call for any problems or changes in circumstances or where the adopter is no longer able to care for the dog or cat.

​​

• That the Charity are contacted in the first instance of an animal going missing. We provide detailed advice and support on the steps that need to be taken to facilitate your dog/cat’s safe recovery.

​​

• That our adopters appreciate the stress and trauma encountered from travel, and that a dog or cat may not be themselves for a few days/weeks whilst they decompress. A safe space is expected and will have been discussed with you at your homecheck. Our adopters are expected to give sufficient time for our dogs and cats to settle into a home environment after their transport. Time is usually the overriding factor needed for our rescues.

​​

• That our adopters will NEVER sell, pass on without our knowledge or advertise one of our dogs or cats for a permanent new home (this includes to a friend or family member, whilst we may be happy to agree this, it MUST be through our rehoming procedure) in accordance with section 16 of our Rehoming Agreement. Temporary new homes, with the exception of holiday boarding/cover, should also be communicated to BU

​​

• The adopter will not remove the dual chip registration and will keep address and contact details up to date in accordance with section 12 of our Rehoming Agreement.

​​

• The adopter will provide updates on their dog or cat for life either by way of posting on social media, direct to a Charity volunteer or rescuer or by responding to our Post Adoption Team emails/contact.

​​

• That the advice of our team or other professionals is followed, both in preparation of your new arrival and after. We have an abundance of experience that we are more than willing to share with you, but you need to be prepared to listen to advice and act accordingly.

​​

• We will require that you manage your expectations of settling in a foreign rescue by reading all material that we supply, visiting our website, reading our New Adopters Guide and visiting the various resources we recommend, along with doing your own research.

​

• As volunteers we expect understanding that we will respond to you as quickly as we possibly can, we will guarantee a response.

 

• We fully expect adopters to read, understand and comply with our rehoming agreement.

​​

• Balkan Underdogs expect to be informed of any LIFE CHANGING illness or surgery, or indeed life ending decisions BEFORE they take place where this is appropriate and not of an emergency nature.

​​

• That the adopter notifies BU of any change in permanent address and contact details, in order that we keep our database of information GDPR compliant.

​​

• That the adopter understands the Charity do not provide refunds