Questions and Answers

HOW DO I ADOPT AN ENTLEBUCHER MOUNTAIN DOG?
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RESCUE AND REHOME?
HOW LONG DOES THE PROCESS TAKE?
WHAT DOES NEMDA DO TO HELP?
HOW DO I PREPARE TO BRING HOME MY ENTLE?
WHAT ARE THE COSTS INVOLVED?
WHAT IS A RESCUER?

If you’re interested in adopting an entle, the first step is to complete the Adoption Application and return it to the Rescue Chair. Your application will be reviewed and you will be contacted with an update of Entles currently available for adoption with NEMDA. If you haven’t already met at least one Entle, NEMDA Rescue will encourage you to visit one and can offer possible Entle families near you to visit.

The second step is the interview process. You must be as forthright as possible in your discussions with NEMDA about why you want an Entlebucher, what kind of environment you are going to provide, the type of Entle personality and age you are looking for. You should also be able to discuss how you are going to help this Entle adapt to his new home. The goal of NEMDA is to find these orphans a good home. You will be at least their second home; we want this to be their last home.

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NEMDA Rescue distinguishes between a ‘rescue’ and a ‘rehome’ Entle. A rescue Entle is one that has been found in a shelter, or lacks someone willing to be responsible for it. (Neither owner nor breeder is available.) In the case of a rescue, NEMDA will take possession of the dog and provide all care, veterinary services, transportation, etc. NEMDA will make the placement decision.

In the case of a rehome, NEMDA Rescue’s role will be one of a facilitator. We will offer informational assistance to help the current family and the new family transition ownership in the least stressful way for the dog.

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Once the adoption application and interview process are completed, you will be added to our list of available families. NEMDA Rescue's first priority is to find the best fit possible for each dog. Each dog will be evaluated prior to placement and some dogs will need to be placed in families without children. Most will need homes with experienced handlers. Therefore the time it takes to find the right placement varies from weeks to months. Be patient.

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When you adopt an Entle through NEMDA, we may help you find a good trainer in your area. NEMDA also has a Training Resources Chairperson who is happy to recommend and provide training and behavior books that are well suited for Entles.

NEMDA may also be able to provide support to those original owners having problems with their Entle in order to avoid having to relinquish them.

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For rehomed entles, you will have communication with the current Entle's owner about things like what kind of food, toys, amount of exercise he gets now, how well trained he is, what does his life look like now. This Profile and Behavior Background information will help your new Entle make the transition to your home easier. You can start off with the same kind of food, same type of toys and so on.

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NEMDA Rescue requests a $500 donation for a rescued Entle. This helps us pay for shipping costs, vet bills and foster care expenses. Any money left over will be applied to future rescues. In the case of a rehome, the fee is handled between the original and adoptive owners. Usually, the new owner is asked to pay for all costs related to the transfer of ownership (ie transportation, vet exam, etc.)

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A Rescuer is a lot of things. There are people who evaluate and pull dogs from their local shelters, who transport, who work the adoption events, who post the phone messages, who brainstorm about fund raising, who answer calls, and people who monitor the shelters for our breed.

Everyone of these people are rescuers - doing what they can, with the resources and time they have. Rescue is "one dog at a time," so everyone who has helped one dog. is a rescuer.

The person that picks a dog up off the street before he gets hit by a car, even if he has to take it to the shelter, is a rescuer. The person that overnights a stray dog to renunite it with its owner is a rescuer. The person that takes just one dog off the street and tries to rehome it is a rescuer. And anyone who donates money to any rescue operation is a rescuer.

To be a rescuer means you care and you have done a positive thing towards saving at least one animal. Each one of these small steps adds up to hundreds of dogs and cats saved. And each small step can lead to more steps and more involvement. And each person can be an example for their next door neighbor, co-worker or friend - even if that influence is simply getting someone to go to the shelter instead of the pet store or a backyard breeder - making them rescuers in their own right. And each step can consume our pocket book, our homes serenity, our time, our gas, and our hearts and souls - the degree of sacrifice is not the key issue - caring is. There is a heartbeat to rescue and each step keeps rescue alive. And those who spend hours and hours of their day and empty their pocket books and drop their lives to save an animal in need today are the backbone and the soul of rescue. Without you, there is no framework to make this world safe for the animals we can save and no source of inspiration for those 'small" rescuers.

So don't judge the people who can only do a little bit. Little bits count. And be in awe of the people that commit so much time and energy and resources to these efforts - they are truly wonderful people. Thanks for every small step and every huge bite in the rescue process. At the end of these efforts, you will find a grateful pet living in a wonderful home or an animal that has gone gently and with love to the rainbow bridge. That is what fulfills the heart of a rescuer.

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