Adoption Process

In a nutshell, the adoption process consists of you filling out an application, answering a few questions that help me get to know you better, going on the wait-list (if no babies are currently available), picking out/reserving your baby, and finally signing the adoption agreement when you pick up your baby. In reality, each of these steps is a little more in depth. Adopting a baby from Black Wolf Rattery is not hard to do, but it can take a little time and effort, partly because I do not have rats available at all times, and partly because I want to make sure my babies go to good homes where they will be loved as pets for life. Each of these steps is illustrated in more detail below. Read through to the bottom of this page for more information about reserving and adopting babies. 1) Fill out an application Filling out an application is the first step to adopting a baby from Black Wolf Rattery. This form provides me with basic information about you, for example your name and contact information, as well as what you are looking for in a pet. If you are only looking for a friendly, loving companion and don't care about sex, color, or what litter the baby came from, you can simply answer by stating "any". You can also send me an e-mail with your request, rather than filling out the form itself. BWR Adoption Application E-mail: sorraiamustang@yahoo.com 2) Adoption interview The adoption interview consists of answering more in-depth questions about yourself and your experience with pet rats. These questions allow me to get to know you better, as well as make sure you understand what is involved in caring for pet rats. These questions include your past experiences, what you plan to feed, what housing your have for your new rats, any rats or other pets you currently have, and so on. If you are a minor interested in adopting rats, this part of the adoption process will involve both you and your parent/guardian. Minors will not be automatically excluded from adopting rats from Black Wolf Rattery, however their parent/guardian must be involved in the process. Both parent/guardian and child must understand what is involved in caring for pet rats. If the child is unable to do so, the parent/guardian must be willing to step in and care for the rats. If during this time you have questions about rat care or what is expected of you once you adopt a rat, please ask. I am more than happy to answer any questions or to help people in any way I can. 3) Going on a wait-list If no babies are currently available, you will have the option of going on my wait-list. This wait-list gives you a "first chance" at reserving babies from future-planned litters. I highly recommend the wait-list if you are requesting a very specific or popular variety. Once on the wait-list, you will be kept up-to-date on all planned litters expected to produce babies fitting your criteria. When a litter or babies become available, I will begin to notify those people on the top of my wait-list. In certain circumstances, breeders are given priority for certain babies. In any one litter, only a few babies may be set aside as potential breeding quality, so there will always be plenty of babies available for people interested in pets only. 4) Picking out/reserving your babies When I have a litter available that has babies fitting your adoption preferences, you will be notified. As I pick out the babies I expect to keep from each litter, I will begin to allow my wait-list to pick out babies to adopt. The first person on my wait-list will be notified first, then the second, and so on. To place a reservation on a baby, you will be asked to provide a $10 non-refundable deposit per baby. If you want to reserve one baby you will only be asked for $10, two babies you will be asked for $20. When you adopt your babies, this deposit will be subtracted from the total adoption fee. 5) Signing the adoption agreement After the babies are weaned at five weeks of age, I will keep them for one additional week. During this week I will start making arrangements to meet with adopters so they may pick up their babies. When picking up your babies, you will be asked to sign an adoption agreement. This agreement is made between both you the adopter, and I the breeder, regarding how the babies are expected to be cared for, and what is to happen should you ever find yourself unable to care for them. At this meeting I will go over the adoption agreement with you in depth. You are free to ask any questions regarding the agreement prior to this meeting, as well as during the meeting. Currently I have two adoption agreements, one for pets-only, and one for potentially breeding quality rats. You may access either of these agreements by following the links below. Pet-Only Adoption Agreement Breeding Permissible Adoption Agreement If you have questions about any part of the adoption contract, please contact me. I am more than happy to help anyone who has questions. During the entire adoption process I reserve the right to refuse adoption to any one for any reason. I also reserve the right to first pick in each of my litters. Although I do adopt my babies out, I do not produce rats to meet a demand. They are produced first and foremost to be sweet, friendly, loving pets.

Litter Announcements

All planned litters will be posted on my website. As soon as a litter is posted I will start accepting wait-list reservations. You may request a reservation either by filling out my Adoption Application, or by emailing me directly. When placing a reservation, I ask for a non-refundable deposit of $10 per baby. This is only asked for reservations on specific babies, not for the wait-list. When requesting babies, please understand I do not breed to meet a demand, and will not have babies available at all times of the year. If you are interested in adopting rats from me, especially specific or popular varieties, please consider going on my wait-list. As soon as babies are available I will inform you in the order I have reserved requests. All babies I place will be adopted on a first come first serve basis. The first person on my wait-list will get first pick, second person will get second pick, and so on. My wait-list is private and will not be made public, for privacy of my potential adopters. For each and every litter I produce, I reserve the right to first pick. When making my selections, I look for the babies that are likely to pass on the best traits to the next generation. I also reserve the right to give breeders first pick of certain select babies in a litter. For any litter, there will be more babies available for pet-only adoptions, so you should not worry about breeders adopting all of my babies first. At any time during the adoption process, I do reserve the right to refuse service to any person for any reason I deem necessary. I put a lot of time, money, and energy into providing for my rats and only want to see them go to the best homes possible. If you are reserving babies from me for the first time, please do not assume I know you, regardless what your reputation may be in other circles or clubs. When requesting a rat for breeding purposes, please remember I reserve the right to refuse adoption or to pick specific babies I think would be suitable for breeding. As a breeder, I strive to produce the best in health, temperament, and type. I believe other breeders should do the same. If a particular baby is not breeding quality, it will be placed as a pet only, no matter how pretty or unusual its color may be. Other breeders do not have a right to my babies, or even to specific babies. If you are planning to breed my rats, you will be expected to answer more questions beyond a basic pet-only interview or basic care. Some of these questions will include how you started breeding, what goals you are breeding towards, how you select your pairs, and so on. Please understand I am very selective about who my babies go to, and even more so when it comes to breeding quality animals. I only want the best for my rats, and this becomes even more vital when these animals are going to produce a litter. When answering these questions, please be honest. Although I am selective about where my rats go, I do not make any judgment before getting to know a person.

Adoption Agreement

When adopting rats from me you must understand and agree to a set of adoption terms. Basically you are agreeing to care for the animal for its entire life. Remember rats can live two to three years. If you do not expect to live up to this responsibility, please do not adopt from me. If your life is not stable and you expect you might have to give up your animals in the next year or two, please do not adopt from me. I love my animals dearly and want to see them go only to the best, permanent homes available. I will not waste my time adopting animals to irresponsible owners. I only adopt out rats to adults (18 years or older). If you are a minor and would like to adopt a rat from me, please ask your parent or guardian to contact me. If your parent or guardian does not approve and will not contact me, then unfortunatley you will not be unable to adopt from me. I apologize if this is an inconvenience, but again I only want my animals to go to good homes, where they will be welcomed and live permanently for the rest of their life. At the time of adoption I guarantee my animals are healthy. I will never adopt out any animal that is visibly ill. With your adoption you will sign and receive a copy of the adoption contract. I have two adoption contracts available, one for pet-only adoptions, and one for breeding permissible adoptions. Both of these can be accessed through this site by following these links: Pet-Only Adoption Agreement Breeding Permissible Adoption Agreement Lastly, Black Wolf Rattery has an e-mail list to which all adopters will be added. This is a private list and none of your information will be made available to anyone. Periodic updates, announcements, and news will be sent to this e-mail list, and will be a great way for adopters to keep in touch with Black Wolf Rattery. Some of the announcements included will be the birth of future litters, medical updates, and show results. These announcements will only come from me, and will be posted a couple times a month. As a member of this list, you will have the option of receiving individual e-mails, a daily digest, or checking for announcements through the website.

Shipping

I usually do not ship rats. Generally shipping is too costly, time consuming, and stressful for those who are adopting pets only. If you would like me to ship rats to you, please understand you will be expected to cover all costs. Rats can only be shipped by plane, so you will be essentially buying them a plane ticket. In addition the rats will need an airline-approved carrier, health certificates which includes a vet exam, compensation for the time and gas involved to get animals to the airport, all in addition to the normal adoption fee. When all costs are added together, you can expect a total of $200 or more. Unless you and several other people are willing to adopt rats and split the shipping costs, this is generally not feasible or reasonable for most people.

Adoption Fee

I charge a small adoption fee for all animals. This fee is used to cover the cost to care for my animals, including food, bedding, and veterinary expenses. For the amount of care provided to these animals, the adoption fee will barely recover even a fraction of it. I charge a flat fee of $25 per rat. When reserving babies, you will be asked to place a non-refundable deposit of $10 per baby. This amount is subtracted from the total adoption fee. This deposit allows me to freely reserve babies for. This is a new procedure that was recently implemented when several adopters reserved babies, then backed out after I had helped the babies for them for several weeks. When you provide the deposit, you are showing me you are a serious adopter. This deposit also allows me to care for the babies until you are able to pick them up.