How to Adopt a Dalmatian

We have no dogs available at the present time and are not accepting applications.

Please do not submit our adoption application at this time. Thank you.

Our Adoption Policies

We place Dalmatians in the following seven states only:

  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Missouri
  • Wisconsin

Please visit www.dalsavers.org for other Dalmatian Rescue groups around the country.

We generally expect our adopters to have:

  1. Knowledge of canine behavior
  2. Homes with fenced-in yards (no “invisible” fences or any use of shock to contain the dog)
  3. Experience with Dalmatians
  4. Generous amounts of time to spend with their Dal
  5. The resources to provide quality food and excellent veterinary care for their Dalmatian

We rarely place Dalmatians in families with children. While Dalmatians usually love kids and do fine with well-behaved children, most families with young children do not have the time to give a dog all the attention and training that a Dal needs.

The Adoption Process

  1. Complete and submit our online application.
  2. One of our volunteers will contact you by phone for a short interview.
  3. A home visit will be arranged in your home with one of our volunteers.
  4. You will be invited to meet the dog in the foster home.
  5. If all goes well, the adoption can take place at the time of the meeting.
  6. Adoption fee: $500.

We are available to help with the settling-in process, and encourage our adopters to stay in touch for the lifetime of the dog. We love getting news about our adopted dogs!

We take dogs back at any time for any reason, with a full refund of the adoption fee.

Our Adoption Contract

At the time of the adoption, adopters are required to sign an Adoption Contract. This is a legal document. The legal obligations of adopters include:

  1. Providing the dog with clean, comfortable, indoor housing
  2. Providing a quality diet and fresh water
  3. Returning the dog to Dalmatian Rescue of Illinois if adopter cannot keep the dog for any reason
  4. Providing proper veterinary care, including monthly heartworm preventive
  5. Agreeing to use kind methods and positive reinforcement in training the dog
  6. Agreeing not to use, nor allowing others to use, cruel and abusive methods to train the dog. The dog is not to be trained using shock or any other aversive methods. (We do not place dogs in homes with “invisible” fences).

To apply to adopt a Dalmatian from us, please complete our adoption application.