Adopt and Foster
Help Us Fulfill Our Mission
to Give Hope A Home!
View Adoptable Dogs
Large-Breed and Giant Dogs Deserve Loving Permanent and Temporary Homes
Our Adoption Process
We carefully match our large-breed and giant dogs with adopters to ensure the best possible fit for both the animal and the family.
Before adoption, all pets are:
- Fully vetted, spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped
- Evaluated for behavior, temperament, and health
- Given all necessary medical treatment and vaccinations
- Cared for by The House of Hope or placed in loving foster homes where we learn about their unique personalities
How to Adopt
- Submit an Adoption Application & Talk to Our Staff Tell us about your home, lifestyle, and experience with pets.
- Meet & Greet Meet your chosen dog to see if it's a perfect match for you, your family and other pets.
- Home Visit & Approval Allow us to conduct a home check in order to ensure a safe environment for you, your other pets, and your chosen dog.
- Adoption Audition Take our chosen dog home for a brief period of up to 7 days for a compatibility assessment.
- Finalize the Adoption & Give Hope a Home! Once approved, sign the adoption agreement and take your new family member home!
Adoption Fees
Your adoption fee helps us cover the cost of medical care, food, and supplies for all our animals. Every dollar goes directly toward rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming future House of Hope dogs.
Lifelong Support
By adopting a House of Hope dog, you join our rescue family. Our commitment doesn't end with adoption day. We're here to provide guidance, resources, and community support whenever you need it after you adopt.
Our Large-Breed and Giant Dogs Were at High Risk to Be Euthanized, Abandoned, or Sheltered
The Adoption Challenges Facing Giant & Large Breed-Dogs
In many shelters, large-breed and giant dogs, typically those over 40 pounds, make up approximately 40 to 60 percent of the total population. These dogs are adopted less often and may spend two or three times longer in shelters compared to smaller dogs. Many times, giant and large-breed dogs are inappropriately re-homed by shelters. They are placed in homes where the owners cannot provide the right environment, continued training, and exercise routine. They are also placed in environments that are not suited for their temperament. The results may be that the dogs are repeatedly returned to shelters, increasing their risk of being euthanized, abandoned, or worse.
The Additional Bias Facing Dark-Coated and Elderly Dogs at Shelters
National data shows that dark coated are adopted two to three times less often than dogs with lighter coat colors. This disparity is often attributed to several factors:
- Photographic and Visual challenges are greater at shelters when capturing dogs with dark fur.
- Well-meaning rescues and potential adopters have unconscious stereotypes that dark-furred dogs are aggressive, destructive, intimidating or unfriendly – especially large and giant breeds.
The House of Hope works every day to eradicate these problems and myths. The bias against darker colored giant and large-breed dogs is unfounded.
We work to overcome this bias through better imaging and photography, public awareness campaigns, and by highlighting the personalities of every black-coated rescue in our care.
We make sure adopters see the dog for who they truly are: a loving, loyal companion whose worth has nothing to do with appearance.
Give Hope!
"We are sure that the bias against large-breed dogs, and its effects, has caused some of these same dogs to lose their lives."
The House of Hope works every day to eradicate these problems and myths through education, high-quality photography that captures our dogs' true spirit, and by providing these gentle giants the time and sanctuary they need to find their perfect matches.
Foster. Become A Foster. House a Hope Dog.
The House of Hope is always in need of long-term fosters who have experience fostering, working in shelters, living with or training large-breed and giant dogs or senior dogs and/or who have technical veterinary training.
You don't need a rescue van or special training. What you do need is the willingness to show up. Open your home to a dog who needs a calm place to land. Come spend a few hours helping at the House. Chip in to cover a surgery or a bag of food. Donate according to what you have to give. The House appreciates your support!
How to Become a Foster of Hope
The House of Hope is always seeking short-term and long-term foster homes for our large-breed and giant rescued dogs. We are especially in need of fosters who have experience living with and caring for large breed or giant dogs.
Becoming a Foster of Hope — even if you can only foster for a short period of time — is one of the most rewarding ways to support the rescue of large-breed and giant dogs. As a foster, you will provide a temporary, loving home for a rescued dog awaiting a forever home.
Short-Term Fosters (1 day to 30 days)
Short-term fosters do such things allow Hope dogs to recover from medical procedures and give them a short-term place to stay after being rescued. In emergency situations, being a short-term (1 to 7 day foster) may allow a dog to be pulled from a high-kill shelter just in time to avoid being euthanized.
Long-Term Fosters (one month or more)
Long-term fosters are critical to The House of Hope's Mission. Long-term fosters enable the Rescue to rehabilitate dogs and provide them with the necessary behavioral training and social conditioning for successful permanent home placement. The House of Hope's long-term fosters provide critical emotional stability for rescues as they transition to a better life.
Dogs Available for Short-Term Foster
Dogs Available for Long-Term Foster
TO BECOME A HOPE FOSTER, YOU MUST HAVE AN APPLICATION ON FILE AND:
- Be 21 years or older and have valid state identification showing your current address
- Complete foster training
- Live within 3 hours of Fairfax County, Virginia
- Be available to bring your foster dog to all veterinary appointments
- Fill out a foster application and allow a pre-foster home inspection
Action is a Form of Hope