Adoption Application

APARN’S Application Process

APARN’s primary objective is to find good homes for Arizona’s homeless pugs. A rescue pug isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. Rescue pugs often come with a lot of emotional and/or physical baggage, and require a lot of love, patience, and commitment as well as financial support.

We work hard to ensure a good match between our pugs and potential adopters, which is why we have minimum acceptance criteria, as well as a thorough five-step application process.

Minimum Acceptance Criteria: APARN does not accept applications for adoption or fostering from parties under the age of 25 years, or from families with children under the age of 5 years. APARN does not adopt to homes with unaltered pets, an unfenced pool & doggy door combo, smokers, or dog breeds we feel may be hazardous to a pug. These breeds may include, but are not limited to German Shepherd or Shepherd Mix, Shiba Ina, Chow, Pit Bull or Pit Bull mixes, Rottweiler, Doberman, Great Dane, Mastiff, Shar-pei, Wolf Hybrid, Husky, or Akita. Please understand your dog may be very nice, but pugs can be very stubborn, and will often refuse to back down from a bigger dog. This always ends very poorly for the pug, and is one of the main reasons pugs come to us needing to have a damaged eye removed.

We believe a good relationship with an established veterinarian is a very important part of pug ownership. We generally do not adopt outside of Arizona; exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis, usually for older, special needs pugs. Sorry, our minimum acceptance criteria is non-negotiable.

  • Step one – The Application. Even if you adopted as recently as six months ago, we ask you to submit a new application, as many things seem to change so quickly these days. We strive to review your application within two to three weeks, however, there may be extenuating circumstances that put us a little behind.  At the end of this step, you will receive an email if we feel there is not a good match at this time based on our minimum acceptance criteria or other factors based on our discretion.
  • Step Two – Phone Screen. If your application is moved on to Step Two, a volunteer will contact you for a phone screen.
  • Step Three – Panel Interview.  If your application is moved to Step Three, a member of the Adoption Committee will contact you to schedule a Zoom meeting with you and members of the Adoption Committee. This is your chance to ask more in-depth questions, and a chance for the Adoption Committee to get to know you and your resident pets a little better. Spouse/Partner is asked to attend this with you.
  • Step Four – Home Check. If your application has moved to this stage, a member of the Adoption Committee will contact to set up your home check. The home check gives you an opportunity to ask any questions you may have about helping a new pug adapt more easily, and about pugs/adoption in general. It also allows us to point out anything of danger to a pug that should be corrected prior to adoption. We ask that all members of your family and pets are present to meet us.
  • Step Five – Pug Matching. After the home check, if approved to adopt, you’ll be contacted by a member of the Adoption Committee to discuss potential pug matches!

Please answer all questions to the best of your ability. We try to complete the application process as efficiently as possible, but please understand that APARN is entirely volunteer based and as such, sometimes there are delays.

Please answer all questions to the best of your ability. There is a $10 application fee payable upon submission of this application, required for the submission.