Frequently Asked Questions

New Hope Pit Bull Rescue is a small foster home based organization founded by Alicia Domina and Kat Riley, who together have more than twenty years of experience with the "bully" breeds. We have a wonderful group of volunteers who are dedicated to rehabilitating and re-homing unwanted, stray and abandoned Pit Bull type dogs (including the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier), and to promoting humane treatment of animals through educational programs for our community. We are committed to providing quality veterinary care, as well as, socializing, training, behavioral modification where needed, exercise and daily companionship for all animals in our program. Our passion is to educate the public about the true nature of the Pit Bull and to restore the breed to its former position of esteem in the hearts and minds of people everywhere. NHPBR is a founding member of the Pit Bull Rescue Alliance and strongly supports the Pit Bull Rescuers Code of Ethics.

There are many common questions asked by people who contact us. We're hoping that with this FAQ, one will be able to find the answer to those common questions more easily.

About Us:
Where is your shelter facility?

What areas do you service?

There are other pit bull rescues in the Charleston area. Why?

Adoptions:

I'm interested in adopting. What do I do?

What is your adoption fee?

What does your adoption fee include?

Do you adopt out of state?

Donations:

Are my donations tax deductible?

How can I donate?

Can I shop online and still help New Hope Pit Bull Rescue?

I heard you sell magnets. Where can I find those?

Volunteering:

Why do you need volunteers?

I would like to volunteer. What do I do?

Can I bring my dog to adoption events?

Fostering:

What is fostering?

I am interested in fostering. What do I do?

What do you provide foster homes?

Can I meet a dog before committing to fostering?

Intake:

Where do you get your dogs?

Do you take owner surrenders?

I had a baby and want to surrender my dog.

I'm moving and want to surrender my dog.

I found a stray, now what?

I'm having trouble placing my dog's puppies. Can you take them?

Why can't you get the dog today?

Why don't you have room?

Why is temperament testing so important?

Other:

My dog is starting fights with my other dog, can you help?

My dog killed a cat/dog/squirrel/rat/opossum/fox/etc. and now I'm afraid he'll go for kids/people next.

About Us:

Where is your shelter facility?
~ We currently do not have a shelter facility. NHPBR is strictly a foster home based rescue. This means all dogs in our program are housed in private residences. Meetings can be arranged after our Adoption Application is completed. You may also visit the dogs at one of our adoption events. Please contact us if you are interested in meeting a specific dog.

What areas do you service?
~ We generally service the Tri-County area of South Carolina. These counties are Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester. Occasionally, we will bring dogs into our program from shelters outside of the Tri-County area. Generally, these shelters are in a more rural area where their resources for getting pit bull type dogs into rescue are very limited.

There are other pit bull rescues in the Charleston area. Why?
~ Each rescue operates differently and has a different approach to reaching similar goals. We highly recommend researching any rescue you may be interested in adopting from, fostering for, or volunteering for. If you need ideas on what to look for and what to ask, please visit our blog post about "Checking a Rescue's References".

Adoptions:

I'm interested in adopting. What do I do?

~ Please visit our Adoption Policies page for our adoption requirements. When you are ready to begin the adoption process, please fill out our Adoption Application. Even if there isn't a dog currently in our program that meets your wants and needs, don't hesitate to apply! We can help you find the dog for you.

What is your adoption fee?

~ Our adoption fee ranges between $150 and $250 depending on the needs of the individual dog.

What does your adoption fee include?

~ Our adoption fee includes: All vaccinations, microchip, and spay/neuter, parasite prevention and any additional medical attention a dog may need. In addition to this, our dogs have begun training to better fit living indoors with family members.

Do you adopt out of state?

~ For qualified adopters, we will permit an out of state adoption. Keep in mind that we do NOT ship our dogs.

Donations:

Are my donations tax-deductible?

~ Yes. We are a federally recognized 501c3 tax exempt organization, which means that your donations are tax deductable. NHPBR follows each donation with a thank you letter that indicates the amount or item donated. Please save this letter as a reciept for tax purposes.

How can I donate?

~ Please visit our Donate page to view all the ways you can help our organization help dogs.

Can I shop online and still help New Hope Pit Bull Rescue?

~ Yes! If you commonly shop online, there are several stores we have partnered with that take a percentage of your purchase and give it back to us. It's a great way to get the things you need in your everyday life while still helping us. Visit our Shop NHPBR Page for links to the sites that give back when you shop!

I heard you sell magnets. Where can I find those?

~It is true! We have a variety of magnets that we offer for purchase most commonly at our "Meet and Greets." If you are out of the area, we also have made them available for online purchase, shipping and handling included. To view available designs and to purchase, visit our Shop NHPBR Page.

Volunteering:

Why do you need volunteers?

~ Our volunteers help us operate more effectively. We need volunteers to help us insure timely response to phone calls and emails as well as help with public events and get the word out about New Hope Pit Bull Rescue. Please visit our Volunteer Page to find out more specifically what our volunteer needs are.

I would like to volunteer. What do I do?

~ Please fill out our Volunteer Application so we can gain a good assessment of the things you would be interested in possibly helping out with. We need help with all sorts of things!

Can I bring my dog to adoption events?

~ We encourage you to bring your current dog to events if you are interested in meeting and adopting a NHPBR dog, otherwise we prefer to have only adoptable dogs at events as people can get confused about a dog being available for adoption.

Fostering:

What is fostering?

~ Fostering is providing a temporary home to a dog in need while they wait to be adopted into their permanent home. Foster homes are the ONLY way dogs make it out of less than desirable situations. The more foster homes we have, the more dogs we can save from euthanasia. Please consider fostering a pit bull in need.

I am interested in fostering. What do I do?

~ Wonderful! We need you! Please view our Foster Policies page and fill out our Foster Application. We will get back to you as soon as possible!

What do you provide foster homes?

~ We provide a crate, bowls, collar, leash, and a few toys to our foster homes. When we have food donated to us, the food will be divided between all foster homes. NHPBR pays for routine vet care as well. Please visit our Foster Policies page for more information.

Can I meet a dog before committing to fostering?

~ In some circumstances, we can allow you to meet a dog prior to fostering. In most cases however, the dogs are in shelters where meeting them first is often not possible. Shelters have to consider the security of the dogs in their care. We've heard some horrifying stories of people trying to steal dogs from the shelters in one way or another so we completely respect a shelter's policy on who gets to meet the dogs. Please realize that without a solid commitment from a foster home, we CANNOT commit to bringing the dog into our program. Rest assured though, New Hope Pit Bull Rescue personally temperament tests each dog before committing to bringing the dog into our program. If you are interested in fostering and have specific wants and needs, please let us know about them and we will do our best to accomodate.

Intake:

Where do you get your dogs?

~ Our dogs are generally taken out of the shelter where they are at the greatest risk of being euthanized. Under special circumstances, we will consider owner surrenders.

Do you take owner surrenders?

~ NHPBR will take owner surrenders on a case-by-case, space available basis.

I had a baby and want to surrender my dog.

~ Dogs make WONDERFUL companions for children! Please visit House Pet Magazine and Paw Rescue.org to read some tips regarding integrating your new baby with your dog. If you still wish to surrender your dog, please read our Intake Policy.

I'm moving and want to surrender my dog.

~ Have you exhausted all resources to find housing that will allow your pet to move with you? Many private owners will be more receptive to you having a dog than many apartment complexes. Try to find a copy of the paper in the area you are moving to and browse the rentals section. For more tips on finding pit bull friendly housing, please visit BADRAP's Renting With Pit Bulls page or refer to our Pit Bull Friendly Housing Tips. If you still want to surrender your dog, please read our Intake Policy.

I found a stray, now what?

~ What have you done to find the original owners of the dog? Make phone calls to area veterinarian offices, shelters, post fliers around town, advertise on Craigslist (www.craigslist.org) and post an ad in the local paper (oftentimes this is FREE). Also, take the dog to the shelter or vet to have them scanned for a microchip. Please view our Lost and Found page for more information and phone numbers to local area shelters. NHPBR CANNOT consider taking a found dog into our program without these steps being taken. If you have done what you can to try and find the owners, please view our Intake Policy. We understand that you may not be the owner of the found dog, however, we must have as much information about the dog as possible prior to it coming into our program.

I'm having trouble placing my dog's puppies. Can you take them?

~ New Hope Pit Bull Rescue will ONLY consider taking in puppies from a litter if the puppies' mother is spayed. There are NO exceptions.

Why can't you get the dog today?

~ NHPBR is a foster home based rescue organization and can only accept dogs on a space avaliable basis. After you have contacted us, it may take 24-48 hours before we can schedule a temperament test of the dog to confirm that it is a good representative of the breed and candidate for adoption. Under NO circumstances can we accept a dog into our program the same day we are contacted about the dog. A temperament test of the dog will ONLY be scheduled if we have room to bring the dog into our program. Please accept the very real possibility that we will NOT be able to accept the dog due to space constraints.

Why don't you have room?

~ We are a non-profit and foster home based rescue, which means that we are limited to the amount of funds and foster homes we have available. Many of our foster homes already have pets so our utmost concern is making sure that none of the animals in any of the foster homes suffer due to time and space constraints.

Why is temperament testing so important?

~ With cities, counties, and states all across the country banning pit bulls and pit bull type dogs, it is imperative that only the BEST breed representatives be made available to the public for adoption. Due to irresponsible breeding, many tempermentally unstable dogs are being produced. This happens when people pay more attention to what the dog looks like on the outside than the qualities the dog possesses on the inside. Additionally, there are people out there that actually think the American Pit Bull Terrier is supposed to be aggressive towards humans so they breed for that trait.

Other:

My dog is starting fights with my other dog. Can you help?

~ Animal aggression is not unheard of with this breed considering it's history in dog-fighting. Many things can contribute to dogs picking fights with one another so it's very important to pay attention to triggers. Food and toys are the most common triggers for fights between any dogs and the ones most easily handled. Other triggers could be "spots" like furniture or even people. These things can and should be worked with so please don't give up yet. We aren't trainers but we are willing to provide ideas with how to handle some aggression issues. Please email for additional assistance.

My dog killed a cat/dog/squirrel/rat/opossum/fox/etc. and now I'm afraid he'll go for kids/people next.

~ NO NO NO! Animal aggression and human aggression are ENTIRELY separate things! One thing to keep in mind with dogs (any dog!) is that...they are DOGS. Dogs have a prey drive and if not properly managed, they will act on their natural instincts and chase prey. A dog's instinct to chase and catch something is called its “prey drive.” The terriers are especially "prone" to having a high prey drive because their background and reason for being bred were to hunt down and kill small animals like rats and other rodents. With American Pit Bull Terriers, they were specifically bred to be exceptionally people friendly. Due to the way that dog fights were held, these dogs had to accept being handled by strangers and any sign of aggression towards another human meant certain death for the dog because they were of an unstable, untrustworthy temperament. The dogmen inspected the competitors' dog prior to a dog fight (commonly by bathing) to ensure no foreign items were on the dog that would make their dog not wish to fight. Dogs who showed signs of human aggression were considered unsafe. Human aggression is NOT a common nor desired trait of the American Pit Bull Terrier.

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