No dog will be rehomed by us without being desexed, microchipped and vaccinated.

VicDRG is a group run almost entirely by volunteers. We sometimes pay for catch up administration work as our paperwork is important to us and ensures the safety of our animals.

Mostly, everyone gives of their time, skills and often money to ensure we can continue to work to save and improve the quality of life of our companion animals.

Your donations go where they are needed - to the animals.

Adopting a Dog

We apologise again for our slowness in getting back to you. Many of our volunteers have their own personal commitments at this time of the year as well of course as the increase in surrendered and dumped dogs. We do our best. Please be patient. But do not hesitate to drop us a reminder email.

Yes we do work through the holiday season, seven days a week, as usual. But we are taking this opportunity to tidy up administrative matters. So please forgive us if we don’t get back to you straight away.

Adoption Procedures

Victorian Dog Rescue and Resource Group Inc is dedicated to saving the lives of dogs on death row in Victorian Pounds. We do not operate a shelter. All of our dogs are in foster care at various locations around Melbourne. If you are interested in any of our dogs, please note our procedures below.

Each of our dogs is special to us, and their welfare is of the utmost importance. Our adoption procedures are extensive because we aim to match dogs with adopters, and place dogs in their 'forever' homes. Different dogs have different requirements, and we carefully assess the nature, temperament and requirements of each individual dog. We do not simply rehome our dogs to the first person that applies. Rather, we place our dogs in the home that is most suitable for the dog. Our dogs remain in foster care until this suitable home is found, however long it takes.

The first step is to complete the application form. The application needs to be returned to us online. If we have a dog that is suitable for you, we will telephone you to talk further. We also contact the foster carer for their comments, and if the dog appears a good match for you we will arrange a no obligation ‘meet and greet’. We also complete a property check to make sure all is safe and secure. We will only rehome dogs where fencing is secure or there is a contained area for the dog.

If we do not believe you will provide the most appropriate home for the dog we will not rehome the dog to you. Our decision is final. When applying for a dog please consider the dog’s requirements, not just your own. Above all our priority is to place our dogs in the most appropriate home for them.

The fee for our dogs is $450. We have a flat across the board fee because we believe that each of our dogs, whether a puppy, a senior, or a troubled teenager, have the same value. This fee is used to cover vet work and associated costs. Our greatest expense is veterinary work, and several of our dogs have required costly major operations. This adoption fee is not negotiable. All money received by us, whether in donations or fees, is used for the benefit of our animals.

We also offer a 30-day full refund policy, the services of a behaviouralist free of charge for the first month, and a take back or assist to rehome policy for the lifetime of the animal.

Please note we do not rehome to any person interstate or under 25 years of age.

Note that we are not in a position to hold dogs for you. Please do not apply for a dog until you are in a position to adopt that dog. We expect the dog to go to the new home within 7 days of the successful meet and greet.

For further information on adopting a dog or cat from us, please view our Adoption FAQ: » Adoption FAQ

Dog & Cat Adoption Application Forms

Please download the Adoption Application Forms here:

For dogs only: » Dog Adoption Application Form word document

For cats only: » Cat Adoption Application Form word document

If you are having trouble downloading these applications please »contact us and we will send you the application as an attachment or if necessary cut and paste on to an email for you. Unfortunately with limited numbers of volunteers we can only deal with online applications.

Adoption Fees

Adoption fees must be paid to this account:
Victorian Dog Rescue & Resource Group Inc
Westpac 033047 543361

Please remember that we are a not-for-profit organisation staffed entirely by volunteers. The best way to contact us is via email: adoptions@victoriandogrescue.org.au. If we have not acknowledged your application within three days, please send us a reminder.

Regrettably, at the present time, owing to the high volume of applications and a shortage of staff, we are not able to respond further to all applications. If the adoption is likely to proceed we shall contact you within seven days.

Thank you for your understanding.