Frequently Asked Questions
What is the truth about the dog crisis in Florida? I have not heard about it until your rescue posted about it.
Florida consistently is the 3rd worst state for shelter euthanasia behind California and Texas. In 2024, 150,860 dogs entered into shelters across the state of Florida. That year, 14,926 dogs did not make it out of the shelter after intake. The highest euthanasia rates are usually at rural shelters that have no social media presence and no one knows the dogs are there unless they go in person. These are the shelters we pull from. In 2025, our pulls enabled a previously high kill rural shelter to achieve no kill status. We are hoping to replicate this success across Central Florida.
How do we know your rescue is legitimate? We see a lot of rescues in the news that do not actually take care of their dogs and are worried.
We understand why you are worried- and you should be! A lot of "rescues" have been making the news recently for all the wrong reasons. We are registered with the DBPR, FDACs, and are a 501(c)(3) with the IRS. In addition, we use shelter tracking software to track all dogs in our rescue, and report our numbers to Shelter Data every month for accountability. We encourage you to research any rescue you adopt from.
Why is the adoption fee $___?
We try to make our adoption fees both fair and affordable, however last year our average cost per dog was almost $500 for vetting, etc. While we understand not every person can afford that amount, every dollar of the adoption fee goes to help covering dogs' expenses.
What kind of vet care do your dogs get?
It depends on what the dogs need! We often have to cover vaccinations, spay/neuter surgeries, medications, and other supplies. We will never take on a dog unless we can commit to its vet needs. Every dog we adopt out is spayed or neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated.
What's the adoption process like?
We prioritize the best fit for the dog - we want to get our dogs into their furever homes but this means making sure it's a match for the dog's personality, energy level, size, potential medical needs, and expected lifespan. We interview every adopter, do background checks, and do house checks to attempt to ensure we find the right fit for both dogs and adopters.
Where do you get your dogs?
We work with shelters, both local and across the state of Florida, that need our help. Our primary focus is pulling dogs from shelters that are full and being forced to euthanize for space. We generally do not take owner relinquishments because the focus of our rescue are dogs.
When will you have puppies?
We take on puppies when our shelters need help and we have available fosters. There is no 'season' for puppies like there is for kittens. If you want a puppy, however, please put in an application with your exact requirements and we can keep an eye out for your dream dog. The shelters we work with get all kinds in all the time!
We need to relinquish our dogs. What do we do?
Our first recommendation would be to attempt to re-home them on social media, as most rescues are completely full. However, please make sure you carefully vet any individual you give your dog to. Rescues that have brick and mortar locations, unlike us, generally have an easier time intaking dogs because they have immediate space.
I already applied, but the original dog I wanted is no longer available and now I want a new dog you have. What do I need to do?
We use a shelter tracking system to manage our applications, so we still have your application on file. Please e-mail us at saltydogrescuefl@gmail.com to say you are interested in a new dog, and we can pull your old application. Please ensure to provide us with the name you used on the application so we can easily find it.
Do you do foster do adopt?
We do not do foster to adopt, because it is not fair to the dog to have them get settled for a short period of time with someone who is not fully committed.