About Us
Saving lives since 2006:
Here is how we do it, and how our adoptions work.
Established together in 2006, Peppermint Pig Thrift & Gift operates solely to support Peppermint Pig Animal Rescue.
We are a 100% non-profit 501(c)(3), 100% volunteer operated, no-kill animal rescue.
100% of the proceeds from our volunteer operated thrift store go directly to the rescue and care of animals in need in our communities. Our Thrift store operates to bridge the gap between our low adoption fees and the cost of vetting and care we provide the animals we rescue.
VIDEO: Anderson Speaks 2014 interview with Peppermint Pig Animal Rescue.
Our loyal, and generous supporters make it possible to provide the very best in care for our rescues. Your donations of items to our thrift store as well as cash donations online, in our store or via mail, are critical for our rescue mission.
Our 501(c)(3) status with the IRS makes your donations tax deductible. We need your financial support to continue our mission to save lives. The average cost to completely vet a healthy dog coming into our rescue, on average, is roughly between $250-$350; and that doesn’t cover pull fees the shelters may charge us, food, treats, bedding, or any of the other miscellaneous items required to maintain a pet in our care. At Peppermint Pig Animal Rescue, we average about $4,000.00 per month in vet bills for our rescue animals, and at many times spiking to $6,000.00 to $10,000.00+ a month. Most of the dogs we rescue are in need of further vet care, procedures, and/or medications to help them rehabilitate and recover before adoption. We need your financial support to continue our mission to save lives.
Through the support of our community, we are able to save hundreds of lives each year, help blind pets see again, help injured pets walk again, provide lifesaving veterinary care for animals in need, and spay/neuter countless animals to help prevent further pet overpopulation! We do whatever it takes to help them, and as long as these fur-babies need us, we will strive to be there for them. We cannot do this without YOU!
Your donations are greatly appreciated and much needed; no amount is too small!
To make a donation, or to sponsor the care of any of our adoptable pets, please Sponsor a Pet or for other ways to help, go to our Donate tab at the top of the page.
If you would like to donate items for our thrift store, please bring them to our store during store hours. Our thrift store is located at 8454 Beechmont Ave, and we are open Wednesday-Friday from 11:00am-4:30pm and every Saturday from 12:00pm-4:00pm.
VOLUNTEER/FOSTER FOR PPAR:
Our dedicated volunteers and fosters are the backbone of our rescue mission. We would not be as successful as we are without them!
We do not have a physical shelter, so all of our rescue pets reside in loving foster homes until they are adopted. Our foster parents provide the love and care (all expenses paid by PPAR) needed to help each rescue pet regain trust and prepare them to be adopted into loving forever homes.
If you are interested in fostering for PPAR, please complete our Foster Application.
Our dedicated store volunteers ensure the cushion needed to help fund our rescue. There would be no rescue without our thrift store and volunteers to operate it.
If you are interested in volunteering in our thrift store, please complete our Volunteer Application.
(Must be 18 years or older to foster pets or volunteer in our thrift store. Please see our Wish List for ideas of ways children can help)
HOW OUR ADOPTIONS WORK:
We rescue the majority of our adoptable pets from open intake shelters, high kill shelters, and by working closely with other rescues and shelters to rescue and transport from rural areas with high euthanasia rates, but some are owner surrenders/surrendered to a vet for medical/financial reasons or found as strays and not claimed. Although we do try to help cats and other small animals when we can, we are primarily a dog rescue.
All of our dogs reside in foster homes until they are adopted.
We post all of our adoptable rescue pets to our Website, our Facebook and to Petfinder (a rescue search engine) as soon as they become available for adoption, and we update their status regularly on our website and PetFinder, so you never have to wonder who is, or isn’t available (please note that this does not mean we do not have any applications for them).
You can always view all of our current ADOPTABLE PETS on our website and PetFinder. If the pet is posted to these places, the pet is available.
Adoption Events and Applications:
Our adoptions are held every Saturday in our thrift store from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. You must complete your adoption application prior to our adoption event (preferably 2-5 days in advance) so that our volunteers have time to screen and contact potential adopters. Applications submitted late in the week (typically Friday or Saturday) may not be processed until the following week. Applications submitted throughout the week will be processed and, if you are selected for a meet, we will contact you before the next scheduled adoption day. Please be sure you complete your adoption application as thoroughly as possible in order for us to make the best assessment possible.
Adding a new pet to your home is a huge commitment and the decision to do so should be well-planned and thought out in advance. Please be sure you are able to make arrangements to attend a meet and greet with the pet you are applying to adopt, should you be selected for a meet. We hold our meet and greet/adoptions on Saturdays between 1pm and 4pm (we will contact you to set up an appointment if you are selected for a meet). As a 100% volunteer operated, foster based rescue, we are not always able to make arrangements to schedule a meet outside of our Saturday adoption day. If you are not able to make arrangements, we may move on to the next qualified applicant. Thank you for taking our volunteer and foster time into consideration.
Our adoption applications can be found under our Adoption Center tab, as well as all of our current adoptable pets. Before applying to adopt, please review our Adoption Contract (click here for cats).
(We provide the Adoption Contract for you to read and better understand your responsibilities, and our responsibilities, upon adoption, should you be selected. This is here for your learning/knowledge and does not commit you to the adoption until the physical copy is signed at the time of adoption.)
Applications:
All applications are reviewed in the order they are received and qualifications are based on best fit for each individual pet. Please thoroughly read the pet’s bio that you are interested in, and take note of any specific requirements listed to adopt, such as our Adoption Radius and Fenced Yard Requirements, before applying to adopt.
To be considered for adoption, all applicants must first meet our basic Fenced Yard and Adoption Radius requirements, as well as our vet care requirements of having a current, and consistent, record of all pets being kept current on core vaccinations, yearly heartworm testing and heartworm prevention, and all pets in the home must be/have been spayed/neutered.
Our application has a “save and continue later” feature if you need to gather more information. Some of the things you will need for the application are; names and phone numbers of any vets you have used, employment information, driver’s license numbers, photos of your yard, any trainers you may have used, and 2 personal references with phone numbers. Please take advantage of the save and continue feature if you need to gather more information needed for the application. Our goal is to fit every pet to the perfect home to fit their needs and personality, so all information requested in the application should be completed thoroughly for us to make this assessment.
Because we receive so many applications on a daily basis, our volunteers may not have the time to notify everyone who applied of the status of their application. We will be happy to provide an update to you if you submit a Contact Us form and ask, but please do not call our Thrift Store for updates. Our rescue volunteers cannot be reached at our Thrift Store. Otherwise, one of our volunteers will contact you if you are selected for a meet with the adoptable pet. We will contact you before the next scheduled adoption day.
Please do not complete your application if you are not ready to adopt, we will not hold an adoptable dog. Final approval is always made in person at your scheduled meet. If you have submitted an application to us, please be sure to check your email regularly, as well as your spam folder, for further communications from us.
Please be sure to complete the application honestly, and as thoroughly as possible. There is a portion that asks for your current vet, their phone number, and the name the records are under. Please complete this portion accurately. If you do not have a current vet, please complete the previous vets portion on the application (unless you have no prior pets or vet). This is a very important part of our screening process. If we cannot get vet information, we will move on to the next applicant. Our volunteers spend hours on end processing applications to find the very best homes for the pets we rescue, we do not have time to contact everyone who does not complete their applications properly.
*IMPORTANT* If you have taken your animal(s) to multiple vets, please provide ALL of the contact information for all of the vets. We are not only checking for an up-to-date animal, we are also checking for a consistent vetting history. If you purchase your heartworm prevention from an online source, please send upload proof of purchase in the space available in the application or send it to us by submitting a Contact Us form from our website after you have submitted your application.
**To be considered for adoption, all of the applicant’s current and previous dogs must have a current and consistent history of receiving core vaccinations (rabies and distemper/parvo). They must also have a current and consistent history of receiving yearly heartworm testing and heartworm prevention, and they must be/have been spayed/neutered. All current or previous cats in the home must have been spayed/neutered and have a current and consistent history of receiving all core vaccinations. We will not place one of our rescue animals into a home who does not meet these vetting standards.
**Please be sure to call your vet upon submitting your application and give them permission to release information to us.
Adoption Radius and Adoption Fees:
**Our Adoption Radius, unless otherwise specified in their bio, is within a two hour radius of Peppermint Pig Animal Rescue for most adult dogs, and within a one hour radius of Peppermint Pig Animal Rescue for most puppies.**
Adult Dog (Over 1 Year) Adoption Fee Starts at $165.00.
Puppy (under 1 year) Adoption Fee Starts at $195.00.
Cat/kitten adoption fee is $35
*Adoption fees may vary. Please see the pet’s bio that you are interested in for specific adoption fee.
**Please note; we are all volunteers with families, jobs, pets and often foster pets in our care. We are not paid for the volunteer work we do for the animals we rescue, so please be patient with us through the adoption process. The adoption process varies from pet to pet, but we will typically contact you before our next adoption event if you are selected for a meet. We know you are very excited about adopting, but it may take a little time, and you are always welcome to submit a Contact Us form with any questions, but please do not call our Thrift Store for updates. Our rescue volunteers cannot be reached at our Thrift Store. Thank you for your understanding.
**For questions regarding our Adoption Radius, please visit our Adoption Radius tab.
**We will hold applications for 3 months. If you have applied to adopt a pet, and they were adopted by another applicant or you were not selected for that pet, you may submit a Contact Us form if you see another pet you are interested in adopting. We are happy to screen your existing application for another pet. If it has been over 3 months since you applied, or there have been significant changes in your household (number of people, number of pets, new address, etc.) or any changes in your vet history, please submit a new application.
Our commitment:
The first week your adopted pet goes home with you, is a trial week. If during this week, your pet does not seem like the right fit for you/your family, you may return the pet to Peppermint Pig Animal Rescue and receive a full refund of your adoption fee.
When we rescue an animal, we make a lifetime commitment to each of them. If for any reason during the lifetime of your PPAR pet, you can no longer keep or care for them, they must be returned to Peppermint Pig Animal Rescue for rehoming.
To inquire, or to ask questions regarding any of our adoptable pets, please feel free to contact our volunteer rescue team directly by submitting a Contact Us form. This is our preferred, and direct method of contact. Contacting through here will ensure clear communication with us.
Vet care:
All of our rescues receive all of their initial vetting upon intake. This includes, but is not limited to, *current vaccines, deworming, flea treatment, **heartworm tested negative, flea and heartworm prevention, microchip, and ***spay/neuter. Once you adopt your pet, you are required to continue proper care and routine wellness.
*Vaccines are done upon intake of all of our dogs, and all puppies will be adopted with current, age appropriate vaccines, given by Peppermint Pig Animal Rescue. If the puppy is not old enough to have all of their puppy vaccines, puppy adopters will be REQUIRED to bring the puppy back to Peppermint Pig Animal Rescue to receive remaining puppy vaccines after adoption. No exceptions.
**If a dog tests positive for heartworm prior to adoption, PPAR will cover the expense of their treatment and it will not effect your adoption fee.
***Spay/neuters are often done after adoption if the puppy is too young for the surgery when adopted. We cover this expense, and it is performed at our local vet. This is included in the puppy adoption fee.
Other treatments and care will be provided on a case by case basis. We strive to ensure that all of our pets are 100% healthy, spay/neutered, and current on all of their preventative care before adoption.
All of our dogs and cats will be spayed/neutered.
No exceptions.
Puppy Adoptions:
All puppies will be adopted with current, age appropriate vaccines, given by Peppermint Pig Animal Rescue. Depending on the age we rescued them, Peppermint Pig Animal Rescue will provide every puppy’s 6, 8, 12, and 16 week vaccinations. When the puppy is not old enough to have received all of their puppy vaccines before adoption (usually the 12 and 16 week), puppy adopters will be will be REQUIRED to bring the puppy back to Peppermint Pig Animal Rescue to receive remaining puppy vaccines after adoption. No exceptions.
Their spay/neuter is covered with their adoption and will be done at one of our approved local vets after they receive their 16 week vaccinations from PPAR. The spay/neuter must be done at our vet.
All of our adoptable pets reside in loving foster homes until they are adopted. We do not have a physical shelter/kennel that they stay in. We also learn so much more about each dog by having them in foster homes instead of kennels, which helps us place each dog in the best forever home to fit his/her needs and personality.
Proceed to Dog Adoption Application
Proceed to Cat Adoption Application