Beagles to the Rescue!

We are so glad that you are interested in adopting one of our beagle mix puppies. Please read through our adoption requirements and this list of frequently asked questions BEFORE applying or calling.

Applications for Ladybug are open now, we would like to have a foster (preferably foster to adopter lined up before 1/13)

Applications for ladybugs puppies are now closed. if you submitted an application you should have received a confirmation email already. If you have not received a confirmation email (check your spam folder) please let us know asap.

We are Ladybugs puppies! There are 7 of us, 2 girls and 5 boys. Our mom is a 20lb beagle but we don’t know our dad. Our mom was found as a very pregnant stray in Gloucester, VA. When no one claimed her she was brought to BTTR and delivered 7 healthy puppies on 12/2. We may be beagles or beagle mixes, we may grow to be between 20-55lbs it is hard to say at this age. We are young puppies! We are not housebroken or leash trained, we will chew, nip, jump up, scratch, pee on your carpet, and play with anything we can find. We will need to be taught house manners, how to walk on a leash, basic obedience classes, and receive puppy socialization. Our mom is looking for a home and will be ready to go home before we are.

Puppy Adoption FAQ

#1 What are the minimum requirements for puppy adoption?  Applicants must be 18 years or older, have a fenced in yard, will allow a yard check, and that they live within BTTR’s adoption area. You can read our full adoption requirements here.  

#2 What is BTTR’s Adoption Area?  BTTR prefers puppy adopters to live in the green cities/counties on the map below which are within 1 hour of BTTR. Due to state/local regulations all puppy adopters must be within 1.5 hours of Chesapeake, VA 23322 (blue counties and parts of yellow). We are sorry but their are NO exceptions.

BTTR Adopts out to the following counties of Virginia: Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth (33), Suffolk, Isle of Wight, Franklin (27), Southampton, Hampton (31), Newport News (32), Williamsburg (28), Poquoson (30), York (29), James City, New Kent, Gloucester, Northampton and parts of Prince George, Surry, Charles City, Mathews, and New Kent Counties. Adopters must be within 1.5 hours driving distance (around 70 miles) of Chesapeake, VA 23322

BTTR adopts to the following counties in North Carolina: Gates, Hertford (5) Chowan (8), Perquimans (9), Pasqutank (10), Camden (6), Currituck (7), and parts of Bertie and Dare County. Adopters must be within 1.5 hours driving distance (around 70 miles) of Chesapeake, VA 23322

#3 Can I adopt a dog as a surprise or as a gift? No, we do not adopt out dogs as gifts. All family members need to be a part of the adoption process and dog selection. We recommend giving the person a certificate for adopting a dog available here and then have the recipient select the dog. Beagles are a 10-15 year commitment, we want to make sure the adopted dog is a perfect fit!  

#4 What is a yard check and why do you require it?  A yard check is a simple check of your fencing to make sure that it is as beagle proof as possible. We want to avoid any tragedies of a newly adopted dog getting out and being lost, injured, or killed. There is no inspection of your home, we have no need to see your dirty dishes, we have a few at home so don’t worry.  

#5 Why do I need a fence? Beagles are bred to follow scents to hunt rabbits and deer. They are not a breed that can be let off leash. Most beagles benefit from having a safe place to follow scents, sunbathe, and just be a beagle. Puppies do not have all their vaccines when they go home at 8-10 weeks and are highly susceptible to viruses. Puppies are significantly more likely to contract deadly viruses like Parvo/Distemper if they are in areas where other dogs play or go to the bathroom (such as a dog park, pet store, or common area at an apartment complex). We do make exceptions for adult dogs on a case by case basis depending on the dogs personality and the adoptive family’s home/work schedule/etc.  

#6 Why don’t you allow invisible or electric fences?  Most electric fences won’t stop a determined beagle following a scent. Many of our dogs come from a difficult background and may shutdown when faced with an invisible barrier. Electric fences don’t protect your dog from other animals or people. Dogs have been killed by other dogs or wild animals that ventured into their yard. Without a physical barrier people are more likely to harm or steal your dog. There have been several incidences where dogs contained by an electric fence where shot or pepper sprayed by passerby’s who felt threatened by the dog not realizing they were in an invisible fence. Also the batteries in collars must be recharged and many dogs go missing when they leave the yard without the collar or with a dead battery.  

#7 When and where can I put in an Adoption Application? Adoption Applications will be accepted from Friday Jan 1st until 10pm Friday Jan 8th. If you have previously submitted an application you must email us at beaglestotherescueva@gmail.com during the application period for us to pull your application. We will add a link here and on our main page when applications open

#8 Why don’t you accept applications for puppies as soon as they arrive? Puppies of different breeds all look very similar when they are born, they look a bit like guinea pigs. We can have a better idea of their breed, size, and personality as they grow. We also want to make sure all our puppies are healthy before they are adopted and puppies begin to develop their individual personalities from 6-8 weeks.    

#9 What if I want a particular puppy or gender? Each puppy has their own unique personality we do not reserve specific puppies UNTIL you come out to meet them. Trust us they are all adorable, some photos just turn out cuter than others.    

#10 Does my application get special consideration if we have adopted from BTTR in the past?  We do give some special consideration to previous adopters, however, every BTTR dog is different and we are searching for the right home for each individual dog. We usually receive more applications than puppies looking for homes so please understand this when submitting an application. If you have adopted from us in the past please include the original BTTR name of your dog and adoption year on the application.  

#11 Can we come visit the puppies? Selected adopters will get to meet all the puppies and select the one they want to adopt. Mother dogs can be unpredictable when new people touch their puppies, to limit exposure for mom and puppies BTTR does not allow general visitors.

#12 What is involved in your selection process? Puppy adoptions are not first come/first served. We will accept applications for a set period of time (usually a week). You will be notified via email that we have received your application. We do most communications via email so check your spam folder. Once applications are closed, a group of BTTR members sorts through the applications to make sure that they meet the minimum adoption standards listed above. We read through applications and look for the best fit for this litter of puppies. Things we consider are: are they within 1 hour (prefered), or within 1.5 hours (required), do they have a fenced yard, do they have small children in the home, is someone able to let the dog out during the day, do they have other pets, have they had beagles or hounds before and more. We then verify that the applicants other pets are up to date on vaccines and on heartworm prevention by calling the applicants vet. We may email you additional questions or do a brief phone interview. We generally receive more applications that puppies. We will notify people either way via email.  At this point we try to have enough adopters for each puppy and one or two extra in-case things don’t work out. Applicants will be notified either way via email by 10pm on Wednesday 1/13/21

#13 What if my application is selected for a puppy, what comes next? We will call or email you to let you know that you were selected and about coming out to meet the puppies. We will have you set up a time to pick out your puppy, this is a first come first served deal. Once a puppy is selected we will place a collar on it and that puppy will be reserved just for you. We will schedule a yard check and complete all the adoption paperwork.  

#14 What if my application is not selected for a puppy, now what? You will receive an email letting you know that your application was not selected for a puppy. Please understand that you may be a wonderful family but that we often receive 3 applications for every 1 puppy. We can add you to our "Looking for Dogs" list and provide you with a list of resources to expand your search.

#15 What is the Adoption Fee for the puppies and what is included? The Adoption fee for puppies is $250 and includes: Spay/neuter, 3 (9-way) Parvo/Distemper Vaccines, 2 Lepto Vaccines, 1 Year Rabies Vaccine, Deworming, Bordetella Vaccine, and Microchip with Prepaid Registration. All of our dogs also get discounts on boarding, 1 day of free doggie daycare per month, and 1 free beginning agility class as adoption perks at the Family Dog Club in Chesapeake, VA.  Click here to read more about adoption benefits.

#16 What is NOT included in the Adoption Fee? A city and county animal license, and any heartworm and flea and tick prevention AFTER spay and neuter, and all future veterinary care.  

#17 Can we adopt 2 sibling puppies or mom and a puppy? While breeders and pet stores are often happy to sell you two puppies or even encourage it, many shelters and rescues including BTTR will not. Siblings can develop “Littermate Syndrome” making them hard to train and unable to develop their own identity. Littermate syndrome can also occur in puppies not related to each other if they are close in age. Puppies with LS struggle to form bonds with people and other dogs and can have severe anxiety if separated for any reason. The effetcs of LS sometimes don't become a problem until years later when the family adopts another pet or has a baby and the pair don't react well to it. This usually results in the family surrendering one or both dogs. You can read more about Littermate Syndrome here and here. Two puppies close in age will often get into twice as much chaos that a puppy and adult dog. You can always wait a few months and adopt a second dog later on. We don’t adopt mom out with a puppy because this prevents mom’s milk production from stopping. At 5-6 weeks puppies have teeth and it becomes painful for mom for the puppies to nurse this helps aid in the weaning process. Mom’s milk takes up to 8 weeks to dry up after weaning, spaying mom before her milk has dried up can lead to increased bleeding and surgery complications. After the pups are weaned mom is usually happy to have some time to herself being a spoiled house pet.  

#18 How old will the puppies be they can go home? At least 8 weeks. Sometimes we keep puppies until they are 8-10 weeks old if we are unsure of their age or if they are having medical issues. As of now, these puppies will be ready to go home around Friday 1/29/21 we will schedule a time for all the puppies to go home the same day if possible.

#19 Are the puppies spayed and neutered when I pick them up at 8-10 weeks? No the puppies will need to come back to our facility two or three more times after they go home, for booster vaccines and again around 12-16 weeks for an overnight stay to be spayed/neutered. After that they are fully vaccinated for the year and will be microchipped the same day. Adoptions are not finalized until the spay/neuter. These puppies mandatory spay date is scheduled before adoption and will be some time between 3/17/21 and 4/14/21  

#20 Can I use my own vet? We require that all vaccines and spay/neuter surgery is done by our veterinarian.  

#21 Do you breed beagles? Where do all these puppies come from? We do not breed beagles so we do not always have litters of puppies or individual puppies. In most cases our puppies are born here at Beagles to the Rescue from mother dogs that we get from local city and county animal shelters. Since we have a safe and quiet place for mother dogs to give birth and raise pups local shelters often call us when they have a mother beagle in need. Sometimes we get pregnant strays from individuals or we get single puppies from people who purchased a puppy from a breeder, hunter, or pet store and were unable to keep the puppy. These puppies were born at BTTR after their mom was found wandering very pregnant in Gloucester County.

#22 Are these purebred Beagles? As is often the case with rescue dogs we have very little history with most of our puppies that we adopt out. With most litters born here we have the mother for you to see and meet but we have no idea who the father is. We are familiar with what beagle puppies look like but we can’t make any guarantees on how big or small a puppy will grow to be. We occasionally have individual “purebred” puppies purchased from a hunter, breeder or pet store and sometimes have adults with AKC hunting papers.  

#23 What size/breed will these puppies be?  Mom is a beagle around 20lbs, we have no idea who the father is, he could be a beagle or a larger hound. It is very hard to tell how big a puppy will grow to be at a young age. We had a litter where the mother was 25lbs, at 8 weeks the pups were all about the same size. As adults some of the puppies were 25lbs, some were 40lbs, and some were 60lbs. If you live somewhere that has a breed/size restrictions or if you are only interested in a dog that will be a specific breed or size adopting a puppy from a rescue or shelter may not be right for you. If you adopt an older puppy (8 months plus) or an adult dog, the adult size and breed will be more accurate.  

#24 How often does Beagles to the Rescue have puppies? We usually have litters one or two times a year but this just depends on when dogs need help. Sometimes more often sometimes less. Individual puppies are more hit and miss, 8-12 week old pups we have less often than young adults in the 3-6 month old range. Most of the individual pups we have are around 6 months to a year. If you are interested in a pup and miss out on this litter ask us to hold on to your application, most individual pups never make the website!  

#25 How often does Beagles to the Rescue have adult dogs? ALL THE TIME! We usually have 2-3 adult dogs looking for forever homes, if you don’t see what you’re looking for fill out a pet match form on our website under “Adoptable Pups”  

#26 Where does Beagles to the Rescue get its adult dogs from? Our dogs come from private owners, other rescues, shelters, as strays, and from hunters. Each dog undergoes a temperament evaluation, vet check-up, is spayed/neutered, and microchipped before going home.  

#27 What if I adopt a puppy or adult dog and it doesn’t work out with my family or other pets? This was my biggest fear bringing home a new puppy, what if my current dog and cat hated him. We understand that sometimes things just don’t work out, no matter how much we want them too and no 15 minutes of bringing your dog to meet the new puppy at our rescue will tell you that. In my families case everyone got along great (which is usually the case) but we want you to feel assured that we are here to support you and all your furry friends through any new adoption. All our adoptions start with a trial period, we want you and your new furry friend to be happy, period. If things aren’t working out during the set period, usually a week for adult dogs, a bit longer for special cases, and until the spay/neuter date for puppies, you get a full refund. We understand that dogs will be dogs so it is not a judgmental thing if you realize you got in over your head adopting a puppy and decide that maybe an adult dog would be a better choice, or your male dogs just loves his new female companion… a little too much and even though everyone is neutered a male friend might be better.  

My Question Isn’t Here…Panic….Who Do I Contact!!! Christie Kroh handles all the puppy adoptions, you can contact her via email at beaglestotherescueva@gmail.com or via phone (8am-8pm) at 757-447-7773 if she doesn’t answer please leave a message, we receive a high volume of calls when we have puppies.