The Georgia Rat & Mouse Club of America
Rescue Policies
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The following outlines the adoption and surrender policies. Please be sure you read them before contacting us. The GARMCA is not a full time shelter and will only accept rats and mice given available resources, foster homes and quarantine room. Due to our limited resources, we are not set up to handle aggressive or bitting rats or mice. We also cannot support a large number of surrenders at one time. The GARMCA Rescue relies solely on donations from its members and the public. The surrender must be able to meet with a GARMCA foster home or rescuer at a reasonable location for the GARMCA in and around Atlanta unless other arrangments can be made. We are available for helping owners find good homes for their rats and mice and for support in advertising and placement.Surrender Policies- You will have to sign a surrender form upon delivery to the GARMCA. This form releases you of the responsibility and rights to reclaim the specified animals.
- We can only accept "RATS" or "MICE" as we are not equipped to handle any other species at this time.
- We cannot take in any injured, ill or aggressive rat(s) or mice
- Fill out the required surrender application and must be approved before we can receive any surrender.
- You must be willing to transport your surrenders to a specified location by the GARMCA for pick up unless other arrangements can be made.
- The GARMCA has limited resources and cages for new incoming animals so we request that their current housing and supplies be donated along with the surrender if at all possible. If suitable, these cages and supplies will be used to house the rats and mice for the quarantine time or while in foster care and then will be placed with the new adopter. Inadequate housing or improper supplies will not be passed on and more suitable housing and supplies will be provided to the new adopter.
~ New Policy Inacted As of August 2006 ~
* If you choose to not release the cage(s) and supplies with the rat(s) upon surrendering to the GARMCA, you will be asked to pay a $5 per rat charge to cover the costs incurred to purchase a new cage(s) and supplies for them. Please remember that keeping your cages and supplies give the impression that you will be purchasing more rats to fill them in the future that could add to the overpopulation problem and those rats looking for homes.*
Interested Adopters Policies:
- You will be asked to sign and respect a pet only non-breeding contract.
- Any rat or mouse adopted out by the GARMCA is always asked to return to the GARMCA in the case that you cannot care for, have or want the adopted rats and/or mice
- You must be able to come to the adoption day, time and location to pick up your reserved animals. Any no-show will result in the loss of your reservation and possible unapproved for adoption status
~ Rescue Adoption Fees ~
* We ask for a $5 - $10 adoption fee per rat at the time of adoption. These adoption fees go to the GARMCA rescue center to help pay for the time, energy and expense that goes into caring for these rescues while at the shelter/foster home and for the transporting and placing these rescues into new homes. This also shows that you are serious about adopting and caring for these rats. If the GARMCA must transport long distance to meet with you, there may be an extra fee to help cover the extra cost. These fees are not set in stone and may change based on the situation and placement. The GARMCA holds the right to request an adoption fee of their choosing.
Rescue Policies:
- Rats and/or mice that are surrendered to the GARMCA will go through a mandatory 1 month offsite quarantine and pet evaluation for suitability to be placed.
- Rats and mice that do not pass the evaluation or the quarantine time will remain with the GARMCA until they are cleared of illness, parasites or behavior issues.
- Rats or mice that have been found to be aggressive towards people will remain in the GARMCA to live out their lives. Those that have aggression towards others of their kind may receive altering to try to curb aggressive tendencies. On some occasions, a rat or mouse may be placed by themselves in a suitable experienced owner's home if needed
- All rats and mice under the GARMCA will receive proper and timely vet care as well as quality general care while waiting for placement. Rats and mice may also be eligible for placement in a foster home with a GARMCA member until a permanent home can be found.
- While we do not place sick, injured or aggressive animals at the time of adoption, we cannot control circumstances once the animals leave our care and therefore we cannot guarantee the health and temperament of these animals nor are we not responsible for their continued care and vet bills after adoption.
- Rats that are placed without going through the GARMCA rescue center itself do not receive quarantine or evaluation prior to adoption. It is the adopter's responsibility to evaluate the pets at the time of adoption for their suitability.
Advertising Policies:
- The GARMCA offers advertising through our club to help place rats and mice in need of new homes.
- We do not advertise for purposely bred litters or to place rats/mice available at pet stores.
- When contacting us about listing your available rats/mice through us, please contact our rescue coordinator and fill out the surrender form.
