Minimum Standards of Care
AAPAW is committed to promoting responsible, ethical, and humane animal welfare practices across our rescue partner network. To ensure consistent, high-quality care and to protect the well-being of both animals and adopters, all rescue organizations that are members of AAPAW agree to follow a set of minimum standards of care. Many of our rescue members go above and beyond these rescue guidelines; however, these standards represent a required minimum for AAPAW membership.
These standards reflect widely accepted best practices in animal rescue and adoption. They are intended to support transparency, accountability, and positive outcomes for animals, adopters, and the broader community, while respecting the independence of each rescue organization.
• Maintain records on all animals
• Spay/neuter all animals prior to adoption
• Provide all age- and species-appropriate vaccinations
• Provide treatment for health issues so no sick animals are adopted out
• Provide adopters with complete health records
• Inform adopters of any known health issues an animal has
• Microchip animals and ensure the chip is registered to either the adopter or the rescue organization
• Make every reasonable effort to place animals in homes that match their individual needs
• Accept the return of animals if an adoption does not work out
• Use a written adoption agreement on all adoptions
• Provide foster homes with clear guidelines outlining foster responsibilities and what the rescue organization provides
• Make every reasonable effort to identify the owner(s) of any found animal and attempt to return the animal to its rightful home, unless there are iron-clad reasons for not doing so, in accordance with applicable laws.