About Us

Pawsitive Tails strives to be something different in the animal adoption community. We help dogs and puppies find new homes by matching the right dog to the right family.

Pawsitive Tails is a not for profit organization focused on finding forever homes for dog and puppies in the Kansas City area and Topeka. We are not a shelter and we do not have a facility – all the dogs in our program live in loving foster homes. We take dogs into our homes and care for them as if they were our own until they go to their forever homes. The time we spend with them helps us to learn more about each of them which allows us to be able to provide applicants with an accurate assessment and the dog’s individual strengths and needs.

We are for the dogs who need help now, educate the public to protect dogs of the future, allow dogs to give back as they do best – with their whole hearts, and we accomplish each stage with a sense of humor.

Pawsitive Tails is a federal501(c)(3) non profit organization serving the Kansas City and Topeka areas. Your donations are tax deductible! We are run entirely by volunteers and have no paid positions. All of our dogs live as family members in loving foster homes. This means that every single dollar that we bring in goes directly to the dogs in our care. We are run entirely on donations and adoption fees. We appreciate every dollar, thank you for helping us to help them!

Frequenty Asked Questions

If your question is not answered in the FAQ, please email us at the following address.

info@pawsitivetailskc.org

  • What are your adoption fees?
    Our adoption fees vary per animal, and are listed on the profile for each animal. Please just click on their picture for more information.
  • Where are you located?
    Pawsitive Tails does not have a physical location. All of our dogs live in loving foster homes throughout the Kansas City and Topeka area. This allows fosters to get to know each dog personally, so we can find the very best home for them.
  • What are your hours?
    As a foster based rescue, every person with Pawsitive Tails is a volunteer. Because we do not have a facility, we do not have “open” hours but can be contacted between 8am and 6pm. Because our volunteers also work full time jobs, please be patient when awaiting a return call.
  • How do I know if the dog that I want is available?
    Click on the picture of the dog. If the dog is on hold it will state “on Hold” at the top, that means that specific dog has an approved adopter. In that instance, we can only put your application in as a backup in the instance that adoption doesn’t work out. We process applications in the order in which they were received and schedule meet and greets accordingly. There is a possibility that the dog is not yet on hold, but does have an application in front of yours that hasn’t been processed yet. If a dog has a meet and greet, but has not yet met the approved adopter, they will still be on the website.
  • What is the best way to reach Pawsitive Tails?
    The best way to reach us is to email at info@pawsitivetailskc.org. While we do have a phone number, we rely on a volunteer to answer the phone at certain hours. Emails are always answered quickly.
  • How long does the application process take?
    The time that approval takes can be dependent on how quickly we are able to confirm your veterinarian and reference checks. Adoption time is also dependent upon everyone’s schedule for the introduction and home visit. Please keep in mind that we are a volunteer run organization so schedules can vary. If everything goes as it should, approval takes about 48 hours, and the time from application to adoption can all happen within a week.
  • Can I stop in to visit dogs and play with puppies?
    No. We require an approved application to be on file before meeting our dogs/puppies. In addition, our dogs live in foster homes, so we must work around the foster parents’ schedule.
  • What is included in the adoption fee?
    All of our animals come up to date on age appropriate vaccines, which include: Canine Distemper, Adenovirus Type 1, Adenovirus Type 2 (Respiratory Disease), Parainfluenza, and Parvovirus. If puppies are adopted at a young age, they will still require a puppy booster vaccination of which the adopting family will be responsible for.
    Rabies is included for those over 4 months. Our dogs over 6 months of age are tested for heartworms and if negative, kept on heartworm prevention throughout their stay. (We do ask that adopters continue this very important prevention. Heartworms are cheap to prevent and expensive to treat). If dogs test positive for heartworms, they are treated per our vet partners’ recommendation. All dogs/puppies are kept on flea prevention for the length of their stay with us. Our dogs/puppies all come spayed or neutered and microchipped. NO animals will be sent home without being spayed or neutered, there are absolutely no exceptions to this policy.
  • Can the foster bring the dog to my home to meet me?
    For puppies, we require that the meet and greet take place at the fosters’ location. This is to protect the health of the puppies in our care. You are welcome to bring your fully vaccinated dog to the meet and greet. Meet and greets for adult dogs may be scheduled in a neutral location. We do not require our fosters to travel for meet and greets.
  • Am I required to have a fenced yard?
    We do not require that you have a fence, we do require that you have a plan for how the dog will receive adequate exercise. Some dogs will require a fence, and we will give that information in their bio on the website.
  • What is your process?
    You can read about the process on the Adoption Process Page
  • Where does my donation/adoption fee go?
    We are completely foster based, and run by volunteers. Every hour spent running Pawsitive Tails is spent by a volunteer. This means we have no overhead and every dollar brought in goes directly back to the dogs in our care.
  • Can you hold a dog for me?
    We can only hold a dog/puppy for an adopter if they are not yet ready to be adopted. If the dog/puppy has been spayed or neutered and is ready to go home, we cannot hold them for more than 24 hours once you have met with them. As for puppies who are not ready to go to their furever homes just yet, they will be put on hold after a meet and greet until they are ready to go home. We cannot hold them past this date. Please schedule the meet and greet within 24 hours after being contacted by the foster. Please meet the puppy/dog as soon as possible, if you can’t meet the puppy for a week, it’s possible that someone else may meet the puppy/dog before you are able to. We cannot hold a puppy/dog for you while waiting for you to meet them, when there are other interested parties. After a meet and greet, please let us know within 24 hours if you would like to adopt the puppy that you met. If you do not notify the foster, or email/call Pawsitive Tails within 24 hours of your meet and greet, we may move on to the next application. We will not notifiy you before moving on, as it is up to you to contact us within 24 hours.
  • What is the dog/puppy I’m interested mixed with?
    In most cases, visual breed identification is unreliable, even by “trained” eyes. So for the majority of the dogs/puppies, we are merely guessing, with our vets’ assistance, at the predominant breed or a mix of breeds based on certain features. This is only a guess, and no guarantees are made as to the breed of the dog unless we have done a DNA test. If you live in a breed ban area, it is your responsibility to make sure the dog does not violate the requirement of your city. All of the information that we have is given to you. So if a dog is listed as a Pointer mix, that means it’s features most resemble a Pointer, and we have no way of knowing for sure what else the dog may be mixed with. We strive to get to know each dog on a personal level, and describe them based on behavior and personality, rather than simply by breed.
  • Can I surrender my dog to you?
    If you are unable to care for your animal and need to find it a new home we may be able to help.
    We are a small organization and are not able to help everyone.
    If you would like to surrender your dog please fill out the Surrender Request Form and we will review your application.