"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened"

~ Anantole France

Where do your labs come from?

Most of our labs come from the local shelters and from shelters from the neighboring states.  The animal shelters are last chance opportunities for these homeless pets to be saved, and when the shelters become full, which occurs regularly, the ones still left unclaimed or not yet adopted are destroyed to make room for new homeless pets coming into the facility.  

How much is the adoption fee?

The adoption fee is $275.00.  On rare occasions, we may have lab puppies available for adoption, and they require an additional $100 spay/neuter deposit along with the $275.00 regular adoption fee.  The $100 deposit is refunded after proof of spay/neuter is received when the puppy has reached the appropriate age for the operation.

Are you dogs current on vaccinations? Are they healthy?

All our dogs are current on vaccinations appropriate for their age. The adoption fee include vaccinations, a vet visit, microchip (most of the times), spay and neuter (for adult dogs), and a temperament test (in same case a professional evaluation or training). We try our best to make sure the dog we adopt is healthy. If the dog has any health of behavioral issues we know of, we fully disclose all the information we have and provide documentation.

Do you have papers on your labs?

Very rarely would we have registration papers on our labs.  We make the assessment of a dog based on the look and behavior of a standard Labrador Retriever.  We cannot guarantee that a dog we refer to as a full lab or lab mix is purebred or not.  Many lab mixes have the look of a full lab, and some labs have mis-marks that give them the look of a lab mixed breed.  

Do you spay/neuter your dogs?

Yes, we do spay/neuter our dogs.  Pet overpopulation is a big problem.  There are nearly 150,000 Labradors registered with the AKC each year, which is the number one breed in the country.  The second most popular breed doesn't even come close to this number.  With thousands of Labs in shelters and in need of rescue, we believe very strongly that breeding should be done solely for the long term endurance and improvement of the wonderful breed of the Labrador.  Breeding should be done by knowledgeable professionals who work to maintain the breed standard for health, temperament, and form.

Breeding should not be done because you want to show your family the miracle of birth, or because you, your friends or your family want a dog just like your own dear, wonderful pet dog, and most importantly, breeding should NEVER be done to make money.

Do you have a facility or office where we can come to visit the dogs?

No, we do not have a dedicated kennel or other facility for our dogs.  We are an all volunteer organization, and there is no staff or any one person employed to work for Labrador Friends of the South on a full or part time basis.  We rely on volunteers and foster homes to rescue, house, and help the labs in our program in their spare time.  In urgent need cases, where no foster homes are available, we will board the dogs to save them, but with boarding costs and other expenses, we can only save as many as we have foster homes available.  Please check out our Fostering section.

We do hold regular adoption day events, where people are welcome to visit with us and interact with the labs.  Please check out our News and Events section.  We can also schedule individual appointments as needed.

Why do I need to get approved before seeing the dogs?

Our dogs are all over Atlanta and we all have full time jobs. So making appointments to see a dog take a lot of coordination and energy for us. We need to make sure you are approved before we can schedule an appointment. Everyone is welcome to come to our adoption days, you don't have to be approved to come and play with our dogs at adoption. At the same time, it is rare that we can approve you on the spot at adoption so you may miss the chance to adopt a dog you like if you are not approved already.

Notice that your application is not a committment to adopt. Once you are approved we keep your application on file for at least 6 months so you can adopt at any time. The application also allows us to learn about your situation and to recommend the dogs that would be the best match for you and your family.

Why do I have to pay for $15 fee even before seeing your dogs?

The $15 we ask at the time of your adoption application is a small processing fee. This is just a small token to make sure you are serious. 100% of those $15 will go back to saving even more dogs!

Will an adult dog be able to bond with me?

Yes!  Forming a strong connection with a pet has little to with the animal's age at the time of adoption.  An adult animal who is given a second chance with a loving, adoptive family, is very likely to be one of the most loving, loyal companions you'll ever find.

There are over 4,000 puppy mills in the United States alone.  Pet stores sell close to half a million puppies each year.  Many of these puppies and the breeding dogs are kept in horrific conditions to churn out as many puppies as possible for pure profit.  Please, if you are looking for a dog, go to a rescue group or an animal shelter.  Don't enable puppy mills by purchasing a pet store dog.

Thank you for visiting Labrador Friends of the South.  Feel free to contact us for more information at labfriendinfo@gmail.com.