It's Clarissa here, or Rissa as my foster mom calls me.  Just wanted to let you know I'm searching for my forever home.  I'm a very cute little Shih Tzu girl of about 4 yrs who only weighs a mere 9 lbs!  My foster mom is still learning about me but I seem to be very good with children so long as they know how to treat a small dog.  I get along with all the pupsters here at my foster home and I LOVE, LOVE sharing chair time with my foster family.  I don't bark much, but I do like to be where my humans are.  I am learning good potty manners so you will need to continue to work with me on that part.  I am also learning what crate training is- a good place for me to sleep at night and when my family is not home.  Because I am small, I will need a family who understands small breed dogs and one that will be gentle with me.  Because there are no kitties here at my foster home, we don't know if I am good with kitties, but the shelter where I came from indicated I am ok with them.  Since I don't shed, I will need to visit a grooming salon 4-5 times a year so my beautiful coat can be trimmed. I am very healthy, have been spayed, and had my teeth cleaned, so I am ready to find my forever family!  If you think you might be that family, please go to our website at www.ohiofuzzypawz.com to submit an adoption application for me.  I am being fostered in central Ohio and if you want to ask any questions of my foster mom, you can email her at ljpfile05@frontier.com and she will be happy to reply.

Puppy kisses, Clarissa 

PLEASE NOTE:   If you are viewing this biography on a website other than the Ohio Fuzzy Pawz website like Petfinder, Adopt-a-Pet, or another search engine (the OFP website is www.ohiofuzzypawz.com), not all information transfers to partner websites in some instances.  If you go to the  individual webpage of our dogs , you will be able to get more information each dog.

Visual breed identification in dogs can be unreliable so, in many cases, we are only guessing at the predominant breed or breed mix.  We get to know each dog as an individual and will do our best to describe each of our dogs based on personality, not by breed label.

Our Adoption Process

The adoption process has several steps involved. Please review prior to submitting an application. Our adoption process is detailed here:  http://www.ohiofuzzypawz.com/info/adoption

Our volunteers work very diligently to process each application and we try to ensure that we are making the best match possible for each dog.  We do not schedule meetings with dogs until an application has been approved.  It can take up to a few weeks to process an application or as little time as a few days, from the time you submit an application, please be prepared to adopt as we cannot hold dogs.

Special Requirements

Some dogs may have special requirements (for example, medications, a fence) -- if you apply for a dog, please be sure to read over the biography completely to see if there are any special needs and if you're home would be suitable.  If we indicate on the dog's biography that a fence is required, this means your home must have a physical fence.  Other dogs may require a "strong vet reference" which indicates that we are looking for a home that has a documented history of veterinary care with previous pets. 

The first step in our process is to submit an online adoption application at www.ohiofuzzypawz.com/forms.  The application MUST include the personal references and veterinary, grooming, and landlord references (if applicable) and their respective contact information.  If you do not include the references and the contact information, your application will be delayed as it CANNOT be processed.  Once the references have been successfully completed, a home visit is then scheduled when a rescue representative can meet all members of the family or residents of the home.  No application is approved prior to the home visit being done.   At that point, the Directors will discuss any and all applications on a foster dog and make a selection--in many cases, there are multiple applications for each dog, so please be understanding that our only priority is the successful placement of each of our foster dogs.

Out of State Adoptions

We do adopt out of state to outstanding applicants, however, our process requires a home visit, so out of state adoptions can take longer.  We do not ship our dogs, adopters should be prepared to pick up the dog in Central Ohio.