Is it challenging to adopt/rescue a dog if you live in an apartment?

Question

I would love to adopt or rescue a dog, but so far every dog I've been interested in, there seems to be preference(and lots of times a requirement) for a fenced in yard/house. I'm not looking for a big dog. I'm looking for a small-medium mellow dog. My area is very dog friendly. There are lots of paths, parks and dog friendly beaches. 
How do I make my application stand out?
Also, while I've had family dogs growing up, this would technically be my first dog ever owned. Idk if that makes a difference.

Answer

Look at various shelters. We have some that are so picky that animals are never adopted. It’s sad. My aunt has 40 acres, a large fenced dog pen with heated doghouses, has owned dogs her whole life and worked at the vet for over a decade but a local shelter won’t let her adopt a dog from them because the entirety of her yard isn’t fenced in. Ridiculous. Keep looking. Consider even reaching out to groomers and vets - they might know someone looking to rehome a pet.

Answer

So most rescues make you jump through hoops to adopt, including requiring that you own a home with a fenced in yard. They do this for a very good reason, most of them are volunteers, they spend countless hours rescuing, vetting, adopting, etc. So many times animals are returned and they need to start all over again. Many dogs in rescues have been let down time and time again and can come with some issues. My boy we adopted years ago had really bad anxiety issues, but other than that he was freaking perfect. 
Many require that you own your home because they assume you have a permanent place to live. When you rent, leases end, they could say you can’t have a dog if you need to move…. etc. They are looking for forever homes for these animals and not that you couldn’t be a forever home in an apartment, it’s just safer for them to require something that’s more permanent. 
People give up dogs all the time because they need to move where dogs aren’t allowed, they had a kid, they just don’t have time. It’s really sad what these rescues see. You many need to find a dog outside of a rescue unfortunately. My first dog I had to do that because I was still living at home with my mom and didn’t own my own home. She was my best friend for 12 years. We did rescue when she was about 8, he was around the same age as her. It was definitely a great feeling to help a dog in need, but at that time I was experienced, owned a home and checked all their requirements boxes. 
You sound like you will be a great dog owner! I hope you can figure something out!

Answer

ask your vet if they know of any animals that need rehoming. u could also start looking on craigslist. sometimes people on there are desperate to get rid of pets (sometimes the owner abruptly moves or passes away) and half of the time those pets end up in shelters anyways if someone doesn’t step forward before the owner runs out of time to rehome.

Answer

We live in an apartment and will be bringing our boy home in a few weeks. I am not worried about it. You can be a good dog owner living in an apartment, you just don't get to be lazy and have to get them out and about regularly. 
There are also ways to "rescue" without adopting from a shelter. I found my guy on a Facebook rescue/rehoming group, the family he is with took him in after he showed up as a stray and his old family didn't want him back, they have since been trying to find him his forever family. I've been in talks with them asking each other tons of questions making sure we're both right for each other. And we'll be picking him up right after our already scheduled vacation. I can't wait. ❤️

Answer

In my opinion, people in apartments can be as good owners as someone in a house.
Unfortunately I know places here often both put weight on having a house for most dogs and you basically won't get considered if you haven't owned a dog before. I literally asked then if I would need to go buy a dog before they would consider me a proper owner for a dog and they said yes.
So it might depend on the place, but it might be hard.

Answer

I personally don't believe if you live in and apt you should be able to have a dog. I have 4 dogs. A tiny apt for a small pomeranian sure. But anything bigger than 10 pounds is cruel.

Answer

I'm sure every dogs preference would be a house and a yard. Wouldn't yours? Wait until you get a bigger place.