- Make your pet more attractive to potential adopters. Have your pet vaccinated and checked by a veterinarian. …
- Advertise through friends, neighbors and local veterinarians. …
- Leverage your social network. …
- Be transparent with potential adopters. …
- Get help from shelters and rescue groups.
Rehoming your pet is heartbreaking. It frequently results from events like losing a job or a home, suffering an illness or an injury, or being PCSed to a place where owning pets is prohibited.
If you have no other choice but to rehome your dog or cat, here are some suggestions on alternatives as well as how to find your pet the best home possible.
In times of temporary hardship, many animal shelters offer programs to keep people and their pets together. Some keep pet food banks, provide affordable veterinary care to those who qualify based on their income, or foster pets temporarily.
If behavior issues are the reason you’re considering giving up your pet, other animal welfare organizations have training resources.
Speak with your pet’s veterinarian. He or she is the one who is most familiar with your pet and may have other customers who want to add a pet to their families. Many veterinary clinics permit clients to post flyers inside the facility to aid in finding new homes for dogs and cats.
Despite how appealing it may seem, rehoming a pet through Craigslist could put the animal in grave danger. Many animals that were advertised on Craigslist were abused and neglected before being adopted by backyard breeders, hoarders, dog fighting rings, or other criminal organizations.
The classifieds are great for selling your couch, but not for finding a pet-friendly home. There are better options.
Consider a professional pet matching community, such as Rehome. Adopt-A-Pet oversees it, with assistance from Chewy and other pet businesses.
Millions of potential pet adopters can view your pet’s profile on Adopt-A-Pet, the largest nonprofit pet adoption site in the country. To create a pet profile, review applications, meet potential adopters, and complete your pet’s adoption, Rehome offers thorough instructions and checklists.
Get Your Pet is another excellent do-it-yourself resource. Through this website, pet owners who must find new homes for their animals can connect with those looking to adopt.
A safer alternative to classified ads for person-to-person adoptions is Get Your Pet. The website provides advice on interviewing potential adopters, suggestions for questions to ask, locations to meet, and even a directory of participating veterinarians who will conduct a free pet exam.
Take a good color photo of Fluffy or Fido. Make your high-quality photographs easily accessible if you already have them. If not, as soon as possible, take a photo that demonstrates your pet’s best features.
A fearful, depressed, or highly stressed animal in a less-than-ideal environment may be depicted in shelter intake pictures. If you give your pet to a shelter, they might use the supplies you provide.
Prepare a brief description/biography. List any housetraining, cratetraining, and/or obedience training that your dog or cat has received. How does she get along with other animals, children, strangers?.
Describe her medical background and present health, as well as any medications she might be taking. What are her preferred and least preferred dishes, treats, and pastimes?
Be honest. A new home for your cherished dog or cat can be found with the assistance of full disclosure, which will also make the transition easier for the animal. For instance, being upfront about the fact that your dog needs more training could prevent him from being kicked out of his subsequent residence for being disruptive.
Tell me if your pet needs medication or any other special care. If she’s not up front, she may be given up by new adopters who are ill-equipped to care for a special needs animal.
Prepare your pet. Make sure your dog or cat is well-groomed, has all of her shots, and is free of fleas and ticks. Have your pet spayed or neutered if you haven’t already.
There might be affordable vaccination and spay/neuter clinics nearby. Verify with neighborhood pet stores, shelters, and VIP Petcare community clinic locations.
Request the adoption of your dog or cat from reliable family, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances. Speak with other pet owners in your neighborhood, local vets, groomers, pet store employees, boarding or daycare employees, and other people working in the local pet care industry.
Many nonprofit humane societies and animal rescues welcome requests from people looking to rehome a pet in exchange for courtesy listings on their websites.
Once a potential adopter gets in touch with you, think about having an interview with them and paying them a visit to ensure that their home will be your pet’s forever home.
Do they have the financial resources to care for your pet, especially if he has special needs or a long-term medical condition? Do they have prior experience caring for pets? Do they have a home and/or yard big enough to accommodate your animal?
Most importantly, do they have reasonable expectations about sharing a home with your pet? For example, leaving an energetic dog at home alone for 8 to 12 hours a day is probably not going to go well.
Giving your pet to a humane society, an animal rescue, or a local animal shelter is an option if you can’t find a place for them on your own. In fact, many adoption agreements stipulate that you must return pets to the organization rather than finding new homes on your own.
Before you surrender your dog or cat, look over the surrender and adoption policies of each organization. Find out if they collaborate with other organizations to increase the likelihood that the animals under their care will be adopted.
Ask about the process for accepting owner-surrendered pets. There may be surrender fees and waiting lists, and some shelters are unable to take owned animals. Learn about their euthanasia policy and efforts to care for and place pets in new homes.
Offer the above-described photo and history when giving up your pet to help efforts to find him a new home.
Ask if courtesy posts are permitted if surrender is not an option (for instance, if the shelter is at capacity). These can give your pet additional exposure to potential adopters.
Most shelters are open-admission, meaning they take all incoming animals. When these shelters run out of room or money, or when they have animals that are dangerous and cannot be adopted into the community, they have to put animals to death to make room for new arrivals.
Shelter has the unfortunate moniker “kill” shelter because these actions are only taken if they are unable to transport victims to other rescue organizations.
However, there are safe and legal restrictions on the number of animals that shelters are allowed to care for. Animals with a history of aggression should not be adopted out by shelters, in addition.
When a shelter is full, older pets, large breed dogs, and animals with special needs, behavioral problems, injuries, or illnesses are the first to perish. An animal that arrives could only have three days before it is either adopted or killed.
Sadly, euthanasia frequently occurs when the shelter’s ability to provide for homeless animals in a safe and ethical manner is greater than the supply of adopters. This also applies if there are no transports to shelters that have space.
Other organizations only accept the kinds and numbers of animals they can rehome, and they do not put animals to death to make room for new arrivals. Although they are frequently referred to as “no-kill” shelters, the name is deceptive.
No animal shelter supports killing animals, but many don’t have the tools to handle the flow of incoming animals in a humane way. And even no-kill facilities put animals to death when they are deemed unadoptable because of illness, aggression, or other issues.
Some people effectively “never kill” their pets because they keep them for months or even years. This is potentially cruel because a shelter serves as a place of refuge rather than a home. In addition, even the best shelter conditions can cause animals to degenerate in as little as a few weeks.
Finally, explore breed-specific rescues. Due to their rarity compared to breed-neutral animal welfare organizations, you might need to look outside of your town or municipality.
Many breed rescue organizations accept hybrids of the breeds they specialize in. In most cases, these rescues are foster-based. In the event that your pet is accepted, she will do so and reside with a verified foster family until being adopted.
Giving up a beloved dog or cat is difficult. A little preparation and research could help you avoid some heartache and find your pet a loving, permanent home. If you have to make this choice, we wish you luck.
Read our blog post about PCS and your pet if you are a member of the military and are thinking about finding a new home for your pet because of PCS orders.
Find Your Pet a Loving Forever Home
Both you and your pet should experience ease and no stress when having your pet adopted. Our experts at Adopt-a-Pet. com has developed a straightforward, trustworthy, free program to assist you in moving your pet from one loving home to another.
Are You Sure You Can’t Keep Your Dog?
Make sure you have looked into and considered all of your options before deciding to surrender your dog. The social animal that is your dog has grown attached to you and your family. Sending him to a new home could be upsetting and demanding. Depending on the reason you can’t keep your dog, there may be some ways you can get assistance.
Ask your veterinarian about options if your dog has a medical problem. Consult a dog trainer or an animal behaviorist for assistance if there is a behavior issue. If money is a concern, consider creating a budget and looking for ways to reduce the cost of dog care.
Millions of potential pet adopters can view your pet’s profile on Adopt-A-Pet, the largest nonprofit pet adoption site in the country. To create a pet profile, review applications, meet potential adopters, and complete your pet’s adoption, Rehome offers thorough instructions and checklists.
Read our blog post about PCS and your pet if you are a member of the military and are thinking about finding a new home for your pet because of PCS orders.
Sadly, euthanasia frequently occurs when the shelter’s ability to provide for homeless animals in a safe and ethical manner is greater than the supply of adopters. This also applies if there are no transports to shelters that have space.
Ask about the process for accepting owner-surrendered pets. There may be surrender fees and waiting lists, and some shelters are unable to take owned animals. Learn about their euthanasia policy and efforts to care for and place pets in new homes.
There might be affordable vaccination and spay/neuter clinics nearby. Verify with neighborhood pet stores, shelters, and VIP Petcare community clinic locations.
FAQ
What to do with a dog you can’t keep?
Giving your animal to a shelter If you are unable to find a home for your pet on your own, you may be able to do so by giving it to a humane society, animal rescue organization, or local animal shelter. In fact, many adoption agreements stipulate that you must return pets to the organization rather than finding new homes on your own.
Do dogs miss their owners when rehomed?
It’s common for dogs to feel sad when a person they’ve developed a bond with is gone. Dogs do understand the emotional feeling of missing someone who is no longer a part of their daily lives, even though they may not fully comprehend the extent of human absence.
How do I discreetly get rid of my dog?
- Solicit Friends and Family Members.
- Seek Out Rescue Groups.
- Find a “no-kill” Organization or Shelter.
- Ask Around.
How long does it take for a dog to accept a new home?
Many dogs settle and act as though they are at home after three weeks, but they really don’t fit into your routine until after about three months. ” Give it time. Despite your best efforts, keep in mind that it may take some time for a new adult dog to feel at home. But it’s worth the wait.