Rehoming

Rehoming

• Our goal is to help keep you and your pet united; if you wish to keep your pet but are having a hard time and are considering rehoming your pet, please let us know what kind of help you need. Our Pet Assistance Program can provide direct support or referrals for help whether you need veterinary care assistance, pet food and supplies, or other resources; you can submit a pet assistance request here.

Rehoming Your Dog

• Please note that it is our priority to take in dogs that are already at risk in shelters, and our ability to take in dogs depends on several factors including the availability of foster families and funds. However, if you are willing and able to keep your pet until they are in their new home, we can give you coaching and support in safely rehoming your dog. Check out some of our most successful tips for rehoming your dog below:
  • Try posting the dog on NextDoor, Facebook, or speaking to friends and neighbors about them. In many cases, people are most likely to successfully re-home their dogs to someone in their social network. This also allows them a chance to develop a relationship with the dog and the current caregiver prior to adoption, and you get the opportunity to really learn about the dog’s new setting.
  • Rehome by Adopt-a-Pet allows caregivers to list dogs they would like to rehome. These pet listings may appear in searches alongside other shelter and rescue dogs seeking homes. You can write a bio and state the kind of environment where you think the pet will thrive. Applicants will contact you directly. Rehome will set your adoption fee based on different characteristics about the dog. Adoption fees range from $30-$199. Re-home keeps the adoption fee as a charge for using their site. If you include an adoption fee of your own in the listing, Rehome may not approve your post.
    • Similar websites to Rehome include Home to Home and Get Your Pet.

• We hope you will understand why our policy is not to routinely accept direct animal surrenders from the public. While you are hopefully exhausting every option, your pet is safe. The innocent dog with the goofy smile in the county shelter may not be safe. Please give your pet every chance possible to be safely placed in a new home. If you have exhausted all other options and have chosen to bring your dog to a county shelter, we encourage you to plan ahead and work with shelter staff to improve possible outcomes for your dog. Asking staff about shelter capacity, avoiding the holidays and other ‘busy’ times at the shelter, and building a relationship with shelter staff and volunteers who can advocate for your dog can all be life-saving for your dog in the end.

  If assistance with veterinary care, behavior, or other needs will help you avoid rehoming your pet, we recommend you review local services and resources that can help before making any decisions regarding your beloved family companion. 

Found a stray?

Contact your local shelter if you found a stray. Here’s why:

1. Rescue organizations like ours cannot legally accept stray animals without first working with the shelter in the locality where the pet was found.
2. Reporting found pets to the local shelter improves their chances of being reunited with their owners.
3. You may also run the risk of legal action if you keep or give away a found pet without going through the legal process in your city or county, if the original owner is later found. 

Some shelters may allow you to keep the pet in your care during their ‘stray hold’ period to keep space open in the shelter for other pets in need. If you’ve fallen in love with a found pet, let your shelter contact know; if no owner comes forward, they can help you legally adopt the pet.

Are you an organization who offers affordable resources to pet owners in need? Contact us to request to be listed.