Rehoming Your Pet

Currently, shelters and rescues are very overwhelmed at the immense number of animals who are in need of placement, and are experiencing a lack of volunteers and fosters to help mitigate the increased need.

There is no better place for a pet than in the home that they know and love. We want to help if there is anything we can do to help you keep your pet placed in their family. Please reach out to us for more information on what we can do to try to help you and your pet. 

 

We recommend the following steps for the best chance at finding your pet a safe placement option

Step 1: Resources to help you keep your pet - Adopt-a-Pet has solutions for many situations pet owners find themselves in where they feel they need to rehome their pet. If you have any questions or need additional assistance, please reach out! We’d love to help you keep your pet with you.

Step 2: Contacting the original source - If keeping your pet is not something you’re able to do after reviewing the previous article, the next step is to reach out to the original owner, shelter, rescue, or breeder that you obtained your pet from. Many organizations and reputable breeders have contracts that require the pet to be returned to them should you no longer be able to keep them.

Step 3: Personal rehoming - If there is not a safe original source for the pet to be returned to, the next step is to attempt to find placement directly into a new home. This can be easily done through Adopt-a-Pet’s “Rehome” feature. and home-home.org. These sites will list your pet where thousands of people are looking to find their next pet, and will walk you through the same process that shelters and rescues use to find safe placement for pets in their care. You can also list your pet on public Facebook rehoming groups, Craigslist, and Next door to have the most options in finding your pet a new home.

Step 4: Reaching out to friends and family - If you do not have ample time to find your pet a home, reach out to friends and family to see if anyone you know is willing to help house your pet until safe placement can be found directly to a new owner, or until a rescue or shelter has space to take your pet in.

Step 5: Contact your local rescues and shelters - This can be a frustrating step, as it often involves being told "no" or "not right now" quite a bit. It's worth reaching out to multiple organizations and to ask to be put on a waitlist. Even if the waitlist seems long, it is better to get on the waitlist than to not have any options at all. Best case, they call you quicker than they originally said they could. Worst case, you're on the list and will be contacted as soon as space opens up. To find shelters and rescues by location, visit Adopt-a-pet.com. 

Step 6: Contact your local animal control organization - If all else has failed and you are not willing or able to hold on to your pet any longer, your county animal shelter may be able to do same-day intake for your pet. Unfortunately, open intake facilities often have to end animal's lives for space, meaning that your pet is not guaranteed to find a home and could be killed for space. 

If after reviewing these options you still find yourself in need of rehoming assistance, please visit our Rehoming Assistance program page below.