We know that sometimes it’s just not possible to keep a pet. Before making the decision to surrender, you may want to consider other rehoming options.
The following are some tips to try to re-home your pet before bringing it to a shelter:
Give yourself time to re-home your pet. It can often take weeks to months to find it the best home.
Increase your pet's adoptability by having it spayed or neutered and groomed. Make sure your pet is up-to-date on vaccinations.
Spread the word to increase your chances of finding the right home for your pet. Ask your friends, family and co-workers to help. Social media can be a great place to share this information, in addition to neighborhood apps.
Try the Adopt-A-Pet rehoming tool, which gives pet owners the ability to be more involved, and it's simple to use!
Use cautionwhen considering unknown individuals or families as your pet’s new owners. Hold the initial meeting in a public place and ask questions to screen potential adopters. Some questions to ask:
Are there other pets in the house?
Have you established a relationship with a veterinarian?
Do you have a fenced in yard?
How many hours a day will the animal be left alone?
Contact breed-specific or foster-based rescue groups
Rescue groups that focus on caring for and helping family's rehome a specific breed are available for almost any type of dog. Organized by people who have extensive knowledge of a specific breed, these groups provide a variety of opportunities for your pet, including the possibility of your pet staying in foster care until a new home is found.
[{"WidgetSkinID":37,"ComponentType":9,"FontFamily":"Montserrat","FontVariant":"500","FontColor":"","FontSize":0.00,"FontStyle":0,"TextAlignment":0,"ShadowColor":"","ShadowBlurRadius":0,"ShadowOffsetX":0,"ShadowOffsetY":0,"Capitalization":0,"HeaderMiscellaneousStyles1":"","HeaderMiscellaneousStyles2":"","HeaderMiscellaneousStyles3":"","BulletStyle":0,"BulletWidth":2.00,"BulletColor":"","LinkNormalColor":"#ffffff","LinkNormalUnderlined":false,"LinkNormalMiscellaneousStyles":"background-color: none;\nborder: 3px solid #fff;\nposition: relative;\ntransition: all .3s ease-in-out;\ndisplay: table;\nmargin: 2em auto;\nbox-shadow: 0px 3px 7px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25);\n\n}\n\n.widget.skin37 .widgetViewAll::after {\nposition: absolute;\ncontent: '';\ntop: 0;\nbottom: 0;\nz-index: 1;\nheight: 100%;\nwidth: 100%;\nbackground: url(/ImageRepository/Document?documentID=38853) left 3em center no-repeat;\nbackground-size: 0em;\ntransition: all .2s ease-in-out;\n}\n\n.widget.skin37 .widgetViewAll:hover::after,\n.widget.skin37 .widgetViewAll:focus::after,\n.widget.skin37 .widgetViewAll:active::after {\nbackground: url(/ImageRepository/Document?documentID=38853) left 3em center no-repeat;\nbackground-size: 1.2em; \n","LinkVisitedColor":"#ffffff","LinkVisitedMiscellaneousStyles":"border: solid 3px #ffffff;\nbackground-color: none;","LinkHoverColor":"#ffffff","LinkHoverUnderlined":true,"LinkHoverMiscellaneousStyles":"border: solid 3px #b1c461;\nbackground-color: #none;","LinkSelectedUnderlined":false,"ForceReadOnLinkToNewLine":false,"DisplayColumnSeparator":false,"ColumnSeparatorWidth":0.0000,"HoverBackgroundColor":"","HoverBackgroundGradientStartingColor":"","HoverBackgroundGradientEndingColor":"","HoverBackgroundGradientDirection":0,"HoverBackgroundGradientDegrees":0.0000000,"HoverBackgroundImageFileName":"","HoverBackgroundImagePositionXUseKeyword":true,"HoverBackgroundImagePositionXKeyword":0,"HoverBackgroundImagePositionX":{"Value":0.0000,"Unit":0},"HoverBackgroundImagePositionYUseKeyword":true,"HoverBackgroundImagePositionYKeyword":0,"HoverBackgroundImagePositionY":{"Value":0.0000,"Unit":0},"HoverBackgroundImageRepeat":0,"HoverBorderStyle":0,"HoverBorderWidth":0,"HoverBorderColor":"","HoverBorderSides":15,"SelectedBackgroundColor":"","SelectedBackgroundGradientStartingColor":"","SelectedBackgroundGradientEndingColor":"","SelectedBackgroundGradientDirection":0,"SelectedBackgroundGradientDegrees":0.0000000,"SelectedBackgroundImageFileName":"","SelectedBackgroundImagePositionXUseKeyword":true,"SelectedBackgroundImagePositionXKeyword":0,"SelectedBackgroundImagePositionX":{"Value":0.0000,"Unit":0},"SelectedBackgroundImagePositionYUseKeyword":true,"SelectedBackgroundImagePositionYKeyword":0,"SelectedBackgroundImagePositionY":{"Value":0.0000,"Unit":0},"SelectedBackgroundImageRepeat":0,"SelectedBorderStyle":0,"SelectedBorderWidth":0,"SelectedBorderColor":"","SelectedBorderSides":15,"HoverFontFamily":"","HoverFontVariant":"","HoverFontColor":"","HoverFontSize":0.00,"HoverFontStyle":0,"HoverTextAlignment":0,"HoverShadowColor":"","HoverShadowBlurRadius":0,"HoverShadowOffsetX":0,"HoverShadowOffsetY":0,"HoverCapitalization":0,"SelectedFontFamily":"","SelectedFontVariant":"","SelectedFontColor":"","SelectedFontSize":0.00,"SelectedFontStyle":0,"SelectedShadowColor":"","SelectedShadowBlurRadius":0,"SelectedShadowOffsetX":0,"SelectedShadowOffsetY":0,"SpaceBetweenTabs":0,"SpaceBetweenTabsUnits":"","Trigger":1,"AnimationId":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","AnimationClass":"animation00000000000000000000000000000000","ScrollOffset":33,"TriggerNameLowerCase":"hover","ParentComponentWithTrigger":null,"BackgroundColor":"","BackgroundGradientStartingColor":"","BackgroundGradientEndingColor":"","BackgroundGradientDirection":0,"BackgroundGradientDegrees":0.0000000,"BackgroundImageFileName":"","BackgroundImagePositionXUseKeyword":true,"BackgroundImagePositionXKeyword":0,"BackgroundImagePositionX":{"Value":0.0000,"Unit":0},"BackgroundImagePositionYUseKeyword":true,"BackgroundImagePositionYKeyword":0,"BackgroundImagePositionY":{"Value":0.0000,"Unit":0},"BackgroundImageRepeat":0,"BorderStyle":0,"BorderWidth":0,"BorderColor":"","BorderSides":15,"MarginTop":{"Value":null,"Unit":0},"MarginRight":{"Value":null,"Unit":0},"MarginBottom":{"Value":null,"Unit":0},"MarginLeft":{"Value":null,"Unit":0},"PaddingTop":{"Value":0.7500,"Unit":0},"PaddingRight":{"Value":6.0000,"Unit":0},"PaddingBottom":{"Value":0.7500,"Unit":0},"PaddingLeft":{"Value":6.0000,"Unit":0},"MiscellaneousStyles":"","RecordStatus":0}]