Surrendering a pet is far from ideal. Rehoming a dog is the last resort and should only happen once you’ve tried to make it work, but your life situation simply won’t allow for keeping your pet. If you’ve lost your job, are moving to a location that doesn’t allow dogs, are suffering from a debilitating medical condition, or your dog suddenly becomes aggressive, you may have to find a new home for your beloved animal.
Rehoming pets can be challenging. You may struggle to find a suitable new home using your own resources and worry about how a dog feels when rehomed. You might also fear that the new owner won’t give your dog the same level of care and affection that you do. To minimize these challenges and potential dangers to your pet, consider these tips and resources for rehoming your dog.
Keep Your Pet Close to Home
If possible, leaving your pet with friends or family members is the best way to rehome a dog. When you keep your pet in the family or within your friend group, you can keep up to date with how the animal is adjusting, receive pictures, and possibly even visit.
Contact friends and family before exploring other routes if you must rehome your dog. Choose a person you know likes animals and whose family and lifestyle you believe would be best for your dog.
Explain to them the situation you are facing and say you are exploring your options and wondering if they would like to adopt. Offer to supply them with a few months’ worth of quality dog food and dog toys.
Even if friends and family cannot take your dog in, you know that you are doing everything possible to give your furry friend the best new home.
Speak to Your Veterinarian
When wondering, “how do I rehome my dog?” you might consider talking to your dog’s veterinarian. Rather than going in for a physical visit, use a convenient online veterinarian service to ask a professional about preparing your dog for pet rehoming and where to find a reliable new owner. Your vet can connect you to organizations that specialize in rehoming dogs and give you resources that help you prepare your dog for the change.
Contact Local Shelters
When figuring out how to rehome a dog, local shelters may be one of your only options. Many shelters take in and rehome dogs and understand the heartache of leaving a pet behind.
Before surrendering your dog to a local shelter, ask questions about their adoption process and whether they are a no-kill shelter. If your dog is well-behaved and does not have special needs, there is a good chance it will find a new home quickly.
Use Pet Adoption Resources
One of the best ways of rehoming a dog is to work with an Animal Welfare Organization (AWO) that places pets on an online adoption site. These organizations can match your dog with a temporary foster family rather than keeping them in a shelter while they wait for their forever home.
To move the adoption process along, these AWOs take an adorable picture of your pet, post it online along with information, such as their name, age, temperament, and unique features. This allows people in your area to search for available pets and eventually find your fur baby.
Find Your Dog a New Forever Home
Life can sometimes throw you a curveball that can make rehoming your dog a necessity. When the time comes to find your pet a new home, do your best to place them in a no-kill shelter with friends or family, or work with an AWO to get them fostered and adopted.
No one wants to leave their pet behind, but if you do everything to find them a new forever home, your dog can become part of a new, welcoming family.
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