The Best Way To Find a New Home For A Pet

I want to think that everyone that has a pet plans to keep it for the length of the pet’s life. Sometimes we are in a situation where we have a pet that we cannot keep in our home. Maybe you have found a stray or have become seriously ill. This article is not to debate whether or not you should seek a new home for a pet. I am writing this on the premise that you have searched for every possibility to keep your pet, and you cannot do it. Now, you need to find a new home for the pet quickly. Here are the best options in my opinion.

1. All dogs should have ID collars and be micro-chipped to prevent the dog from becoming a stray pet that doesn’t find its way home. Veterinarians often recommend this and shelters usually do this to all pets placed for adoption because it is so important in identifying the home of a pet that gets loose. . Ensure that if you move or change your phone number to update the tags and contact the chip company to update your information. If you find a stray, this is the first thing to check to reunite the pet with its owner. Please do not assume a dirty or hungry dog has been neglected or abused by its owner. The dog may have been lost for an extended period of time. Their owner may be frantically searching for their beloved pet.
2. I have seen both sides of the lost pet problem (a lot of judgment within various pet groups against the owners of lost pets as well as heartache on the side of the families that lost their pets). Some dogs are great at scaling and jumping fences. My border collie, Betty, supposedly ended up at the rescue shelter before I adopted her because she was a digger and an escape artist. Her previous owner tried to secure the backyard but she and her sister kept finding ways to get out. He was an older gentleman with poor health and he felt that he couldn’t keep them safe. Knowing this when I adopted her, I didn’t leave her alone in the backyard unattended. I also buried chicken wire along the base of my fence line to keep her from digging under the fence. She bores easily and would like nothing better than to explore the neighborhood. So, I have to work to keep her safe. Huskies are notorious for jumping over tall fences. My daughter’s husky mix cannot be left in the yard alone either for this reason. He can easily jump a six-foot fence. His previous owner had to install 8-foot fencing to keep him from taking walks around the neighborhood by himself. Given the chance to roam, Odin, my daughter’s dog would usually take off. He has bonded strongly with my daughter over the last few years and he no longer tries to run off. He doesn’t want to be far from her. When a dog is newly adopted, the chance of them running away is the greatest. They aren’t bonded to their owners yet and they are afraid of all the changes.
3. Keep a spare leash and collar or slip lead in your car for helping to save stray dogs if you really want to help. You won’t be able to save every lost dog that you find. But having a collar and a leash on hand helps increase your odds. If the dog is too skittish, you may not be able to catch them. But, I catch an average of 5–6 dogs per year that have escaped their yards. Some are very docile and are grateful for human help, and they hop right into my car. Others will stop and allow me to leash them and walk them back to my car. Some run away and can’t be found. But the 5–6 that I do catch each year are reunited with their families because I keep a spare leash in the car.
4. If the stray can’t be reunited with their owners immediately, keep a stray safe but separate from your family pets. Often strays may have parasites, fleas, and other more serious illnesses from being left to fend for themselves. A spare crate can be used temporarily or a spare room, garage, or backyard space. . Be careful housing a pet loose in a garage unless all the hazards are safely out of reach.
5. If the dog doesn’t have a collar with the name and phone number to call the owner, take them to the closest shelter scanned for a chip. This is not a terrible thing to do. You are not condemning the pet by taking them to a shelter. Because the owner may be looking for this pet, take the pet to the closest shelter to where you found the dog -But tell them that if the owner is not found and no one adopts the dog that you claim last rights to the pet if this is something that you can do. This will allow you to keep the dog from being euthanized due to overcrowding at shelters if you live in a location that has “kill” shelters. Shelters are always near or at full capacity. They take all pets -sick, dying, old, and neglected. The numbers are staggering.
6. Post pictures and a description of the pet to all of your social media platforms. Get the word out. Post the animal ID for the shelter. Ask your connections to share the post freely. Facebook and NextDoor are beneficial for things like this.
7. If the dog is not redeemed by the owner or adopted, please redeem the pet and follow the tips for when you already own the dog. Eddie, my chihuahua, started out as a stray that was not redeemed. My mother fell in love with him at first sight. But, she did take him to the shelter first, in case he had someone else looking for him. Nobody came though. So, my mom was at the shelter when it opened to adopt him the first day he was available. She always referred to him as the love of her life. Now, he is mine. He’s a really good little boy.

Dogs that are not strays

The tips below are what you can do when you need to re-home a pet for yourself, family, or friends.

1. Keep or foster the dog as applicable until you find an appropriate home for the pet. Many rescue groups rely heavily on fosters to help keep dogs and cats alive while waiting for a forever home.
2. Share the word. Tell your friends, family, church members, co-workers that you need help. Do not let community guilt or shame keep you from saving this animal-post on Facebook groups, NextDoor.
3. Be the type of friend that doesn’t judge someone for needing to rehome their pet. A desperate friend that needs to find a home for their pet will feel a great deal of shame, and many people will make them feel worse. They may feel that they don’t have any options nor anyone to turn to. If you are kind and open-minded to a friend that needs to rehome a pet, they can confide in you, and you could end up saving their pet’s life by helping this person instead of piling shame upon them. Some people make mistakes, and some are careless or thoughtless. I realize that. But, for the sake of their pet, help them anyway if you can.
4. Do not offer the pet “free to a good home.” Unfortunately, the days of being able to provide this to strangers are OVER. Illegal dogfighters troll places like Craigslist and Facebook for free pets to use as bait animals. It is a brutal death sentence to the animals. Please don’t unwittingly be part of this horrible problem.
5. Contact Rescue groups. Contact them ALL. Most will be full. Ask them to advertise your pet on their page while you foster the pet if that is possible. Do not get discouraged. People want to help.
6. If you can’t find a home, someone to foster the pet, and can’t foster the pet yourself, it is better to take the pet to the shelter than to abandon it. Abandoning a pet is illegal, and you can be arrested for animal cruelty as well. Taking your pet to a shelter is the last resort, but your pet is more likely to starve to death or get killed by traffic if you abandon them. Never abandon a pet.

I hope that that this helps someone save a pet. Share with anyone you think might need this. My dog is a rescue, and I am so thankful to have her in my life. She is truly the best part of most days for me. I love the way she is so excited when I wake up in the morning or come home from work. The way she leans into me with her head and gazes at me with her chocolate brown eyes melts my heart every day.

Originally published at https://mrycpetcare.com on December 10, 2020.