Rehome Your Pet
We’re here to help families through hard times.
If you’re overwhelmed by challenges that seem supersized, you’re not alone. We offer assistance to help keep you and your pet together, and if your pet needs a new home, we’re here for that too. Explore our resources below or reach out and tell us more about you and your pet.
Shape the path to your preferred method of communication: consider an email address reserved for case management requests or link to a request assistance form. In the space below, mirror information also available on a Pet Support/Resources page of your website; list resources and support available at your shelter or in your community, like a pet food bank, behavior helpline, assistance with veterinary care, emergency fostering, etc.
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Behavioral issues can seem tough, but they’re solvable! If your pet is having trouble getting along with other animals or if you’re experiencing other issues, we can help. [List available resources like helplines or training classes and provide links or contact information here.]
Fear Free Happy Homes for Pets provides videos, articles, and toolkits to help address pet behavioral issues, fears, and anxieties. You can also search for additional free or low-cost support services at pets.findhelp.com and PetHelpFinder.org.
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To alleviate concerns, it can be helpful to let a prospective landlord know if you have a dog-walker. You can also offer to provide proof of renter’s insurance or increase your security deposit in place of pet rent. Check out this guide for renters with pets for more tips on pet-friendly housing and navigating common landlord-tenant scenarios.
You can search for additional free or low-cost support services at pets.findhelp.com and PetHelpFinder.org.
[List other available resources—for example, funds available to help with pet deposits or pet fees—and provide links or contact information here. For more ideas, check out the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) Keeping Families Together Eviction Response Toolkit.]
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We hear you. You are welcome to make an appointment at our pet pantry or visit during open hours for basic pet supplies and food. We also offer low-cost veterinary care through our community clinic; ask us about our flexible payment options. For more information, visit our Pet Support page. [List available resources like a basic pet food/supply pantry, shelter/community vaccine or access to care clinics or spay/neuter vouchers and provide links or contact information here.]
You can search for additional free or low-cost support services at pets.findhelp.com and PetHelpFinder.org.
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If you are unable to care for your pet temporarily, consider asking friends, family, or neighbors if they can foster your pet. If you find someone to care for your pet temporarily, consider having an agreement in place, such as this sample Temporary Pet Guardian Contract from the Animal Welfare Association.
If you are being deployed, visit Dogs on Deployment to search a nationwide network for foster volunteers.
[List available shelter/community resources such as crisis boarding services and provide links or contact information here.]
You can search for additional free or low-cost support services at pets.findhelp.com and PetHelpFinder.org.
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Safe Place For Pets helps secure on-site housing and off-site housing for people and pets who need a safe escape from domestic violence.
Ruthless Kindness provides free mobile veterinary care and vaccines for the pets of victims of domestic violence and other at-risk community members in crisis.
If you are a survivor of domestic violence and need immediate assistance, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799-7233. You can also find resources on domestic violence and pets at Red Rover.
[List other available community/shelter resources and provide links or contact information here.]
You can search for additional free or low-cost support services at pets.findhelp.com and PetHelpFinder.org.
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Family Paws offers support and resources to help parents create safe, lasting relationships between their dogs and their children.
You can search for additional free or low-cost support services at pets.findhelp.com and PetHelpFinder.org.
Home-to-home adoption support
If you’ve made the difficult decision to rehome your pet, we offer support to ease the transition and honor the one-of-a-kind bond between you both. You love your pet, you know your pet, and no one is better suited to find their next family. We can do it together—here’s how:
With home-to-home adoption, your pet can go directly from your home to their new home, skipping the stress of a shelter and getting right to settling in with their new family.
You’ll have the peace of mind of knowing—and choosing—who will be caring for your pet, and the option of staying in touch with them if you want.
You won’t only be helping your pet; you’ll also be reserving shelter space for sick, injured, or abandoned animals who truly have no other options, and helping make sure they can find homes too!
Follow these steps to rehome your pet:
Give yourself grace: you’re doing your best for your pet, and you’re holding space for other animals in our community who need help.
Complete a home-to-home form so that we can list your pet on our adoption page.
Reach out to your network. Talk with your friends and neighbors. Introduce your pet to the world: Post your pet’s photo and bio to social media rehoming groups and ask friends to share the posts. Check out Lifeline Animal Project’s tips for creating your pet’s profile.
Post your pet’s photo and bio to self-rehoming platforms like home-home.org and www.adoptapet.com, where owners who need to find new homes for their pets can match up with potential adopters who are looking for pets.
If you are in crisis and in need of immediate assistance, schedule an appointment or call xxx-xxx-xxxx if this is an emergency, and we’ll make preparations to ensure your pet can be welcomed into the shelter or a foster home. We reserve special hours for Rehoming Services so that we can give you and your pet the care you deserve; appointments are available Monday–Friday from 9 a.m.–12 p.m. and Sundays from 9 a.m.–7 p.m.
If you offer additional rehoming support, such as pet bio writing or foster-to-adopt, include details here too. For more on how your shelter can support self-rehoming and to view a comparison of self-rehoming platforms, see the HASS Supported Self-Rehoming Toolkit and the HeARTs Speak Supported Self-Rehoming Communications Kit. Note that in order for community members to use Home to Home, which does not require adoption fees, shelters must first create and maintain an account.