I have come to the difficult decision to rehome my pet. Where should I start?
Coming to terms with potentially having to rehome your pet, whether for financial or living-situation reasons, is a challenging situation for families. Often, the better course is for a family to self-rehome their pet rather than surrender them to the shelter. It is more humane for the pets and gives peace of mind to the people who can select their pet’s new family. It also leaves room for the pets in physical shelters, who will have more much-needed space and resources.
So, where does one start? Here are a couple of starting points we recommend before deciding to drop your pet off at the shelter.
- Reach out to your network. Talk to your friends and neighbors about your situation to see if they have any potential leads or contacts. You can also post to social media rehoming groups, such as Rehoming Pets in North Carolina, a Facebook group that has nearly 11,300 members.
- Post to self-rehoming platforms. Self-rehoming platforms like home-home.org and www.adoptapet.com, are great sites to search for potential adopters for your pet.
- Check in with your local animal shelter for support. Many local animal shelters can post adoption listins, and help market owned pets who need to be rehomed. It doesn’t hurt to ask for support!
It can be a very difficult decision to give up a pet, but there are many resources available to help make the process as easy as possible! Though it may take a bit of time to find the best fit for your pet, we know there’s a family out there for everyone. To prepare yourself and your pet even more for the rehoming process, please visit https://lifelineanimal.org/rehome/ for more tips and tricks!
