• Why are you looking to rehome your pet? 

• Is the issue fixable? 

• Have you tried to resolve the issue?

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There are so many homeless animals in South Florida and so many are euthanized due to overpopulation. Therefore, rehoming a pet is not something you should take lightly; if you give them up, their life may very well be on the line.

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• If it is a temporary situation that is making it hard for you to keep your pet, see if a friend or family member can host your pet or can help you care for them in your home. 

• If your pet is having behavior or training issues, an animal behaviorist can help.

  • If you are looking to rehome your dog or cat because of a behavior issue and do not believe you can afford the help of a professional behaviorist, please contact Good Karma Pet Pantry which can help on a case-by-case basis with their partner trainers. 

• If you do not have money for food or other necessities, pet food banks can help.

• If you need a dog crate or other supplies to make keeping your pet a possibility, reach out to Good Karma Pet Pantry for assistance. 

• If your pet is sick and you cannot afford treatment, there are financial resources available to you. 

• If you are not allowed to have a pet where you live, you may be able to get them classified as a emotional assistance pet. See Other Resources page for more information.

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Please look at rehoming your pet as the last resort only after you have tried to resolve any issues you are having. And if rehoming is your only option, please do whatever you can to keep them in your home until they find a new home so you can ensure they are safe. 

Make sure your dog is healthy and ready to go to a potential family by having it up-to-date with vaccines and is preferably spayed/neutered (which will also prevent people from "adopting" only to use your pet for breeding babies to sell). Keeping your dog or cat well-groomed will also increase your chances of finding it a new home.

If you adopted your pet from a rescue group, most rescue groups require that the pet is returned to them rather than be rehomed elsewhere. Contact the rescue group to let them know what's going on.

use your personal contacts

Let your friends, family, and neighbors know you are looking to re-home your pet. Sometimes people aren't in the "market" to adopt but are open to the idea when it comes up, especially if they already know and are fond of your pet. Ask them to spread the word. Talk to the staff at your veterinarian's office to see if they know a good match. Share flyers at your workplace, church, or school. 

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Share on social media. Do be prepared for judgment from strangers on rehoming your pet even if you have a valid reason and have exhausted all options. Being clear about your situation is not necessary, but will help prevent some of this. Social media is a great place to get your information far & wide, but can be difficult in situations like this. 

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REHOMING SERVICES

You can use an online service like Rehome by Adopt-a-Pet that helps you through the steps below, including advertising the pet for adoption. 

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If you find a potential home home for your pet:

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BE HONEST

Be honest and up-front with a potential new owner for your pet. Don't sugar coat any issues you are having with them, or be prepared for them to return the pet or dump them elsewhere. Focus on the good, but disclose the bad.

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SCREENING

Check out your dog or cat's potential new home before handing them over. Make sure the other pets in the home are friendly with your pet. Make sure their pets seem healthy, well adjusted, and well-groomed. Are they up to date with visits to the veterinarian? Are their existing pets' dishes clean? Ask how they discipline their pets, how many hours they are home alone, and who watches their pets when they are away. 

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Even if everything seems okay but you get an uncomfortable feeling, trust your instincts and keep looking. Knowing you’ve made the right choice will make rehoming easier on you and your pet.

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ADOPTION FEE

Most experts agree that offering your pet free to a "good home" can put its life at risk. There are people who look for free pets to use for dog fighting, whether as a fighting dog or bait. There are people who look for free pets to sell to labs for cruel testing. There are people who cruise the free pet ads looking for a pet to torture for their fun. Others take in free animals to sell them, or to use them to breed. While asking for an adoption fee for your pet won't guarantee that the pet does not end up in the wrong hands, it takes the risk down. It also ensures that someone is not getting the pet just because it's free, without any long-term plan to keep the pet and ensures that they are willing to invest some money in the pet, and may be more likely to seek veterinary care when necessary. 

With all that in mind, it is best to ask for some sort of rehoming fee. If you do not feel "right" about taking money from someone for your pet, you can donate that fee to a charity. 

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ADJUSTMENT PERIOD

Be sure the new owner understands that there will be an adjustment period for your pet to transition into a new home. After all, we cannot explain to them what is going on, so they are left confused when leaving their home and family for a  new one. The rule is you usually want to allow for at least three weeks for a pet to adapt to its environment, and at least three months for her to truly feel at home. 

Visit our South Florida Rescues page.

Use email, phone, and/or Facebook to reach out to the appropriate rescues from the page to see if they can take in the found pet for their adoption program.

SCREENING

If you find a rescue willing to take in your pet, ask them questions to make sure they are trustworthy. Most rescue groups are great and in it for the right reasons, but it's your job to make sure you are not handing over your pet to an unsafe or inhumane situation.

• Ask your veterinarian and other rescues about their reputation. 

• Will the pet be going to a foster home or a shelter? 

  • If the pet is going to a private shelter, ask if they are no-kill; the vast majority of private rescues are no-kill, but there are exceptions and a pet could be put to sleep for non-serious behavior issues or illnesses. You should also be able to visit a shelter during public business hours to see how it runs for yourself. 

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TIPS & GOOD ADVICE

• Be nice! Most rescuers are already doing pretty much as much as they possibly can, and also inundated all day, every day with more sad animals that need help. We would take in every animal if we could, but are limited with the kennel or foster space we have available.

• Most work in most rescues is done by volunteers, often during evenings/weekends. Have a little patience when waiting for a response. You can always reach out again, but do not act angry or rude in your communication about not havin heard back. Squeaky wheel gets the grease, but only if the wheel isn't mean! ;) 

• Most rescuers prefer to communicate via email or text. If they have a phone number, you can leave a message, but make sure you follow up with a text or email. If they answer you by text or email, do not demand a phone call; phone calls usually take a lot longer than emails or texts and rescuers are often trying to get a lot of work done in a short amount of time. 

• Provide as much information about the pet as you can regarding temperament, size, behavior, and how she acts around people, dogs, and cats. Include a photo in your written communication. 

• If you can make sure your pet is up-to-date on vaccines and testing, a rescue group may be more likely to take.

• Most rescues are doing a lot of work with not much money, money they have to work very hard to get donated. A donation to the rescue who takes in your pet is appreciated and suggested. 

• If you have a dog who is a breed that requires specialized knowledge and care, such as a border collie, try to reach out to breed-specific rescues first.

If you have no other option, take to your local shelter if they are accepting owner surrenders.

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• NOT accepting owner surrenders at this time: Broward: https://www.broward.org/Animal/Pages/Default.aspx 

• Miami-Dade: https://www.miamidade.gov/global/animals/home.page

• Palm Beach: https://discover.pbcgov.org/publicsafety/animalcare/pages/default.asp

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Although lots of animals find their forever homes at local animal shelters, we consider this the last option if at all possible for several reasons:

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• Shelters have a lot of animals in a confined area, which makes for a stressful environment. A stressful environment causes both behavior and physical problems.

  • A dog who may be perfectly friendly out of a shelter may exhibit behavior issues in a shelter environment which will scare off adopters. The longer a pet stays at the shelter, the worse these stress-related issues will become. Dogs who are normally calm and friendly can become anxious and aggressive. Cats who are sweet and friendly can become withdrawn or aggressive. 

  • A dog or cat who is healthy going into the shelter will become stressed, which inhibits their immune system, and they can get very sick with simple infections that can become fatal in a shelter environment.  

• Shelters in South Florida are often at or over capacity, meaning they do not have space or resources for more pets. They do the best with what they have, but they cannot create more space or more staff, meaning your pet may be euthanized any time after being surrendered, or another pet who has been at the facility longer may be euthanized to make space. 

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That is, surrendering to an open-admission shelter in South Florida could mean they would be put to sleep for behavior issues caused by the shelter environment, illness caused by the stress of being in a highly populated shelter, or just because there are no open cages.