How to Surrender Your Dog

There are a million reasons why people have to give up their pet.  Some of the reasons are good ones, and some are not.  Regardless, if a person doesn’t want their dog anymore… why wouldn’t we want to help the dog find a home where he’s wanted?

In today’s economy, it’s getting harder and harder for families to keep their pets.  Prices are going up, and joblessness is going up as well.

Whatever the reason is, I hope that you will find the information in this post useful.

Behavior

If you are giving away your pet because of behavior issues, understand that it is very doubtful anyone else will be able to help your dog, and your dog will probably end up at the pound after its new owner is fed up.

At The Dog Liberator, we focus on behavior modification on a full-time basis, a new owner won’t have the time or experience that we do.  If you can’t find a trainer, behaviorist, or you just don’t know what to do, take a moment and try to find some training material that could help you.  Searching your problem on YouTube or Google may provide you with some great advice from a professional trainer.

Note:  Shy Sharon had behavior issues, but was not made available for adoption for several months, until I was convinced that we had rehabilitated her.

If your dog has bitten someone, and you do not warn the new owners in writing, you are liable.

 

Medical Issues

If your dog has medical issues, discuss the issues with your Vet.  Many dogs are surrendered to shelters that are terminally ill, and they are put down.  It’s not fair that your dog spends his final hours with total strangers in a concrete building and on a cold metal table.  Be a responsible pet owner, and follow the advice of your Vet.  Re-homing a terminally ill dog without full disclosure is wrong.

Note:  Logan was given to me by his owners, he was terminally ill with a cancerous tumor.  At his age, it was unfair that they shunned their responsibility to him.

 

Age

If you have an awesome dog, and think you’ll never find him a new home because of his/her age… think again.  While that may be true with some rescues, pounds and shelters, it’s not with ours.  We have adopted some wonderful senior dogs who lived long and healthy lives.  Little Nitro, Jaffe, and Big George are just a few of them!

 

When to Start Looking

When should you start trying to find your dog a new home?  When you first suspect that you won’t be able to keep you dog!  It may take weeks or months to re-home your dog.  You need to start making arrangements right away.  Many dog owners wait for the last minute, and this is unfair to the people who are trying to help you.  Rescuers have dozens of dogs to take care of, you only have one.  It may take time to arrange transport, get the necessary paperwork, etc.  Do not delay.

I believe that dog owners wait for the last second to avoid the sadness that they will feel when going to an empty home.  That’s NOT in the best interest of the dog.

We are not miracle workers, and there is no magic wand.  Rescue is very hard and time-consuming work.

 

Honesty

The first rule is honesty.  You must share everything you know about your pet, regardless if it’s good or bad!  Your job is to find him the perfect home.  If you lie about his temperament, age or health, the dog will be returned or worse, dropped of at a shelter/pound.

 

Medical Records/Care

You must have your dog’s veterinary records, and they must be up-to-date.  If your dog is due for shots, get them done.  If you can’t prove that you’ve had your dog on heartworm preventative, you should also pay for a heartworm test.  If your dog is not spay/neutered, you should take care of that too.

If you can’t afford to do all of these things for your dog, why should you believe that someone else should pay for this burden?   Proving that your dog is healthy makes him much more valuable and therefore adoptable.

Whatever it is you can or can’t do for your dog, remember that the first rule is honesty.  If your dog is heartworm positive, for example, tell the truth.  Heartworm is not a death sentence, it’s curable.

If you do all of these things, and call rescues in your area, or find a breed-specific rescue for your dog, tell them you’ve done all the vetting, offer them a donation, and they just might help you, even if they are full.  If you offer them a dog that has issues, has not been vetted, spayed or neutered, you’re closing the door in your own face.

How Can We Help You?

The first thing we are going to do is ask you if you are sure.  We are going to uncover every stone to make sure you have no other options.  Please review Canine Reboot for more information.

The Dog Liberator has re-homed many dogs that have owner-surrendered.  There are many advantages to using our Cannine Connect service.  You will be able to take part of your dog’s adoption, meet his potential new owners, and receive updates on how your dog is doing.    If you’re a good dog owner, and you have a great dog, there’s no reason why people should judge you for having to surrender your dog, so let’s leave the drama out of it!

What you Should Know:

We will require a donation from you before your dog is surrendered.  The donation will be based on if your dog is not up-to-date on shots or if your dog is not spayed or neutered.  You will also have to agree that your dog will be exclusively listed with The Dog Liberator.  You can not list your dog under multiple rescues (PetFinder does not allow it).  If someone you personally know wants to adopt your dog after it is listed with The Dog Liberator, you will direct the potential adopter to The Dog Liberator so we can screen them and facilitate your dog’s adoption.

Once your dog is successfully adopted, the adoption fee is paid to The Dog Liberator.

We will post your dog on our Website, Petfinder and Rescue Groups for you and coach you on how to showcase your dog’s full potential and attract dog owners that match your dog’s temperament.

We will help you screen potential adopters, conduct interviews, verify Vet references and discuss home visits with you.

 

Why should there be an Adoption Fee?

Very rarely do Free-to-a-good-Home dogs get really good homes, and here are some reasons why:

• We have dozens of horrible stories about Craig’s list dogs listed as free.
• Professional Dog Fighters comb through Craig’s list looking for free dogs to use as bait/practice.
• People who pose as adopters may re-post your dog for an adoption fee, posing as rescuers.
• People will sell your dog for experimental purposes, even if it’s only $5 a dog.
• If your dog has no value to you, why should it be valued by someone else?
• 90% of the dogs we rescue from kill shelters were free.
• Your dog’s adoption fee goes into the rescue’s Veterinary Fund, which helps future dogs that have been abandoned and are sitting in kill shelters.

 

If you want your dog to have a long healthy life and live in a great home with loving owners, it starts here.

 

While this video is shared among rescuers, and it is pathetically true, it is not suitable for young viewers, but it can explain to you the frustration you are going to encounter when trying to re-home your dog on your own.

Feel free to review all of the dogs that we have successfully re-homed for their owners by clicking on our Canine Connect Category.  Any feedback or comments left on this post will be shared to increase our effectiveness and the dogs’ success.

If you are reading this post, and you personally found and adopted your dog from Craig’s list, and you are thrilled with your dog, I would like to congratulate you and your dog!

For more information, email TheDogLiberator@gmail.com.