A brown brindle dog sits on a sidewalk, leashed to his owner off-camera. He is looking towards he camera and has a cute, curious expression.

Rehoming Resources

The following resources are here to help guide you through the process of rehoming your pet. If you haven’t come to that decision yet, please reach out to us through our contact page for other resources that may help you keep your dog in your home.

Rehoming can be done responsibly and safely. It’s important to take the time to find the right placement – not a placement right now – so that your dog succeeds and thrives in their new home.

Rehoming on your own is a wonderful way to keep a dog out of the shelter system – which can be incredibly stressful. Shelters and rescues are often full with waiting lists, so taking this on yourself may help your dog find a family faster than waiting to get your dog into a shelter.

If your dog has bitten, or has serious behavior issues, please click here. (This resource is coming soon!)

If your dog has serious medical issues, and you need help affording veterinary care, please click here.

If you are moving and looking for a dog-friendly rental, please visit our friends at My Pit Bull is Family, they have a national database of dog inclusive properties. www.mypitbullisfamily.org

Five Steps for Safe and Responsible Rehoming

1. Gather all of your dog’s records. Be sure your dog is up to date on vaccines and that you have proof for their new family. If your dog is due for anything, please try and take your dog to your current veterinarian for boosters, preventatives, and any other regular wellness needs. It will be less stressful for your dog if they don’t have to meet a new family and a new veterinarian right away. Scan or photograph the records and save them in your physical files or email. The originals will go with your dog to their new home. Be sure to disclose any serious medical conditions to potential adopters. It isn’t always a deal breaker, but you don’t want it to be a surprise, and making sure your dog’s new family has all of their information may lead to better preventative care.

2. Take the time to write up the things about your dog that makes them special. You’ll want to be honest about your dog’s needs, while also highlighting the good stuff. If your dog has behavioral or medical needs, be specific. You can also include the reason why you need to rehome your dog if you’d like. Here’s a sample:

Meet Fluffernutter! She is about two years old and was adopted from a shelter when she was a puppy. She’s a medium sized Golden Doodle. She is spayed, and we just had her shots updated. She is healthy and social with people. She prefers dogs her own size or smaller. She is good with children but can be mouthy if the kids initiate rowdy play. Would be perfect with older kids. Fluff cannot live with cats. We have been working with a trainer to try and make it work, but Fluff wants to chase and pin cats and it is not safe. We have had some recent changes in our family and now have additional cats here and it’s becoming too hard to manage. She does great with our two dogs and can be shy around bigger dogs but is okay once she knows them. She’s done basic obedience classes. She’s an overall great dog, but not a great fit for our family due to unexpected changes. Please email or call to meet Fluffernutter.

Now you’ll need to find a handful of great photos of your dog. This is so important. Make sure photos are well-lit, and show your dog’s personality. If they are great with other dogs, photos of them playing with other dogs. Loves kids? Cute photos with kids (feel free to obscure faces) are a plus! Show the fun, playful, silly side of your dog.

3. Share with family and friends first. You may be able to find a friend of a friend just by asking around. Make sure you have your writeup and photos ready in easily sharable formats. One of the things that can slow down the process of finding an adopter is not having enough information in the original post. You want the reader to know enough about your dog to determine if they might be a good fit. Have a friend look it over for clarity and then post widely! List your dog far and wide!

  • Facebook – in local rehoming groups and with friends and family

  • Craigslist – Yes! You can safely rehome pets on Craigslist. It is the newspaper of our day, and has helped safely rehome many pets.

  • Local Papers and Pages – If you have a local community paper or page that allows pet posts, get them seen.

Rehoming Websites – These are fantastic resources that help with the process and promotion, as well as providing important guidance.

4. Find adoption applications and contracts online. You can make your own (feel free to use Hello Bully’s Adoption Contract as a guideline: https://www.hellobully.org/application) or download from a site like Legal Zoom or DocHub. You can ask applicants to fill out a list of questions through email, or ask for a conversation via phone, FaceTime or Zoom. Here’s a list of important topics you’ll want to cover:

  • Family dynamics – is this a good match for your dog regarding other pets, children, and lifestyle?

  • Previous pets – asking about previous pets can give you lots of good information about a person’s view on pet care. You can also ask if all of their previous/current pets are up to date on vaccines and preventatives.

  • Training and behavior issues – what will happen if the dog has trouble adjusting? Are they willing to work with a certified trainer or behavior consultant? Are they committed to best practices in training?

  • Do they own their home, or are they allowed to have pets in their rental? You can often confirm property ownership on public tax information pages. Ask for a copy of the lease or a letter from the property owner if they rent.

5. If you think you’ve found a good match for your dog, you’ll want to proceed depending on if they have pets in the home already. Before meeting, make it clear that you will not be leaving the dog with them on this day. This gives everyone a chance to ask questions, and to back out without pressure if they feel it’s not a good fit.

If they have dogs, meet in a neutral place, and walk the dogs together before introducing. Keep introductions brief and give lots of breaks for snacks. First dates can make dogs nervous, so it’s okay to go really slow. Depending on how the dogs do on their first date, you may want to do a second date before visiting the home. If all goes well, make sure the new owners are advised to go slow, separate for feeding and high value treats, keep toys up until they know how they interact together with toys. We also recommend keeping a drag line (a leash with no handle) on all dogs in the home during the first couple of weeks in case there is a scuffle. Drag lines help keep people and dogs safe by giving a better option than grabbing a collar. Always supervise dogs closely when they are in a new environment.

If there are no other pets in the home and you want to go straight to the home visit, you will want to first enlist a friend or family member to go with you. Please, don’t do home checks alone. You can ask where the dog will spend most of it’s time, where they will exercise the dog, as well as give them an opportunity to ask questions. During this time you will have a chance to see first hand how they interact with your dog.

If all parties feel it’s a good match, and you want to move forward with the adoption, pre-set agreed on check in dates over the first two weeks, as most of the questions and concerns will come up during that time.

The day your dog moves in with their new family, you’ll want to bring some of their favorite toys and treats, a 2-4 week’s supply of food, and any preventatives or medications your dog is on. Make sure you agree on who will supply a collar and leash or harness, and a crate or carrier if needed.

Hopefully, by the time the day comes, you’ll feel confident that your dog will have a great next chapter of their life with their new family. We hope this helps you and your dog in your rehoming journey!