Defining Rehoming
Rehoming is the process of finding a new permanent home for a pet that can no longer stay with its current owner. According to ASPCA statistics, nearly 4.1 million pets enter shelters each year, with about 670,000 dogs returned to shelters by their owners. There are many reasons an owner may need to rehome their pet:
- Financial difficulties
- Housing issues such as moving or landlord restrictions
- Lack of time to care for the pet
- Behavioral problems
- Personal issues such as illness, allergies, or family changes
The rehoming process involves finding a new suitable home for the pet through online rehoming networks, rescue organizations, friends and family, or shelter surrenders. Shelters play an important role in rehoming by taking in surrendered pets and adopting them out to screened families. However, shelters should be a last resort option due to limited space and resources. Responsible rehoming starts with the current owner taking steps to find the pet a new home themselves before bringing it to a shelter.
Defining Rescuing
Rescuing a dog typically refers to taking in and providing a home for a dog that is at risk of euthanasia or is in need of urgent care due to neglect, abuse, or other dangerous circumstances. Reasons dogs may need rescuing include:
- Being surrendered by their owners to a high-kill shelter
- Being abandoned or found as strays
- Living in inhumane conditions, like puppy mills or dog fighting operations
- Suffering from lack of proper food, water, shelter, or veterinary care
The rescue process usually involves an organization or individual taking the dog into their care, providing any needed emergency veterinary treatment, and finding a new adoptive home for the dog. Animal shelters and rescue groups play a crucial role by taking in at-risk animals, networking to find placements, screening potential adopters, facilitating meet-and-greets, handling adoption contracts and fees, and supporting the transition to a new home.
Rescues aim to save the lives of dogs who are not receiving appropriate care from their current owners and are at risk of being euthanized. Their focus is on urgent rehoming and rehabilitation for mistreated or abandoned dogs [1].
Key Differences
There are some notable differences between rehoming and rescuing a dog:
Rehoming often refers to an owner actively seeking out a new home for their pet, whether that’s done privately or by surrendering to a shelter/rescue. Rescuing more commonly refers to adopting a stray or abandoned dog from a shelter. Source 1
Rehoming is initiated by the current owner no longer being able to care for the dog, while rescuing saves a dog that has been lost or given up. Rehoming happens before a dog enters a shelter, while rescuing provides a home after they are already there. Source 2
Rehoming often takes place directly between the current and new owner, while rescuing happens through an adoption process with a shelter or rescue organization. Rehoming maintains continuity for the dog in transitioning straight to a new home, while rescuing provides a fresh start after a stay in a shelter environment. Source 3
Motivations
There are various reasons why dog owners may make the difficult decision to rehome their pet. According to research by Four Paws International, the top causes include lack of time, underestimating the responsibility, major life changes, behavioral issues, and costs (1). Owners may experience job loss, relationship changes, housing issues, or health problems that affect their ability to properly care for the dog.
On the rescue side, organizations take in surrendered pets to save them from being abandoned or euthanized. Rescues aim to foster the dogs temporarily until a new forever home can be found. Their mission is to promote adoption and provide medical care, training, and rehabilitation that the previous owner could not (2). Both parties are ultimately motivated by ensuring the dog’s well-being and finding the best home environment. However, rehoming is emotionally difficult for all involved.
Outcomes
Research indicates that dogs who are rehomed directly by their owners have higher success rates than those who enter the shelter system. According to this study by Faunalytics, 92.2% of puppies who were rehomed by their owners were successfully placed in a new home, compared to 85% of shelter puppies. For adult dogs, owner-rehomed dogs had an 81.5% success rate versus just 52.9% for shelter dogs.
The higher success rates for rehomed dogs is likely due to owners being able to carefully screen potential adopters and match the dog with a suitable home. Shelters often have less history about a dog’s behavioral traits and temperament. Rehomed dogs are also less likely to develop kennel stress and other behavioral issues that commonly afflict shelter dogs. Their training is generally more continuous as well.
However, rehoming does come with risks if owners are not thorough in vetting adopters. Rescues and shelters utilize more standardized adoption procedures, interviews, home visits, and trial periods. But for dogs rehomed directly by their owners, the screening process can vary dramatically.
Ethical Considerations
Rehoming a dog can raise ethical questions, as some view it as irresponsible and equivalent to abandonment. However, there are situations where rehoming may be the most responsible choice for the dog’s wellbeing, especially if the current home cannot provide proper care, attention, training, or compatibility. The motivation behind rehoming plays a key role.
For example, rehoming due to minor inconveniences like shedding, barking, or puppy chewing may be seen as irresponsible. But rehoming an aggressive, anxious, or special needs dog into a more suitable home can be a selfless act of love for the dog’s benefit. There is often a moral difference between a voluntary life change, where keeping the dog is still feasible, versus cases of genuine incompatibility.
The process also matters – finding an ideal new home through careful screening shows responsibility. But dumping dogs at crowded shelters may be considered unethical. With thoughtfulness and the dog’s quality of life prioritized, rehoming can be a moral act of doing what’s best for the animal when keeping them is no longer possible or humane.
Best Practices
There are some important tips for those looking to responsibly rehome their dog:
- Be completely transparent with potential new owners about your dog’s health, needs, and any behavioral issues. This ensures the dog goes to a home able to properly care for them. See this AKC article for more details.
- Take time finding the right adopter. Don’t rush to rehome your dog to the first person who responds. Vet potential adopters thoroughly. Many rescues have lengthy adoption processes to ensure a good match.
- Follow up after rehoming your dog. Check in occasionally on how they are settling in. Be available for questions from the new owner for a period of time.
- Consider surrendering your dog to a no-kill rescue organization. They have rigorous adoption processes and can match your dog to an appropriate home.
Animal rescues and shelters undertake careful processes to set up adoptions for success:
- Rescues thoroughly vet adopters through applications, interviews and home visits. This ensures the adopter is ready for the responsibility.
- They match dogs to adopters based on activity levels, needs and personality. Compatibility is key.
- Many rescues provide training and behavior support post-adoption. This smooths the transition to a new home.
- Follow ups are done to ensure the adoption is going well and intervene early if issues arise.
Making the Decision
Assessing when rehoming is appropriate is one of the most critical steps before rehoming a dog. Some key factors to consider include whether the owner can no longer care for the dog’s physical or medical needs, if the owner’s life circumstances have drastically changed, or if the owner realizes the breed or personality traits are no longer a good match (Rover, 2023). However, it’s important not to make the decision lightly and to first exhaust all other options like training, behavioral help from experts, adjusting daily routines and exercise, or using pet sitters or dog walkers. According to one source, adoring your dog is an important prerequisite before rehoming (Whole Dog Journal, 2013).
Working closely with dog rescues can help ensure a smooth transition when rehoming. Rescues often have waiting lists of thoroughly vetted adopters and can match dogs with new owners based on lifestyle, activity level, and personality compatibility. They provide an adoption screening process along with follow-ups, training, medical care, and other post-adoption support. However, owners should be prepared for rescues to potentially decline taking the dog if the reasoning does not meet their criteria for rehoming. Private rehoming comes with more risks and less oversight, so owners need to carefully screen potential new families themselves.
The Adoption Process
When rehoming a dog, it’s important to thoroughly vet potential new owners to ensure the dog will be going to a good home. Require potential adopters to fill out an application with information about their living situation, family, other pets, experience with dogs, etc. You can also ask for references from a veterinarian to ensure they have properly cared for pets in the past (Source). Meet any promising candidates in person and observe how they interact with your dog.
To facilitate a smooth transition, have the adopter come to your home multiple times to meet the dog before taking them home. Allowing the dog and new owner to become familiar in a comfortable environment can ease anxiety. Provide the adopter with the dog’s vet records, microchip information, favorite toys/blankets, food preferences, and any other helpful information. Follow up periodically after rehoming to ensure the dog has adapted well in their new forever home (Source).
Providing Ongoing Support
When rehoming a dog, it is important to follow up with the new owners to ensure a smooth transition for the dog. This may involve checking in periodically via phone calls, email, or in-person visits (Source). Offering continued training guidance can also help the dog adjust to the new home environment. Provide the new owners with details on the dog’s commands, schedule, preferences, and any behavioral challenges. Offer to be a resource if any training issues arise.
While rehoming can be an emotional process, focusing on supporting the dog and new family helps provide reassurance that the dog will have a good home (Source). Maintaining an open channel of communication demonstrates care and commitment to the dog’s wellbeing. This ongoing assistance can bring comfort during a difficult transition.
