Adopting a dog can be challenging and sometimes despite tremendous effort, a family may decide they can no longer keep a dog for various reasons. A failed dog adoption is usually not due to the “fault” of the family or the dog, but simply because the match was not a perfect fit. Sometimes returning, surrendering, or rehoming a dog may be the best (and admittedly the hardest) decision to allow the pup a chance to find the perfect home.
Fortunately, adoptions have increased in the U.S. with over 3 million pets adopted from shelters annually and the estimated rate of pets returned to shelters is only between 7 and 20 percent.1 Certainly, there are many different “good” reasons to surrender a dog, but ultimately, doing what is best for the pet is paramount.
Why Do People Give Up Their Dogs?
Families adopt dogs for many different reasons and always with good intentions. Similarly, there are various factors that result in the difficult conclusion to surrender a dog. That means that there is usually not one specific reason, but several that result in an unsuccessful adoption. Certainly, when adopting a dog, no one plans on the adoption failing. On the contrary, a family may be so eager to adopt a dog that they get carried away with the emotional aspects of a new pet and fail to recognize potential warnings before welcoming a dog in to the family.
Owner and Family Related Causes
Similar to the reasons why an adoption might be denied, they are often some of the same reasons an adoption fails, and dogs are returned to the shelter, surrendered or rehomed. The main reasons an adoption fails are due to factors concerning the home or members of the household2:
- Living space is too small
- No fenced yard
- Too many young children
- Too many pets
- The age of the sole caregiver
- Current pets are not vaccinated, spayed or neutered
Additionally, the lifestyle of pet parents can contribute to a pet being surrendered. This can include:
- Long working hours
- Frequent trips away from home
In the end, these factors may be the reason the match is not a right fit, no matter how much a family and dog try.
Dog’s Behavior
Bringing a dog to a new environment with new people (and often other pets) is inherently challenging and sometimes stressful for everyone including the dog. As a result, the new pet may exhibit dog behavior that is not ideal for the new home such as marking, chewing, jumping or other common canine behaviors like separation anxiety, that a family may have not anticipated. Often, this behavior can be curbed with training, but a family may not have the time or resources available no matter how much they want the adoption to succeed. Of course, some dogs may be aggressive. If a home has small children, a family may have to act quickly to ensure the safety of family members and the dog. Some may question whether it is cruel to rehome a dog, but in reality, rehoming a dog may be in everyone’s best interest.
Unexpected Factors or Events
Sometimes, a doggy adoption fails because circumstances change suddenly. Medical and health issues can arise suddenly in a family member or a pet and result in unexpected medical expenses or care. While an adequate pet health care plan with Pets Best can help reduce the medical costs of a pet, some families may be unable to provide the extra attention needed to address a pet’s serious or chronic health condition.
Similarly, changes in employment and school, or moving to a new home can create significant hardship for a family and result in the need to rehome a dog. Loss of income or unexpected costs associated with a pet can also be contributing factors. Any of these events can result in significant changes in a family as well as new family dynamics due to marriage, pregnancy or divorce. Sadly, as much as a family may adore their dog, sometimes circumstances will prevent the dog from enjoying the love, care and time that it deserves when a family’s resources are stretched thin.
How to Prevent Surrendering Your Pet
Before surrendering a dog, pet parents should seek help from various resources. Shelters, rescue groups, animal advocacy groups, pet care clinics, veterinarians and friends and family may be able to provide financial support, behavioral training, medical assistance, food or doggy care. Pet industry professionals can also provide advice, offer possible solutions or make referrals. Of course, if the family cannot save the adoption, the best decision may still be to surrender the dog.
How to Responsibly Surrender Your Dog
Once the decision to surrender is made, the next question is “How to surrender a dog?”. While there are many places where a family can surrender a dog, some shelters require a dog to be returned to the shelter from which it was adopted from. Review any documents or contracts received during the adoption process, as these should disclose if the pet needs to be returned to the shelter you adopted it from.
Some families may decide to find a new home. The best way to rehome a dog might be to ask friends and families for referrals. Be sure to thoroughly interview any potential adopter to determine the best match. Spaying or neutering prior to rehoming can make your pet more adoptable as well! You may consider a small rehoming fee to discourage an adopter with negative motives. Of course, you should avoid homes that may have similar circumstances or factors that resulted in your home not being a good fit. For example, extreme care must be taken when rehoming an aggressive dog and keep in mind that a dog’s bad behavior can be corrected with training or a new environment that is more suitable to the dog.
Don’t Blame Yourself For Returning Your Dog
Surrendering or rehoming a dog is nothing to be ashamed of. Moreover, it is nobody’s fault. Just as adopting a dog is an expression of care and compassion, recognizing that a dog adoption is not successful is equally compassionate. If your home is not the best fit for a dog, make every effort to find the right home for the dog, or return the dog to the shelter where the dog will find friendly and familiar faces.
1 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-87649-2
2 https://www.labradortraininghq.com/simply-the-rest/dog-adoption-application-denied/