Owner Surrenders
Are You Looking to Rehome Your Pet?
There are many reasons people find themselves needing to rehome their pet. Sometimes things happen in life that are beyond our control. If you are considering rehoming your pet, please give us a call so we can help you through your decision-making process. Sometimes guidance, assistance, and intervention can help keep your pet in your home. If it's a behavioral issue, we may be able to offer professional advice. If it's a temporary loss of wages, we may be able to assist with food.
But sometimes you may find yourself with no other choice and are ultimately unable to keep your pet. If so, we recommend you look into rehoming him or her yourself because let's face it, you know your pet better than anyone else. The shelter is a very stressful environment for even the most well-adjusted dog and should be used as a last resort.
Where to Start
We strongly recommend Get Your Pet. This is a great website to assist you with rehoming your pet yourself. The website has great support, it's easy to use, and there is no fee to you.
You can also go to Rehome Adopt a Pet and start posting your pet. It's a safe alternative to "Free to Good Home" postings and has tools to assist you in the process. There is no fee to you and the adoption fee will help animals in our shelter and community.
We also recommend using Petfinder as a search engine to identify rescue groups. Just go to Search Adoption Organizations. You can search using your zip code or town. Every organization closest to you will be provided along with contact information and every page you click through will get further and further away. This website is used by most animal welfare organizations, shelters and foster-based groups.
We recommend that you come up with a bio to provide to each organization that you contact. This should include:
- A photo
- Pet's name
- Pet's age
- Pet's sex and spay/neuter status
- Reason for rehoming
- Where you got them from
- How long you have had your pet
- Any health issues or lack of
- Their personality traits
This may save you from repeating the same information over and over again.
Hamilton Residents
If you have exhausted all alternatives, Hamilton Residents may surrender their pets to the Hamilton Township Animal Shelter by appointment only. There is a $100 surrender fee (which may be waived at the discretion of our Director in the event of financial hardship or extenuating circumstances). Please call the shelter to discuss your pet and your situation, and to schedule an appointment: our number is 609-890-3555.