Where Can I Surrender My Dog for Free? Where Can I Take Him?

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Where Can I Surrender My Dog for Free?

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As a dog owner, you would understand the need for a good growing environment for your dog. If the environment is not ideal, it dreads to imagine what hardships the puppy will go through. And if, for some reason, you are not able to provide such a space, what should you do? You would be curious, “where can I surrender my dog for free”.

In that case, you must revert to surrendering your beautiful dogs to a perfect place where someone will take care of them. Though many places are available, not all of them are free. So let us find out some free ways for surrendering a dog near me.

Why Do People Surrender Their Dogs?

Though there is no reason why people want to stop caring for their dogs, there might be some technicalities in the upbringing. If we do not count irresponsible owners or those who truly love their dogs, some pet owners develop issues that stop them from keeping their pets.

These issues may develop or some time and may be inevitable for the owner. In that case, the owners deem that surrendering their dog or rehoming them is a better option for the dog. So they search for newer homes or, in the worst-case scenario, a shelter for their dogs.

Here are some of the common reasons why people give away their puppies and find where can I give my dog away for adoption:

Addition of Family Members

Sometimes, when the owners live alone or with family members who are used to living with a pet, the addition of a family member may disrupt the dynamic. Simply put, sometimes, additional family members may not be able to adjust with the dog, and for that reason, the owner needs to think, “where can I surrender my dog for free”.

The most frequent cause is the arrival of a newborn or even a baby in the family. Some people find it difficult to manage both the pet and the baby in the same house. Others think that the dog might not be safe to be around the baby. But while the first reason might be understandable since the dog’s care is compromised, the second reason doesn’t make much sense.

If you had trained your dog well from when they were a puppy and helped them socialize, the dog should have no problem warming up to a baby. And you should never leave just your dog and baby alone in the room when the baby is young. But you should not leave your baby alone when they are young whatsoever.

So if you are thinking, “where can I surrender my dog for free” because you might not have the time and energy to give your dog enough love and care, then it is understandable. But in the latter case, try to let your dog adjust slowly to the newer family member first. A dog is not a safety threat to your baby; your dog might become a caring companion for them instead.

Absence of Caregiver

If the primary caregiver of your dog has moved away or even passed away, you might have trouble providing the same care to your dog. In such a case, rehoming the dog is the best option for the dog. You should take the best care of the dog until you find a better home for them and send them away.

But if you are your dog’s caregiver and are going through an illness, there are a few other methods to approach the problem. First of all, if your health issue is permanent and you are very sure that you might not be able to care for your dog or meet their needs physically, you must step back.

But, if your health problem is a temporary one and may get healed in some time, you can consider getting your dog animal care. Many organizations in the USA provide that, and you can even ask your acquaintances or people from pet societies to look after your dog for a while until you have recovered completely.

Sudden Allergies

Developing or discovering allergies after you have just bought a furry friend is the worst case ever. You might have just gotten your pet after much paperwork, and after the allergic reaction, you would be, “where can I drop off a dog for free near me”. It is a heartbreaking situation but a common one nevertheless.

But worry not; you do not necessarily resort to giving your dog away directly. Get yourself or a family member tested for allergies and see what is causing the allergy. More times than not, it isn’t the dog causing the allergy but some specific pollen or other dust that might have on their coat obtained during a walk. If the cause is, however, found to the dog’s fur, you can cohabitate with the dog nevertheless.

You just have to care to create boundaries and keep yourself and the puppy clean at all times. There are many treatments available for such allergies too. You could use a wireless dog fence to prevent your dog from entering your space. But do not go for electric fences for dogs as they are not safe at all.

Financial Problems

Financial issues or sudden budget crunches often force owners to give up their pets for their pets’ benefit. It is one of the most undesirable circumstances for any pet owner who loves and relies on their dog a lot.

But in that case, you can seek help from non-profit organizations or even state organizations. Multiple such institutions already provide the food costs and care costs of dogs to people who cannot afford them. If your search “where can I surrender my dog for free,” you will also find shelters that provide financial services?

But if you truly cannot support your dog financially, you should do your best to find them at least a good home. It must be an ideal home or shelter where they can spend the rest of their life well.

Dog Behavioral Issues

Do you notice a change in your dog’s behavior? Have you felt that your dog is more aggressive or disobedient than before and causes all sorts of trouble? Have you searched: where can I surrender my dog for free consequently?

Well, the behavioral change may be a mental health issue which you can cure before considering giving them away. Many animal shelters near you will be able to provide the needed help for your dog. If you put them through some training and schedule a few sessions with a specialist, you can notice the change in the behavior.

It is best to not resort to giving them away immediately and try solutions first. The mental health problem may be disruptive, but it is most likely curable for any and every dog. You can also use products like calming dog beds or dog beds for anxiety for anxious puppies. If your dog is aggressive, you can try out escape proof dog harness or even the best bark collar you can get in the market.

What Does Surrendering Your Dog Mean?

Surrendering your dog generally refers to giving your dog up. In most cases, it means to give your dog away to a shelter or any other such organization that accepts them. If you face one of the above reasons, you might feel the need to surrender your dog.

But surrendering is a careful process that should be done well to ensure that your dog has a positive future even without you. You owe them at least as much to let them live the rest of their years in a maintained place.

However, even though you might get more shelter suggestions while searching” where can I surrender my dog for free”, you must go for rehoming. Shelters are already under immense pressure due to rescued pets, so your pet might not have that big of a chance of adoption there.

What Does Rehoming Your Dog Mean?

Rehoming your dog, similar to surrendering your dog, refers to giving up your dog. The only difference is that there are shelters and rescue organizations involved in surrendering, while rehoming involves new owners directly.

As you might know, rehoming is the best method and should always be prioritized over surrendering. As explained above, if your dog goes to a shelter, they might not get the required care or attention that they had gotten in your home.

So giving them away to some other person will ensure a better lifestyle for them. And if they got to the shelter and then got adopted, you cannot guarantee how the family will be. But in rehoming, you can assess how the family is and if they will take care of the dog or not. So rehoming is always the ideal option if you even do want to give away your dog.

Where Can I Surrender My Dog for Free?

If you are concerned about “where can I surrender my dog for free” and do not have the funds to do the paid rehoming procedure, there are a few other options too. Multiple places require small sums of money or no money at all to relocate your dog.

Here are some of the common solutions in the order you should search for them:

Acquaintances

Arguably the best way to rehome your dog is through contacts and acquaintances. You can also utilize social media in this process to spread the word further in your contacts. If you reach out to your friends and family member and ask them to share that you need to relocate your dog, it’ll be best.

Once they post stories and talk to their acquaintances, there is a good chance that you will ultimately find an acquaintance who might be interested in adopting the puppy. It is the ideal way because you can have direct contact with the adopter. You can check the environment that your dog will stay in and the owner too.

It is also one of the easiest ways as everyone now has access to social media, and everyone is connected nowadays. So reaching out to your family and friends and spreading the news is the first thing you must do if you want to give away your dog. You can also distribute flyers in your neighborhood or contact organizations to locate potential adopters.

Rehoming Organizations

The second option after you receive no positive response through your acquaintances is to rehome the dogs. While the process was much more complicated earlier, it has become simpler. The Rehome venture is by Adopt-A-Pet and provides relocating services for dogs all across America. You can visit their home page to find more information.

Through Rehome, you can create a profile of your pet online, and potential adopters will see your dog’s profile when choosing which dog to adopt. Then, you can check the interested adopter and meet up with them to confirm that the environment is good for your dog. Once you have done all the complications, you can transfer the ownership through paperwork, and you’re done.

The website has a detailed process, and you can easily fill out the details on your phone or laptop. Here are the steps:

1 – Register Your Dog

In this step, you fill in all the details regarding you and especially your dog. Everything from the dog’s breed to their color to their behavior must be mentioned for the potential adopters to see. The process includes four steps, and once it is finished, your dog’s profile will appear to potential adopters all over America.

2 – Review Adopter Applications

After a while, you will begin receiving applications from the adopter, which you can review and approve if you like. Try to select the ideal candidate for the dog, and make sure to read through their profiles before making your decision.

3 – Contact The Adopters

The website will then assign a time slot for you to interact and inquire with the potential adopter. It is perfect because you can see their approach towards your dog and judge if they will be capable of handling your dog.

4 – Finish Paperwork

Once you have chosen an ideal adoption and both parties want to go through with the adoption, you will pass on the legal custody of your pet to them through a contract, and you are finished.

Animal Shelters

Animal Shelters should be the last option for your dog after trying all the above methods beforehand. The concept of animal shelters is perfect, and they do everything in their power to care for the dogs, but their workload is too high.

Because of immoral people who constantly abandon their dogs and leave them to die, the shelters always keep dogs more than their original capacity. In such a case, the dogs might not receive the perfect nutritional meals or receive the attention and care they need. And for such reasons, many dogs do not get adopted too and pass away due to illnesses.

So while animal shelters and rescue centers do their level best to ensure proper meals and ample care for the dogs, there is a limit to what they can do. Also, these are usually local shelters that run on marginal funds, so leaving your dog without even giving any financial support for them is not the best option. If you have tried all options and cannot give money, then and only then, leave your dog at a shelter.

And also, do not tie them outside the shelter or leave them there in the middle of the night. You must go inside the shelter and give your dog personally to ensure that the dog reaches the caregivers safely and doesn’t get hurt outside.

Things to Avoid While Surrendering Your Dog

Even if, for some reason, you have to surrender your dog and relocate them to some better place, they have to stay with you in the meantime. But many people are negligent and not careful during this time, and such negligence causes harm to the dog.

SO while you search for places that you could send off your dog to, there are a few things you should keep in mind. Even though the search is long and your schedules may be tight, do not do any of the below actions as it won’t be good for the dog.

Know that the inconvenience is only for a short while, so go out of your and do your best to care for them until you find them a better place to live. Here are a few things that you should avoid while and before surrendering your dog:

Do Not Stop Caring for Your Pet

Even though there might not be a caregiver or you might be stuck in an unavoidable situation, it is never the dog’s fault in that. They should still get fed and kept healthy and happy. So no matter what your situations are, you should not stop caring and feeding your puppy until you find them a new home.

Understandably, it might be a tough situation for you, but the dog does not deserve to suffer because of that. During the few days that the search procedure will utilize, make sure you give your dog filling meals, exercises and affection.

Do Not Abandon Your Dog

As grave as your situation might be, nothing can justify abandoning your pet at any spot. It is a horrible choice that no pet owner should ever make. IF you search “where can I surrender my dog for free,” you will find multiple shelters near you that will take in the dog for free.

Even in those, do not leave your dog outside of the shelter, especially at night. There are many dangers associated with such actions. Do not just throw them out or just leave them somewhere. That is an inhuman thing to do, and the dog will be at risk of dying or getting hurt.

Do Not Take Your Dog to Forests

Many people think like you should set a squirrel free in the wild; you could do so for dogs too. It is incorrect and immoral to do so. First of all, squirrels already live in the wild and have the instincts and survival strategies to fight off any potential harm.

But pet dogs may have not even seen the forest in their entire life and do not know how to adapt to it. OS, if you have thought that the forest is an ideal location, know that it is not. You should wait and search where to surrender a dog and then give your dog to the shelter only.

Do Not Skip Checking the Adopter

If you are giving your dog away to a new home through your friends or family, always make sure to give the adopter a visit and check the house environment. The little details, for instance, if the adopter has a backyard, if they use a pet-friendly weed killer, etc., are important to ensure a perfect lifestyle for your dog.

It is best to ensure that you see how your dog will live and if the adopter is indeed a dog lover and will not harm your pet in the future. Since the adoption center processes already confirm this, you need to do it yourself if you are passing your dog to someone else by yourself.

Do Not Hide Information About Their Behavior

If your dog has behavioral issues that are making it difficult for you to take care of them, then you should be honest about them; whatever behavioral issues your dog has should get mentioned to the adopter in the process. Yes, this step might need more time, and some adopters may turn down their offer, but it will help your dog find a perfect owner.

An adopter who is aware of their conditions but still chooses to care for the dog simply means that the adopter will take care of the dog till their last breath. Thus, you must always mention your dog’s behavior issues to the potential adopter before they adopt the pet.

Conclusion

Pet owners love their furry friends like family members and put so much time and effort into taking care of them. But if for some inevitable situation, you cannot do so any longer, you should consult our guide to understand where I can surrender my dog for free.

Make sure that you consider all the aspects and decide firmly on whether you want to surrender your dog or not. And if you are still curious about “where can I give my dog away”, you can go for one of the above options to find a perfect home for your dog.

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