Placing a Pet
If you’ve found a stray or can no longer keep your own pet, The League for Animal Welfare can help. However, as a no-kill shelter, our ability to take in new animals strictly depends on the number of animals we adopt out. We might receive 50 calls per week just to fill one open space at our facility. Since accepting every animal is not an option, we’ve provided a step-by-step process for placing your pet or stray.
Step 1: Evaluating the Situation
If you’ve found a stray:
Advertise the stray, giving the owner ample opportunity to claim the missing pet. Most papers will print “found” ads for free. Describe the animal and location where you found it. Be sure to omit from the ad some distinguishing characteristic about the animal so you can be sure the caller is indeed the owner. Place found signs at vet offices, gas stations, libraries, community bulletin boards, grocery stores, etc. Contact the county animal shelter to make a found report. Utilize the resources found on Wildwood Pet Network’s website.
If you need to place your own pet:
Is finding a new home for your pet absolutely the only option or just a matter of convenience? Only you can answer this question, based on your level of commitment to the pet and sense of responsibility. There are too many homeless pets right now, and your own pet will be competing against many, many others if placed in a shelter. It is likely that a pet who has enjoyed the comforts of home will not adjust well to life in a shelter situation.
Step 2: Placing the Animal
For a stray: If no one claims the animal, the best next step is to take the dog or cat to the vet for an exam to determine age, breed, and health status. If the animal is not spayed or neutered, it’s best to have this done. The vet work and spaying/neutering does require an upfront financial commitment, but it’s the best way to place an animal.
For a pet: Make sure your animal is current on all vaccines and has been spayed or neutered.
Step 3: Advertising
Create a flyer for the animal that includes a photo. Including a picture makes a big difference in getting your flyer noticed. These flyers should be placed at work, church, local vet offices, retail stores, and shelters.
Flyer Tips:
Color photos have the most impact.
Get a close-up of the pet’s face with the animal looking at the camera.
A supplementary photo of the animal in action is also a good idea.
- Place a classified ad in the local paper. It’s a great way to publicize the animal.
Ad Tips:
Begin the ad with the animal’s type/breed, and include as much information as possible.
Sample Ad
Lab Mix Blk, 2 y.o., 45lbs, Fe/spayed, healthy. Good w/kids & dogs, but not cats. New baby allergic. $75 adopt fee incl. bed/toys. Vet reference req. Great family dog, pls call Joe 555-1234 before 10pm.
* Special Note
If the animal you are trying to place is a purebred, try contacting a rescue group that specializes in placing that particular breed of animal. You can find these groups by doing a general search on the Internet or visiting these sites:
Step 4: Screening Potential Adopters
Now that you’ve gone to the effort of rescuing the stray, or made the hard decision to find a new home for your pet, it’s time to determine the best placement for the animal:
Never advertise “Free to a good home.” Pets are expensive to care for and should have a value far beyond a small adoption fee. “Free to a good home” sends the wrong message and can attract people who won’t make a lasting commitment to the animal. In some cases, people will take “free” pets to use as bait for dog fighting or to illegally sell for lab research.
Ask the potential adopter open-ended questions, and listen to the answers.
Do they have any pets now? What happened to any past pets?
What is their current housing situation?
Have the adopter’s past pets lived to an old age?
Is there a pattern of adopting animals and then getting rid of them? How comfortable are you with this pattern and the reasons behind it?
Does your animal seem like a good fit for their lifestyle?
Ask for a vet reference and check it. When you call, simply confirm with the vet’s receptionist that the adopter’s pet history is as he/she presented it. If the person is a first-time pet owner or does not have a vet, it’s up to your instincts to determine whether it’s a good match or not.
If for whatever reason you don’t feel that the potential adopter is a good match, you are under no obligation to place the animal there.