The following steps should help you to decide what exactly to do now that you've figured out that you need to find somewhere else for your dog to live.

1.  DETERMINE IF YOU REALLY NEED TO GIVE UP THE DOG

If someone in the family is allergic to animals, how about consulting with your
           doctor to see if allergy shots are a possibility in helping reduce the allergy.

  If the dog is too hyper, have you tried extra exercise time? Have you
           considered obedience classes?

  If the dog has behavior issues, have you consulted an animal behaviorist? Has the
           animal been to the vet recently? Many behavior issues can stem from a health
           problem.

  If you are moving, have you looked for housing that allows pets? There are several
          websites out there that can help you find pet-friendly rentals. Maybe offering a
          reference from past landlords about the good behavior of your animals in
          addition to a pet deposit will convince your new landlord to allow them.

2.  DETERMINE WHAT TIMELINE YOU ARE WORKING WITH

If you have no time limit to finding a new home for your pet, contact rescues
          and referral services, that way, you have extra time for them to find a
          space for your animal (many rescues have waiting lists of dogs
          needing to enter their program).

  If you have more than a month, still contact rescues and referral services,
          but you may also want to include shelters at this point.

  If you have less than two weeks, you've waited too long already. Get on the
          ball and start contacting shelters and try rescues. You may have no
          choice at this point other than a shelter.    

3.  BE REALISTIC. THINK ABOUT WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR DOG,  IT MAY NOT BE FINDING A NEW HOME.

If your pet is a senior or elderly animal that you have had for it's entire life or
          for many years, is it really fair to put them through the stress of being
          left at a shelter, to wait to have no one adopt them, and then be put
          down after the shelter realizes that they can't place it?

 If your animal has behavior issues that are the reason you are giving it up,
          it is likely that anyone else - who doesn't already have the bond you
          have with it - will want to adopt it and take on those issues?

 If your animal is very sensitive to changes in diet, people, and locations, is it
          fair to leave them with a shelter or rescue where everything is new,
          where no matter what the shelter or rescue does, the animal will be
          living in HELL for the first few weeks? And don't fool yourself, even in
          the best situation, it IS hell for them.

  If your animal is closely bonded to another animal that also needs a new
          home, trying to place them together makes it that much less likely
          that someone will want to adopt them.

  If your animal has medical problems or a handicap, that also reduces the
          chances that someone will want to adopt it, especially if the problems
          are severe. Most people looking to adopt want a healthy animal.

In the above situations, it may sometimes be in the animals best interest to be
taken by the person it's loved and trusts, to the vet they are used to dealing with,
and be told how much they are loved while they are put to sleep.
We are not saying that all animals in the above situations would be better off put down,
 but it is something that owners overlook because it's a decision that they don't want to make.

Still think you need to find a new home for your animal? Now how are you going to do it? Pick an option below ...... About finding your animal a home yourself About surrendering it to a shelter or rescue Surrender it to CNWH - Sorry, at this time, we have no available foster homes and cannot take any new dogs in.