Dangers To Avoid When Rehoming a Pet

Oz Doggy encourages people offering their pet free to a good home - to read this advice. every single successful rehoming achieved is a good result - every single problem avoided - a good result.

An update to info below supplied by Sandy H in May 2014 - who writes:

I feel that telling the prospective buyer that you would like to visit your dog from time to time - would put off those buyers with bad intentions.

Thanks Sandy - and thanks also for networking this page - it helps others who have not been through the rehoming process before and what they should be on the look out for.

Finding the perfect home and what to watch out for: (Supplied by Michaela)

Finding the perfect home for your pet requires a bit of effort. Some of the saddest stories come from people who've handed over their beloved pet to someone who they later found, didn't have the same good intentions.

These people will sometimes use children or the elderly to present themselves as perfect potential pet owners. I've even heard of a puppy farmer paying an old lady and a child in a wheelchair to con a Samoyed owner into handing them over her pup. She later saw it on a current affairs program, living in squalid conditions on his puppy farm. It would have been bred continuously for the rest of its life and the previous owner had no legal recourse to get it back.

One way of ensuring your pet goes to the right home, is to make sure it's been desexed.

- An undesexed pet runs the risk of being used as breeding stock in puppy farms or large scale cat breeding facilities, (Victoria has the largest ones in the country, with hundreds of dogs and cats being bred continuously, to supply the demands of pet shops.)

- Associated diseases such as testicular cancer, as well as potentially contributing to the current animal overpopulation problem we have, with over 200,000 Australian dogs being put down every year. The figure for cats is even higher!

Even if your pet is desexed, in the wrong hands, your pet may still :

- Become a victim of neglect

- Be used as bait for fighting dogs

- Be sold for experiments in research labs

- Be used for 'blooding' racing greyhounds

- Be taken by animal abusers, who may torture or kill it.

So how do you find the perfect new home?

When you're contacted by interested people, be sure to rely on your gut instinct as much as on what they say. If you think there's something wrong, you're probably right. If they sound inappropriate on the phone, just say the animal has already found a home. Never feel pressured to meet with them. On the other hand, if they sound good, organize to visit their home with your pet. This is important, so you can see how they, their children, pets and your pet, all get along. It's also a great chance to see if they have a suitable sized back yard, an indoor, draught free area for your pet to sleep in and other things that your pet requires.

If they want to take your pet for any of the awful reasons listed above, chances are they'll insist on coming over to your house to see your pet. This sounds convenient, but is a Big Warning Sign. If they don't agree to have you visit with your pet, do not proceed with them, as they will most likely have something to hide.

A genuine prospective owner with nothing to hide, would be keen to ensure that their 'new arrival' fitted well into their household. Also a genuine, loving owner would let a dog sleep inside at the very least, or have a 'Doggy Door' installed for constant access. They're brilliant things! Cat owners by law, have to keep their cats indoors at night.

Should you get to their home and decide that they're not suitable, (for whatever reason, including a just an inkling, which more than likely will prove accurate), make sure you have an 'out'. In fact tell them before you get there, that there are a few people wanting to have a look at your pet, so they don't think it strange when you leave with it.

All this may sound over the top, given most of you will be contacted by very well intentioned people, offering brilliant homes, but it's always best to be aware of what can go wrong and to do your best to avoid it.

Good luck!

EDITORS NOTE: REPLY FROM THE PUBLIC BELOW IS INCLUDED HERE, NOT SO MUCH TO REFUTE WHAT IS ABOVE, MORE TO SAY WE UNDERSTAND ALL POINTS OF VIEW. CERTAINLY OZ DOGGY ALWAYS HAS BELIEVED THAT LOVE IS THE BEST THING YOU CAN GIVE YOUR DOG. Paul @ Oz Doggy

REPLY TO ARTICLE: I have just read through your information on rehoming your pets. It is very good information and outlines very good facts and things to consider when rehoming a pet.

I however disagree strongly with the statment that A GOOD NEW OWNER will allow the pet to sleep inside. Which is making a clear statement that anyone keeping a dog outside is not an appropriate dog owner. DOGS ARE DOGS some live inside some live outside and many who are kept outside at all times are still in very good homes living in backyards and patios with warm kennels and bedding.

I think this is very uneducated statement and should be removed. You could alternatively state that if the pet has been kept as a house dog to try and find suitable home that will have it inside as a house dog as then they may fret but a general statement on bad pet owners keep their dogs outside is absolutely ridiculous. Yes my dogs have always lived outside. They are however FAR from neglected or lacking attention & love.

S.W.