Rehoming

Why on earth would someone rehome their dog. Well, I can say. Illness, death, financial disaster, homelessness, abuse, there are many reasons that are very acceptable to rehome a dog. Yes, I understand a dog is a lifelong commitment and I believe it should be taken very seriously but there are some times when rehoming is just the only way to be kind.

Another instance where rehoming is the best decision is if the dog is aggressive toward other dogs or people in the home. Not to say that dog needs to be euthanized, sometimes it does but there are times when being the only dog or being with a specific gender or age group might help the situation and the dog can go on to living a happy life.

I also think that quality of life for the humans and the dog should be considered. If the humans lifestyle doesn’t afford for the dog to have a good quality of life then rehoming might be a good choice. If the dogs lifestyle is not conducive to the humans of course rehoming again might be the right choice.

Examples. If the dog has separation anxiety and need someone with them maybe has medical needs where they need a lot of attention or maybe just doesn’t like the living situation. Example if the person lives in an apartment with a very active dog. If the person lives in a studio apartment or a very small home without a yard and the dog needs more room to romp around and be a dog. Another home might be a good solution.

Maybe the human has medical needs where they’re sedentary or a bedbound and the dog needs more activity exercise and attention. If the person cannot take care of themselves, how can they take care of a dog? Yes if you’re already in that situation adopting a dog or getting a dog is not a good idea but maybe that situation happened because of an accident or a sudden illness you never know what someone else is going through. It’s best not to judge.

What if the house burns down in the person can barely provide for themselves and does not have a place to live. Yes it’s ideal to think that someone would step in provide a home where they can have their dog or maybe just keep the dog temporarily until the situation gets better but that’s not always possible or feasible so again rehoming sounds better than euthanization or going to a shelter.

I’ve heard all the bad excuses. Don’t have enough time, well unless something major happened it’s hard to believe that I don’t have enough time statement. Now there are some times when it can’t be avoided. I want heard of a lady who got a different roll at her job or she was traveling 3 to 4 weeks out of the month and was barely home. The dog was spending more time alone with people just coming in and checking on it then with someone. She said it wasn’t fair to the dog and I agreed there was no way to get out of that working situation. She was going to be very careful and choose about who she rehomed the dog to and said she bas pay the sitter as possible the in part was to the I can home. BeI’ve heard all the bad excuses. Don’t have enough time, well unless something major happened it’s hard to believe that I don’t have enough time statement. Now there are some times when it can’t be avoided. I want heard of a lady who got a different roll at her job or she was traveling 3 to 4 weeks out of the month and was barely home. The dog was spending more time alone with people just coming in and checking on it then with someone. She said it wasn’t fair to the dog and I agreed there was not a good way to get out of that working situation and so she had decided to rehome the dog, but she was going to pay a pet sitter for as long as it took to find the perfect home for the dog.

Another time I heard of someone who just had a normal eight hour a day first shift job you know 7 to 3 and still felt like she did not have enough time for her dog. Now I would say working a 40 hour work week would be better for the dog because you could afford vet care emergencies food grooming and all the things it takes to care for a dog properly.Working 40 hours a week to me does not sound impossible in fact most people do it or should do it if they have a dog so I did not think that was a good excuse and always felt like there was another reason that she rehomed her dog.

When people say they had a baby or are pregnant and and not care for their dog. Well, I’ve had a baby, and I’ve been a single mom and I know that is very demanding and hard. Not everyone’s the same. Yes people say well I’ve done it well so have I but I’m not everybody and everybody is not me. I don’t know what resources they have, what kind of living situation, what kind of schedule. I didn’t work, so I had all day with the baby and the dog. If I had been working a full-time job I might’ve been overwhelmed.

I also owned my own home if I were renting maybe the baby and the dog and a job would’ve been too much. I’m not going to judge. Yes it would be nice of someone could keep their dog when they had a baby but I also know how demanding a baby can be. What if it has help challenges,? What if the dog has health challenges. Fortunately my dog was elderly so giving her away was not an option and I never even thought about it but if I’d had a younger dog I don’t know what I would’ve done. Fortunately I’m not a puppy person so that would never of happened but I do respect people who make that difficult decision. I will tell you my dog got matted fur and I could not afford to take her to the groomer as often. She also ended up having health challenges that went by the wayside because I was so busy with the baby I wasn’t paying attention. I felt bad, guilty and I still feel bad but I know at the time I did the best that I could.

So the question is maybe if I had made a tough decision at the time things would’ve been different. I think my dog would’ve still gotten glaucoma and went blind but maybe not. I’m sure not getting to the groomer as often did not scar her for life and I remedied the problem.

Have I rehomed a dog absolutely. Do I feel guilty about it, well no not really. I mean A dog was sold to me for my child under false pretenses. The dog had been rescued from an abusive traumatic situation where she had not been worked with and had deep emotional scars. She had already been sold once and returned but I was mislead. I didn’t know any of this when I brought her home. She had a hard time dealing with a small child other dogs and a busy home. This was not the home for her and I’m happy to say I found her a home where they could work with her she was the only dog no kids and she was able to he and recover and do well.

Again when my child was a little older another dog was sold to us under false pretenses. I’m not sure what she had been through she had been in a home from eight weeks old to six years old and they suddenly decided they did not want her anymore she had severe separation anxiety she did bond with my son but she just had so much trauma and again did not get along with other dogs. She went to a retirement home with people that were dedicated to helping her and rehabilitating her.

The third and final dog my child tried to get while he was still under age, well,and I’m not sure. I think she probably had some trauma because she could be slightly aggressive. Again did not like other dogs. She loved my son and did well with him but she needed a lot of time and attention and had been used to having someone around her 24 seven and the biggest part was did not like the other dogs. Again she was given to a home with senior citizens who were home all the time and no other dogs. I did do a home check and checked on her for months to make sure she was well. Let’s just say she never looked back like she is definitely living her best life.

Did I learn things from these situations of course do I feel a little bad about some of them yes but I know a lot more now. I’ve made it my business to learn and study canine so that I won’t make these mistakes again. I understand when you get a dog especially when you’re like me and don’t enjoy puppies, you’re going to get dogs with issues. I have accepted that challenge. I’ve learned, grown and tried to educate myself. I know signs, I know questions to ask and I know how to make things clear with people that I’m getting dogs from. Not to mention I understand about reputable breeders now. Which helps. A reputable breeder will take their dog back.