Have you ever rehomed or surrendered a pet?
That is a question many members within an animal welfare organization will know too well. And recently we met a family that faced difficulties adopting a pet because they entered ‘YES’ as the answer to that question, without the organizations inquiring on ‘WHY’ they had to make that decision with a former pet. Well, technically there were TWO organizations that asked why they had to rehome a former pet, however the first organization that asked continued to deny the family because the reason for rehoming a previous pet was ‘City wouldn’t renew kennel permit’… then there was us (OC Shelter Pets) that asked the question. And when we got the information as to ‘WHY’ we actually wanted nothing more than to grace a pet with such a caring family. Without engaging in a conversation with the adopters, it could be understandable why some organizations would instantly deny a family from adopting a pet from them. After all, they would assume if they ‘got rid of a pet’ once, they could easily do it again. Additionally, the first organization that denied the adoption prospect when being informed it was because of a kennel permit not being renewed by the city, they would instantly be under the impression the dog they rehomed lived in deplorable conditions, and the family clearly wouldn’t be a suitable home for any of THEIR PETS.
However, when the entire situation was revealed through an open conversation with the family we found those bias assumptions were nowhere close to how the family considers responsible pet ownership, nor how compassionate they were for their 4-legged family members. You see, this family lives in a city which only allows 2 pets per residence, when the husband and wife took in a family members pet after their passing they purchased a kennel permit so they could legally license and care for 3 animals. Sadly, several years ago the city changed their animal regulations for residential properties and were no longer renewing or issuing kennel permits to a residence. Which put a husband, wife, 3 young children, and 3 dogs in a difficult situation. With two 6 year old children and a teenager in high school, they did not want to remove them from their current schools and friends to move to another city which would allow 3 pets. So after many discussions and sleepless nights, the family decided to rehome one of their own pets so they could legally continue to live in the home they were raising their children in. They kept their eldest dog (a senior husky) and their departed family members dog, and rehomed the youngest dog they had knowing she would have better chances at finding a loving home. Fast forward 5 years later and in June of 2021 their senior husky passed away. After several months of mourning the loss of their pet, they felt it was time to try and fill the void left open from their dogs passing. And although they keep in touch with the family that adopted their previous dog, they didn’t want to disrupt the bond it has with it’s new owner by asking for her back. So they decided on adopting another dog from a local rescue to be the new addition to their family member. Unfortunately, since they wanted to be honest in the adoption process they truthfully answered the question ‘Have you ever rehomed or surrendered a pet? and continually were either met with a ‘adoption denied’ response, or no reply at all.
This family is a caring, compassionate, and responsible household that take great care of their pets and a joy to have in our Orange County community. And as we said earlier, there were TWO animal welfare organizations that asked ‘WHY’ they had to ‘give up a pet’… and OC Shelter Pets was the second organization to ask that question, as well as the first to say ‘YES’ when they decided to honor one of our shelter pets with a place to call home.
Too often animal welfare organizations dismiss amazing homes by denying families based on an answer to a question without having a conversation with them. And when we create barriers in the adoption process based on a YES/NO answer we are denying animals in need of homes with the solution of a live outcome. Now we fully understand and agree with ensuring an animal is placed in a safe and sustainable living environment, but we strive to remove as many unnecessary obstacles in the adoption process. We will ask the same questions needed (i.e. have you ever rehomed or surrendered a pet) in our adoption questionnaire, but we still have open-ended conversations with potential adopters to clearly communicate what the pet they are interested needs in their new home, as well as what circumstances originated that posed something questionable in the screening process.
More importantly, keep in mind when we create a difficult adoption process or pose overwhelming barriers for community members to adopt an animal, we are further hurting the progress we are striving to create in animal welfare by pushing families to want to adopt from shelters and rescues back to disreputable breeders that have no experience in proper responsible breeding, and resort to free ads on craigslist and facebook to find quick homes for their ‘turn-and-burn’ litters.
We share this story in hopes to educate both animal organizations and pet owners and not to spark any combative debates or disgruntled critiques on the subject. If you don’t agree with this situation and the family adopting a pet, that is your opinion and we only hope case example such as this help enlighten you at some point that in some cases ‘If Your Adoption Policies Put Up Barriers, You’re Part Of The Problem’ (Katherine Shenar)
“It’s Easier To Buy a Used Car Than to Adopt in Some Places” (Ed Jamison)
