RESPONSIBLE

REHOMING

Who’s Reading If It Seems Too What You

Your Ad? Can Do!
Good To Be True...
To you, he’s family. Steps you can take
Others view Rex as Animals who have to ensure a pet is
a way to pad their fallen victim to abuse happy and healthy
pockets. after rehoming. even after you part.

A how-to guide for making the right decisions

during one of life’s more difficult moments.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A FIRM &
FRIENDLY REHOMING PROCESS
Rehoming a four-legged family
member can be one of the most dif-
ficult times of an animal lover’s life.
One might be so overcome with
grief they want to get the process
over with. They may fear the longer
the animal remains in the home the
more difficult the process is going
to become. This may
lead to a situation
where they want to
hand the pet over to
the first person who
shows interest.
While the pet rehom-
ing process can be
painful for the owner,
one must remember
it can be even more
difficult for the ani-
mal who will have to
become used to new
people, new environ-
ments, new schedules, and in some
cases, new pets. It is important the
time is taken to make sure the a
potential guardian can provide a
stable home. One where both their
emotional and physical needs can
be met.
As we all know, people lie on the
internet a great deal. These days
it doesn’t seem there is anything
a person won’t lie about. After all,
there is a show on MTV devoted to
internet “swindlers.” While one
might attempt to “catfish” people
into relationships,
Responsible Rehoming: A How-To Guide
there are others who use the veil the
internet provides to obtain animals
they either have no means to take
care or for horrific reasons. In the
worst cases, people will look for
animals who are being given away
for free and use them as “bait” in
dog-fighting rings. There are cer-
tain breeds these same people will
seek out to train to fight. It is some-
thing to consider whenever one is
considering rehoming an animal.
The next group of people quite
prevalent on Craigslist, Facebook
and, other platforms are those who
use your loss as their gain. That’s
right folks; there are a host of peo-
ple out there scouring the internet,
looking for animals people are
“giving away” without a rehoming
fee or questions asked, only to post
the sdays later.
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the pet a few days later. The only
difference being, the next time
around there is a rehoming fee
charged, and sometimes it can be
quite high. Additionally, the dis-
honest person might lie about the
age or breed of the animal. They
will do anything to gain interest
and make money from
anyone who is willing
to reply to their version
of the ad. Once a pet
finds themselves in this
sort of scenario, they
may be rehomed many
times in a short period.
The most common
unfit pet seeker you’re
going to run into on so-
cial media has the best
of intentions, but will
not have the finances,
experience, or in some
cases neither. They might plead
for you to disregard the rehoming
fee you are asking for, say they are
merely in between jobs or lie about
their experience with animals or
the number and temperaments of
the pets they already have. While a
low income does not mean some-
one is an unfit pet-parent, it may
mean that when an animal needs
emergency care, they will have to
go without or be rehomed once
again. I hope the following articles
assist you in your quest to be the
most informed “rehomer” you can
be.
 Responsible Rehoming: A How-To Guide

When Rehoming
Goes Wrong
Just as important as learning the THE UNKNOWN
basics of rehoming is reading the The third and final story is that of
stories of animals who fell victim to at least 29 puppies Jeffery Nally
irresponsible rehoming. Although of West Virgina obtained through
these animals suffered, if we learn Craigslist and other “free to good
from their stories, they did not suf- home” ads on the internet. Instead
fer or die in vain. of providing them the attention and
GOTTI care all puppies need, he abused,
Any dog owner knows, dogs are mutilated and killed each one of
quick to let us know when they them.
want to go out and are not afraid to
bark and carry on when they de- He would have never been discov-
time on earth was cut short.
cide it’s time to go in. Now, imagine ered, if it were not for his girlfriend
leaving a dog tied up in one spot for who he was holding captive had not
KIYA
three weeks. This is just what hap- found the strength to reach out to
A more widely publicized tragedy
pened to a dog named Gotti after his authorities. Afterall, when a puppy
of rehoming is the story of “Puppy
owners thought they had found him leaves a home without the original
Doe,” otherwise known as Kiya.
a loving home through Craigslist.
She was a healthy Pitbull when the
One would think that the current
couple who initially owned her
owner being sentenced to prison
transferred ownership to Radoslaw
time would have brought an end to
Artur Czerkawski. They thought
Gotti’s hell, yet his trauma was far
they were providing Kiya with a
from over.
home of love and care, when in fact
they were sigining her death sen-
Gotti soon found himself living with
tence.
the man’s cousin who also thought so
little of Gotti that he too left him tied
Kiya was found near a playground
to a fence in a high crime area. Luck-
in the Boston suberb of Quincey
ily, Gotti was rescued before his owner looking into where they are
weighing half of what a healthy dog
going, the paper trail pretty much
her size should. Additionally, she
ends there. The only reason the
had fractures throughout her skull
authorities were able to narrow it
and body, her tongue had been
down to 29 is because that’s how
mutilated, she had burn marks and
many dead puppies they found
had been stabbed in the eye. Nei-
around the property. Although
ther modern medicine or public
our judicial system takes animal
uproar could not undo the harm
abuse seriously and Nally will be
Kiya had suffered. Sadly, instead of
spending up to 45 years in prison,
finding a loving embrace in a new
it is more important that each of us
home, she was put to rest. Her
do whatever we can to stop these
death could have so easily been
situations from happening.
avoided.

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HOw You Can Help!
Now that you have a better un-
derstanding of the importance
of ensuring an animal is going to
a “furever” home, you are likely
wondering what it is you can do
to keep pets safe on the internet.
Luckily, whether you are someone
who will soon be faced with having
to part ways with an animal or just
an animal lover, you can take steps
to make social media safe for all
creatures.
First and foremost, a rehoming fee
is a good first step, as it indicates
their is some financial stablity in
the home. One could even ask the
person to donate to a local shelter.
The following are all other steps
which can better ensure your pet
is going to a happy and financially
secure home:
Application Process: Just be-
cause you’re rehoming an animal
privately, does not mean that you
cannot use the same application
process your local shelter does. In
fact, there are rehoming applica-
tions one can download from the
internet and instantly put to use.
Or, if you would rather, you can
pick and choose questions from a
variety of pet applications, depend-
Responsible Rehoming: A How-To Guide
ing on your circumstances. The
beauty of an application is that
it allows you to include sections
about a pet’s specific needs, health,
breed, temperament, and age. You
don’t want a person to get a pet
home, only to decide the dog or cat
is too big of a handful or requires
too much time or training. You also
shouldn’t feel pressured to keep
an application short and sweet. It
is your responsibility to keep the
pet safe. If someone doesn’t have
enough time to fill out an appli-
cation, how much time can they
devote to a new pet?
References: This one speaks for
itself. Anyone who has taken care
of, or has seen someone take care of
an animal for an extended peri-
od knows how much the owner’s
personality, maturity, and general
demeanor can play into how a pet
behaves. Furthermore, if someone
has had a history of not keeping
animals for long, it’s a huge red flag!
VET STATEMENT: While statements
from friends, family, coworkers,
etc., can be telling, it is just as es-
sential to ensure the new owner is
concerned about the health of pets.
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Furthermore, pets currently in
the home should be up to date on
applicable vaccines. If the previous
pet has passed away, you can ask
them to obtain the most recent
records the vet has. And, yes, they
do save the files deceased
animals. In some cases
documents are saved for
several years.
Home Visits: This might be the
most important step, yet it is rarely
done. When in doubt, bring the
animal to the potential home. This
provides you the ability to see how
the pet interacts with members of
the household and can give you a
bit of insight into how the house is
run. You can always trust an ani-
mal’s instincts, and a great deal of
information can be obtained merely
from sitting back and watching how
the meeting with potential new
owners goes. For safety, it is im-
portant to find someone to go along
with you.
In closing, pay this insight forward.
Whenever you see an ad for an
animal online, suggest these steps
to the owner. Additionally, when
there is no rehoming process, steer
clear! The less often ads without a
rehoming process receive attention,
the less often they will be posted.
 Responsible Rehoming: A How-To Guide

RESOURCES
Places you can go and organizations you can give to.
A little effort can make a world of difference!
Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland
(207) 854-9771 - https://arlgp.org/
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
(212) 876-7700 - https://www.aspca.org/
Franklin County Animal Shelter
(207) 778-2638 - https://www.fcanimalshelter.org/
Greater Androscoggin Humane Society
(207) 783-2311 - https://www.gahumane.org/
The Humane Society of the United States
(866) 720-2676 - http://www.humanesociety.org/
Statewide List of Animal Control Officers
http://www.maine.gov/dacf/ahw/animal_welfare/
animal_control_officers.shtml

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 Responsible Rehoming: A How-To Guide

Special Thanks To
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tion-icon-147413/

“Dog in Car.” Pexels. Courtesy of user Tim Gouw. https://www.pexels.com/photo/adorable-adult-animal-auto-

motive-236452/

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short-coated-puppy-46024/

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