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Not that long ago,
you were thrilled to have a puppy of your
very own. You never dreamed you'd have to
give him up someday. Even if you can't keep
him any more, your dog still depends on you
to do what's best for him, just like he
depended on you when he was a puppy. Now,
more than ever, he needs you to make the
right choices for his future.
We're going to be direct and honest
with you. Your dog is your
responsibility. He has no one else but
you to look out for his interests. It'll
take effort, patience and persistence to
find him the right home. He deserves your
best efforts.
Finding a new home
involves several steps. Before you start,
there are some important things you should
know...
Shelters and humane
societies were created to care for stray and
abused animals. They weren't meant to be a
drop-off for people who don't want their
pets anymore. Shelters, on average, take in
100 new animals or more each day. Let's face
it - there won't be enough good homes for
all of them. Even the best shelters can't
boast much more than a 50% adoption rate.
Only the youngest, friendliest, cutest and
best-behaved dogs are going to be adopted.
By law, stray pets
must be kept several days for their owners
to reclaim them. They may not be destroyed
until that period is up. Dogs given up by
their owners aren't protected by these laws.
They may be destroyed at any time. Shelters
don't want to kill all these animals but
they don't have a choice. There just isn't
enough room for all of them. Shelters today
are so overcrowded that your dog could be
killed the same day it arrives.
Being purebred won't
help your dog's chances of adoption either -
almost half of the dogs in many shelters are
purebreds. Your dog may be as good as dead
when it walks in the door. If your dog is
old, has health problems or a poor attitude
toward strangers, its’ chances of adoption
are slim to none.
Sending your dog to a
shelter in hopes that he'll find a good home
is wishful thinking. It's more likely that
you'll be signing your dog's death warrant.
A shelter is your last resort only after all
your best efforts have failed.
True
"no-kill" shelters are few and far
between. Obviously, no one wants to see
their pet killed so the demand for no-kill
shelter services is high. So high that
they're forced to turn away many pets
because they don't have room for them all.
Sometimes they have to choose only the most
adoptable dogs to work with.
Breed Rescue services
are small, private groups run by volunteers
dedicated to a particular breed. Most of
them operate out of the volunteer's home.
Like no-kill shelters, demand for their
services is high, so high that your dog may
be turned away for lack of room. A breed
rescue can still help you place your dog by
providing referrals to persons interested in
adopting your dog. You'll have the
most success if you follow the rescue
service's advice and are willing to do your
share of the work to find a new home.
Do you really have
to give up your dog? There's a big
difference between being forced to give up
your dog and wanting to "get rid of
him". Search your heart for the real
reason why your dog can't live with you
anymore. Be honest with yourself. Your
answer will probably fall into one of two
categories: People Problems or Dog
Problems.
The Most Common
People Problems:
"We're moving
- we can't find a landlord who'll let us
keep our dog."....... Many
landlords don't allow children either but
you'd never give up one of your kids if you
couldn't find the right apartment.
Affordable rental homes that allow pets are
out there if you work to find them. Most
people give up too easily. Moving is
the most common reason why people give up
their pets. It doesn't have to be this
way.
-
Most
people give up too quickly in their search
for rental property that accepts pets.
Don't be too quick to jump on the first
apartment you see. There'll probably be a
better one available soon.
-
Widen your
search. Most people only look as far as
the classified ads. Many landlords list
their property through real estate agents
or rental associations rather than the
classifieds. Take advantage of rental
services that help tenants find
apartments. Ask friends, relatives and
co-workers to keep an eye open for you.
Many apartments are rented via word of
mouth before they're ever advertised in
the papers. Check out
http://www.apartments.com!
-
A home that
allows pets might be in a different
neighborhood than you'd prefer. It might
be a few more miles from work. It might
not be as luxurious as you'd like. It
might cost a few dollars more. Are you
willing to compromise if it means being
able to keep your dog?
-
"No Pets"
doesn't always mean "no pets, period."
Many landlords automatically rule out pets
because they don't want the hassle. Many
of these landlords are pet owners
themselves. Just because the ad says "no
pets" doesn't mean you shouldn't go see
the apartment anyway. During the
interview, ask the landlord "Are pets
absolutely out of the question?" If he
answers, "well....", you have a chance!
Hint: You'll have better luck asking this
question in person than over the telephone
- it's harder for people to say no to your
face.
To
encourage a landlord to let you keep your
dog......
-
...bring your
well-groomed, well-behaved dog to
the rental interview. Show the landlord
that your dog is well-cared-for and that
you're a responsible owner. Bring along an
obedience class diploma or Canine Good
Citizen certificate if your dog has one.
-
...offer an
additional security deposit or rental
amount to be able to have a dog.
-
...bring
references from your previous landlords
and neighbors. Invite the landlord to see
your present home to show him that the dog
has not damaged the property nor been a
nuisance to the neighbors.
-
...use a dog
crate. Landlords are much more receptive
to dogs that will be crated when their
owners aren't home.
-
In difficult
times, people often have to move in with
relatives or friends who don't like dogs.
This doesn't have to be an impossible
situation. Use a dog crate when you're not
home or when your family doesn't want your
dog underfoot. A portable kennel run can
be set up in the yard for exercise and can
be sold later when you have your own place
and don't need it anymore.
-
Don't think
you're being unfair to your dog by moving
into a smaller place than what he's used
to. Dogs are very adaptable, they can
often adjust even faster than people.
Where he lives isn't as important to him
as who he lives with. He wants to be with
you and he doesn't care where that is.
"We don't
have enough time for the dog".......as
a puppy, your dog took far more of your time
than he does now. Are you really that busy?
Can other members of your family help care
for the dog? Will getting rid of your dog
really make your life less stressful?
If the dog is more active or needy
than you figured, it is still your
responsibility. If you bought him as a
puppy because he was so cute, that was your
decision.
Don’t punish the dog because you
made an uninformed or casual decision.
When they look closely at their
lives, people often discover that the dog
isn't cramping their style as much as they
think.
"Divorce" .... In some divorce
situations, people fight over who gets to
keep the dog. Unfortunately, in far too many
divorces, both adults abandon the dog. Do
not abandon your dog just because you are
going through a hard time!
"Having a baby" .... So many people baby
their dog and treat them like a family
member until they decide to have a real
child of their own. Then, they decide the
dog is no longer needed or too much trouble
or might hurt their new baby (even though
the dog has never been aggressive). Most
dogs are absolutely wonderful with babies
and children. Don't give up your dog just
because you are pregnant!! And for those
people who want to give up their pets
because they say they don't have time for
them anymore after having a baby -- please
realize that babies grow up fast, you will
soon have more sleep and a pet is a lifetime
commitment! A good book to read is
"Childproofing Your Dog" by Brian Kilcommons.
"Children have lost interest" ... Far too
many people get a dog for their children.
Most children lose interest in the dog
within 6 months, because they are just
children! It was you who brought home the
dog and agreed to care for it for life and
it should be you who takes responsibility to
continue to provide for it if your children
lose interest.
The Most Common Dog
Problem:
Behavior problems.........If
you got your dog as a puppy and he now has a
behavior problem you can't live with, you
must accept the fact that you are at least
partly responsible for the way your dog is
now. If your dog is jumping on you, chewing
things, pulls on the leash- you can train
him not to do this.
It doesn’t take that much time, and
a little training goes far to alleviate
problems.
There are probably trainers in your
area who can help you for a minimum
investment.
Remember, just because Border Collies
are smart, it doesn’t mean they train
themselves.
Would you expect a genius child to be
perfectly behaved if he had no supervision
or guidance?
No, you’d expect him to blow up the
chemistry lab, or disassemble the TV to
learn what makes the pictures move.
How should your dog know he wasn’t
supposed to chew on your shoe?
You left it on the floor.
How was he supposed to know that the
sandwich you left on the counter wasn’t
for him?
Try leaving a candy bar in front of a
hungry child for a few minutes, without
telling them they can’t have it.
Would it be gone when you came back?
YES!
So, if you can’t leave a child to
grow wild, how can you leave a dog?
You have 4 options:
- You can
continue to live with your dog the way he
is.
- You can
get help to correct the problem- many
problems can be solved by training and
neutering your dog.
- You can
try to give your problem to someone else.
- You can
have the dog destroyed.
Obviously the first
option is out or you wouldn't be reading
this. You're probably most interested in
Option 3 so let's talk frankly about that
for a moment.
If you were
looking for a dog and could select from all
kinds of dogs and puppies, would you
deliberately choose one with a behavior
problem?
No, certainly not -
and neither would anyone else. To make your
dog desirable to other people, you're going
to have to take some action to fix his
problems.
Most behavior
problems aren't that hard to solve. Think
hard about Option 2 before deciding it won't
work for you - because the only option you
have left is number 4: Having the dog
destroyed. That's the bottom line. If you,
who know and love the dog best, won't give
him another chance, why should anyone else?
Think about that.
...IF YOUR DOG HAS
EVER BITTEN ANYONE...
If your dog
is aggressive with people or has ever bitten
anyone,
you can't, in good conscience, give him to
anyone else. Could you live with yourself if
that dog hurt another person, especially a
child? Can you deal with the lawsuit that
could result from it? You stand to lose your
home and everything else you own. Lawsuits
from dog bites are settling for millions of
dollars in damages.
Our society today has
zero tolerance for a dog with a bite
history, no matter how minor. A dog that has
bitten - whether or not it was his fault -
is considered by law to be a dangerous dog.
In some states, it's illegal to sell or give
away a biting dog. No insurance company will
cover a family with a biting dog. And to be
perfectly honest, no responsible person in
his right mind would want to adopt a biting
dog.
No matter how much
you love your dog, if he has ever bitten
anyone, you only have one responsible choice
- keep him and work with a behaviorist and
vet to resolve the problem, or take him to your veterinarian and have him
humanely put to sleep. Don't leave him at a
shelter where he might be frightened and
confused and put other people at risk. Don't
try to place him as a "guard dog"
where he might be neglected, abused or used
for dog fighting.
As hard as it is
to face, putting a potentially dangerous,
biting dog to sleep is the only safe and
responsible thing to do. It's the right thing
to do.
Before you do
anything else, call the person you got your
dog from and ask for help. Even if several
years have passed, responsible breeders care
about the puppies they sold and will want to
help you find a new home. They may even take
the dog back. At the very least, they
deserve to know what you intend to do with
the dog and what will happen to it. If you
can't remember the breeder's name, look on
your dog's registration papers. If you got
your dog from an animal shelter or rescue
service, read the adoption contract you
signed when you adopted him. You may be
required by the contract to return the dog
to that shelter.
To successfully find
a new home, you need to be realistic about
your dog's adoption potential. Let's be
honest: most people don't want
"used" dogs, especially if they
have health or behavior problems. Your dog
will have the best chance if he's less than
4 years old, is healthy, friendly to
strangers, obeys commands and adapts quickly
to new situations. Look at your dog as if
you were meeting him for the first time.
What kind of impression would he make? Would
you want to adopt him?
You already know that
Border Collies are special dogs for special
people. Those special people can be hard to
find. Most people interested in Border
Collies today have never had one before.
They want a dog that will greet them with a
wagging tail or will at least allow them to
pet him. If your dog is aggressive to
strangers, is "temperamental" or
has ever bitten anyone, finding him another
home may not be your best option.
What kind of
home do you want for your Border Collie? A
large fenced yard? Another dog to play with?
Children? No children? Make a list of what
you feel is most important for your dog.
Then get real. No home will be perfect, of
course, so you'll have to make compromises. Most
dogs do best in a home where they get
attention during the day, are kept mainly
inside and have a fenced yard for a safe
exercise area. If you have a dog that you
keep as an "outside only" dog and it has
developed behavior problems like barking,
digging, fence jumping, etc., please realize
that many of these problems are easily
solved once the dog is allowed to stay
inside the house with the family. Dogs are
pack animals and are happiest and best
behaved when they are allowed to be with
their "pack" (you and your family) in the
"den" (your home). So bring your dog inside
the house or at least find him a home where
he will be allowed to live inside.
What kind of
people are you looking for? What will you be
willing to compromise on? Once you have a
firm idea of what you're looking for, it
will be easier to plan your search and get
the results you want.
Your dog will be
much more appealing if he's clean,
well-groomed and healthy. First, take
him to the vet for a check up. He'll need a
heartworm test, and be current on Heartworm
preventative, a DHLPP and a rabies
vaccination if he hasn't one within the last
year (or as required by state law). Be sure
to tell the vet about any behavior problems
so he can rule out physical causes.
Groom your dog.
You want your dog to look beautiful and make
a good impression. He needs to be clean and
well-dressed! Get rid of those mats and
tangles and give him a bath. Make sure he's
neatly trimmed. If you can't do these things
yourself, take him to a groomer. Get rid of
his old rusty choke chain and buy a nice,
new, strong collar and lead.
If your dog isn't
spayed or neutered, do it now! Don't
waste your time trying to sell your dog as
"breeding stock" even if he's
AKC-registered. Frankly, no reputable Border
Collie breeder will want him unless he came
from a well known show dog fancier in the
first place. The only kind of
"breeder" who'll be interested in
your dog will be a puppy farmer or a dog
broker. Brokers seek out unaltered purebreds
for resale to puppy mills or research
laboratories. That's not the kind of future
you want for your dog.
Spaying or
neutering guarantees that your dog won't end
up in a puppy mill. It's the best way to
insure that your dog will be adopted by a
family who wants him only as a best friend
and member of the family. If you can't
afford the cost of surgery, check with your
vet, local shelter or rescue group for
information about low-cost spay and neuter
programs that are available in some parts of
the country. Having your dog neutered or
spayed is the best going away present you
can give him. It may save his life! Give
your dog a brighter future - make the
appointment today!!
If your dog has
never been tattooed or micro chipped, this is
a great time to do it. It's not
unusual for newly adopted dogs to get loose
and become lost. A permanent ID will help
your dog get back to you or his new owners.
Set a reasonable
adoption fee. The key word is
"reasonable". You can't expect the
new owner to pay you anywhere near the same
price for a "used" dog as they
would for a shiny new puppy. A reasonable
range might be between $75-150, enough to
help offset your advertising and veterinary
costs.
You should NEVER give your dog away for
free! People often pose as wonderful pet
guardians simply to get free dogs and then
they resell them to medical laboratories or
as bait for fighting dogs. If you don't feel
comfortable keeping the adoption fee for
yourself, then require the new guardians to
make the check out to a charitable rescue
group.
Word of mouth doesn't
go very far. Don't be afraid to use
classified ads to advertise your dog.
Done right, it's the most effective way to
reach the largest number of people. It's
easy to write a good ad that will weed out
poor adoption prospects right away.
Can BC Rescue help
me?
Border
Collie Rescue Texas, Inc. has a free service
on our “Independent Dogs Available”
page. To
use this service, the dog must be spayed or
neutered and should be up-to-date on all
vaccinations, heartworm preventative and
all other basic vet care.
A good picture goes a long way toward
making your dog visually appealing to an
adopter.
This service is designed to help you
advertise your dog, however BC Rescue does
not screen applicants nor is BC Rescue
responsible to assist Independent Adoptions
in any way. Please refer to our
"How to List a Dog on the Website" page
for full details.
Your ad should give a
short description of your dog, his needs,
your requirements for a home and of course,
your phone number. The description should
include his breed, color, sex, the fact that
he's neutered and an indication of his age.
Hints: if your dog is less than 2 years old,
state his age in months so he'll be
perceived as the young dog he is. If he's
between three and seven, just say that he's an
"adult". If he is over
seven, just say that he's a "senior".
Emphasize your
dog's good points: Is he friendly?
Housebroken? Well-mannered? Loves kids? Gets
on with cats? Does
he do tricks? Has he had any training? Don't
keep it a secret but don't exaggerate
either. Knowing his name doesn't make him
"well-trained"!
State any definite
requirements you might have for his new
home: fenced yard, no cats, kids over 10,
whatever. Try to say these in a positive way
- for example, saying "Kids over
10" sounds better than "No kids
under 10". If your Border Collie
doesn't like other pets, say "should be
only pet" rather than "doesn't
like other animals".
Always state that
references are required. This
tells people that you're being selective and
that you're not going to give your dog to
just anybody. This statement will do a lot
to keep people with bad intentions from
dialing your number.
Never include the
phrase "free to good home" in your
ad even if you're not planning to charge
a fee. If possible, don't put in any
reference to a price at all. The chance at a
"free" dog will bring lots of
calls, but most of them won't be the kind of
people you're looking for and many of them
will be people you'd rather not talk to at
all. For more information about "free
dogs" click
here.
Your ad should look
something like this:
"Border
Collie: beautiful, young adult male,
neutered. Friendly, housebroken,
well-behaved. Best with children over 10.
Fenced yard, references required. Karen
555-1234"
Along with your local
newspaper, advertise in all major papers
within an hour and a half's drive. Schedule
your ad so that it appears in Sunday's paper
- the issue that's the most well-read and
widely circulated. If your budget is very
limited, choose to run your ad only on
Sundays rather than throughout the week.
Nearly every community also has small,
weekly "budget-shopper" newspapers
that offer inexpensive classified ads. Take
advantage of them!
Don't be
discouraged if your phone isn't ringing
right away. Most people give up too soon.
It can take a month or more to find a new
home, so plan on advertising for several
weeks. Put a phone number in the ad where
you can be easily reached or use an
answering machine. People can't call you if
no one's home to answer the phone.
Newspapers are
just one way to advertise. Take a
good cute photo of your dog and have copies
made. Duplicating photos can be done for as
little as a quarter each at most photo
shops. Make an attractive flyer on colored
paper that you can have copied for a few
cents each. Attach the cute photo of your
dog. Your flyer doesn't have to be
expensive, professional or computerized,
just neat and eye-catching. Since you're not
paying for words, you can write more about
your dog than you could in a newspaper ad.
Be descriptive!
Post your flyers at
grocery stores, department stores, vets'
offices, pet supply stores, grooming shops,
factories, malls, etc. - anywhere you can
find a public bulletin board. If you have
friends in a nearby city, mail them a supply
of flyers and ask them to post them for you.
"First come,
first served" does not apply here. You
are under no obligation to give your dog to
the first person who says he wants it. You
have every right to ask questions and choose
the person you think will make the best new
owner. Don't let anyone rush you or
intimidate you.
To help you
along, we've included a list of questions
that we ask our callers. Make copies of this
list and fill in their answers as you speak
to your callers. Please refer to our
printable
Adoption Application.
If you like, you can also mail the
application for your callers to fill out and
return to you. Get out the list you made
with your requirements for a new home and
compare it to the answers the callers give.
Please see our printable
Potential Adopter Screening Guide.
First of all, get
your caller's name, address and phone
number. Deceitful people may call
you from a phone booth or give you a fake
address. Ask for information that you can
verify.
- Does the caller's
family know about and approve of their plans
to get a dog? If not, suggest they talk
it over with their spouse and call you back.
The same applies to people living with a
companion or roommate. When one person
adopts a dog without the full approval of
the rest of the family, the adoption often
fails.
- Do they own or
rent their home? If renting, does their
landlord approve? You'd be surprised how
many people haven't checked with their
landlord before calling you. If you have
doubts, ask for the landlord's name and
number, then call him yourself. Be cautious
about renters - they're quicker to move than
people who own their homes and movers often
leave their pets behind. Remember, you're
looking for a permanent home for your
dog.
- Does the caller
have children? How many and how old are
they? If your dog isn't good with kids,
say so up front. How many children can make
a difference depending on your dog's
personality. A shy dog may not be able to
cope with several children and their
friends. Very young children may not be old
enough to treat the dog properly. If the
callers don't have children, ask them if
they're thinking of having any in the near
future. Many people get rid of their dogs
when they start a family.
-
Have they had dogs,
especially Border Collies, before? If yes,
how long did they keep them?
- Why is the caller
interested in a Border Collie? What do they
like about them? Find out what
kind of dog "personality" they're
looking for. Many people are attracted by
the Border Collie's intelligence and beauty
but don't know anything else about them.
They might not have the slightest idea what
a Border Collie is all about and might not
like its activity level, temperament and
characteristics. If their expectations don't
match your dog's disposition, the adoption's
not going to work. Be honest about our
breed's good and bad points. Is a Border
Collie really what they're looking for or
would they do better with another breed or a
mixed breed?
- Do they have pets
now? What kinds? Obviously, if
your dog isn't good with cats or other
animals and your caller has them, the
adoption's not going to work out. Be up
front. Better to turn people away now than
have to take the dog back later. The sex of
their other dogs is an important
consideration. Dog fights can be serious
problems and one dog can hurt or even kill
the other.
- Do they have a yard? Is it
fenced? Your dog will need daily
exercise. Without a yard, how will he get
it? Can the caller provide it with regular
walks? If the yard isn't fenced, ask how he
plans to keep the dog from leaving his
property? Did the caller's last dog wander
off or get hit by a car? If so, how will he
keep this from happening to his next dog?
Does he understand that our independent
Border Collies will wander off if left
unsupervised? That they have a mind of their
own and don't like to come when they're
called? Does he know that keeping a Border
Collie tied up can have a bad effect on the
dog's temperament?
- Where will the dog
spend most of its time? Although
most Border Collies love to be outside
whenever they can, a whole life outdoors
probably isn't what you have in mind for
your dog. Dogs always kept outside are
sometimes neglected, lonely and may develop
behavior problems.
These are
very important questions! How they treated
the pets they've had in the past will tell
you how they might treat your dog. The
following answers should raise a red flag
and make you suspicious:
- "We gave
him away when we moved." Unless
they had to because of unavoidable problems,
moving is a poor excuse for giving up a pet.
Almost everyone can find a place that will
allow dogs if they try hard enough. If they
gave up their last dog that easily, there's
a good chance they'll give yours up someday,
too.
- "We gave
him away because he had behavior
problems." Most behavior
problems - poor housebreaking, chewing,
barking, digging, running away - result from
a lack of training and attention. If the
caller wasn't willing to solve the problems
he had with his last dog, he probably won't
try very hard with your dog either.
- "Oh, we've
had lots of dogs!" Watch out
for people who've had several different dogs
in just a few years' time. They may never
kept any of them for very long.
Please refer
to our sample
Adoption Application.
References:
Get the phone number of their vet (if
they've had pets before) and two other
personal references. Call those references!
Explain that John Doe is interested in
adopting your dog and you want to make sure
he'll give it a good home. Ask the vet
whether former pets were given regular
medical care, annual vaccinations and
heartworm preventative. Were they in good
condition and well-groomed? How long have
they known this person? If they were placing
a pet, would they feel comfortable giving it
to this person?
Once you've chosen a
family (or families) that you feel are good
candidates, make an appointment for them to
see the dog. You should actually set two
appointments: one at your house and one at
theirs. Before
you ever give your dog to anyone you should
ALWAYS VISIT THEIR HOUSE FIRST TO SEE WHERE
YOUR DOG WILL LIVE. Going to their house
lets you see whether their home and yard are
truly what they said they are and whether
your dog will do well there. You will be
amazed at how many people say that they have
a fenced yard when in reality it is only
fenced on two sides or the fencing has
completely fallen down or there isn't any
fence at all. You may also be amazed or
appalled at the condition of a person's
house or yard. It also gives you an
opportunity to call off the adoption and
take the dog back home with you if things
aren't as represented, if you think there'll
be problems or if you just get a bad feeling
about the whole thing.
Remember that you can always say you are
having second thoughts about giving your dog
up if you don't feel comfortable discussing
the real reason you don't want to give a
family your dog. Please refer to our
sample
Home Visit Check List.
If they already have
a dog, make plans to introduce the dogs on
"neutral" territory, like a park.
Most dogs resent meeting a strange dog at
home. They may be hostile toward the new dog
or even start a fight.
If the family has
children, ask them to bring them to the
interview. You need to see how the dog will
react to them and how the children treat the
dog. Some allowance should be made for kids'
natural enthusiasm but if these children are
undisciplined, disrespectful to your dog and
not kept in hand by their parents, your dog
could be mistreated in its new home and
someone could get bitten.
Do you like
these people? Are you comfortable
having them as guests in your home? Would
they make good friends? If not, don't give
them your dog. Trust your instincts. If
something about them doesn't seem quite
right, even if you can't explain what it is,
don't take a chance on your dog's future.
Wait for another family!
After the interviews
are over, give the new family a day or two
to decide if they really want to adopt your
dog. Make sure they have a chance to think
over the commitment they're making. While
they're deciding, get a package ready to
send along with your dog. This package
should include:
-
your
dog's medical records and the name,
address & phone number of your vet.
-
your
name, address & phone (new address
if you're moving)
-
your
dog's toys and belongings (dog bed,
blanket, etc.), a supply of dog food
& special treats he loves
-
an
instruction sheet on feeding, special
needs, etc.; some reading material about
the Border Collie breed.
-
collar
and leash; ID and rabies tags
Set aside a special
time for you and your dog to take a last
walk together and say goodbye. We know
you'll cry. Do it now, in private, so you're
clear headed when he has to leave. He may be
confused about being left with strangers and
you won't want your emotions to upset him
even more.
There are some
things you need to explain to the new family
before they take your dog home: The
dog will go through an adjustment period as
he gets to know his new people, learns new
rules and mourns the loss of his old family.
Most dogs adjust within a few days, but
others may take longer. During this time,
they should avoid forcing the dog to do
anything stressful - taking a bath,
obedience training classes, meeting too many
strangers at once, etc. - until he's had a
chance to settle in. Tell them take things
easy at first and give the dog time to bond
to them. The dog might not eat for the first
day or two. Not to worry - he'll eat when
he's ready. Some dogs temporarily forget
their training. A well-housebroken dog may
have an accident during the first day in his
new home. This isn't unusual and rarely
happens more than once.
Have the new owner
sign an adoption contract with a waiver of
liability. Keep a copy for your
records. A contract will help to protect the
dog and the waiver of liability helps to
protect you. You don't have a crystal
ball to predict what your dog might do in
the future. Remember - a waiver of liability
will not protect you if you have lied
or misrepresented the dog to his new owners.
We have included a sample contract for your
use.
Adoption Contract
Tell the family
they should call you if the adoption doesn't
work out. Let them know you want to keep
in touch and will call them in a few days to
see how things are going. Tell them to call
you if they have questions or problems. Be
willing to take the dog back home if things
don't work out the way you both expected.
........................................................
Printable Forms:
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This
article was adapted with permission from
"When You Can't Keep Your Chow
Chow"
written by Karen Privitello, Lisa Hrico
& Barbara Malone.
Reproduction
other than for personal home use is
prohibited without permission
of the Chow
Chow Club, Inc.'s Welfare Committee.
For
additional copies or permission to reprint,
contact:
The
Chow Chow Club Inc.'s Welfare Committee
9828 E. County A
Janesville, WI 53546
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