Re-homing Pets, Have You Ever Had To Do It ?

I was just wondering how many people have re-homed pets and how they coped with it ....... (you not the pets).

I've come to the difficult decision I might have to re-home mine ...... and it's just breaking my heart.

His potential new home will be as a "hearing" dog for deaf people ...... to alert them to sounds they can't hear ....... doorbell ...... fire alarms ..... telephone ringing etc ....... so he'd go to a home where's he's needed, wanted and loved ..... but it feels like giving my baby away ...... and I can't stop crying at the thought of it even.

How did anyone else cope ?

looks around my little zoo
my lord
who would I give one of my children to?

not an easy decision ever

since my divorce I got stuck with all the "family" critters, and honestly
would rather put up with the bs they pull, then 99.99999999% of the stuff 2 legged animals do

guess thats why I got so many of them, and just try to be happy

Good for you :)

I had a couple of cats. What they started doing made it an easy decision. The litter box was abruptly deemed to be "optional" for depositing their waste, and they started using rugs and my bed as bathrooms. nasty.

sadly remembers 2 dogs i had to find new homes for
threy went to good places

but i always hated the fact i had ot do it
after taking them in in the frist place as it
was suppose to be forever, lik eall the other have been

In my entire life, I've only ever had to do it once. It was earlier this month actually...

The worst part of it for me was the guilt -- that I didn't feel as bad as I should've, but the fact of the matter was that for the 2+ years I had that otherwise wonderful dog, we didn't have any sort of bond whatsoever, he could care less if I was home or not. He was just very distant, didn't even show any joy in being petted/scratched.

I gave him to someone who was close to me anyways, and lives very near, so I can visit him often yet, and he's already doing much better at his new home... I miss him, but I'm glad he's found someone to bond with now. Some things just aren't meant to be I guess.

I try to solve all problems that I can before even remotely considering re-homing a pet. My one cat sprays, but only in one room of the house, so he's just not allowed in that room. A past cat would frequently eliminate on my bed, and after trying some things, as well as seeing if it was health-related (it wasn't), again, we just took away his priviledges of being in the bedroom.

I feel very empty without a dog around these days... (no pun intended -- seriously here, on an emotional level).

More guilt that I've already began keeping an eye out for a perfect companion...

Anyways, enough of my rambling! While it'll be really hard to deal with, you have the reassurance that your dog will be doing a great service for his new household, he'll be cherished I'm sure! Will you be able to keep in touch with the family? Even just to check up on him sometime?

:( I hope i never have to come to that my 2 dogs are my babies i feel for you it will probably be the hardest thing you ever have to do.Here are some big hugs and kisses for you :kiss: :kiss: :kiss: :kiss: :kiss:

I used to live on a farm which for some reason seemed to be the "dumping ground" for people (if you can call them that) who no longer wanted their pets. I took them in, fed them, and found homes for as many of them as I could, at one point I had 19 cats, we got two pregnant cats dropped off within days of each other and they both delivered on the same day, one had five kittens, the other had 6... I found homes for all the kittens but one, a dwarf that I adored for every moment of the 17 weeks she lived. But it was hard every time, even though I knew the people would be good to them. My husband thought I should just put a sign out by the road and give them to whoever stopped, but I wasn't going to let just anyone have my "kids"
Some of the dogs, I still see nearly every day even though we moved in to town 6 years ago.
As for how I coped, I cried. I told myself over and over that I was doing the right thing and I couldn't keep all of them. But it never got easier to see my furkids leaving for their new homes or taking them to their new homes.

I did have to give away most of a litter of pups about a year ago
but lord was I picky

ran into one of the new pet parents just last week actually, didnt recognize her I was in BJ's(think sam's club if you dont know what it is)
she approached me and asked if I had given away some puppies last year
told me she was doing great and the dog now(no puppy forever) was just as happy as she could be

so I try to think of it not giving away to strangers, just completeing the circle, after all, my dog was given to me by fate when some ass hole dumped her off in the woods. to this day she is thrilled when she hears my truck coming up in the yard.

so I guess it really depends on perspective at the moment.
lord I kept 2 of them an they are knocking down a 55 lb bag of purina dog chow every 2 weeks! heaven help me if I had kept em all!

Thanks to all who took the time to post of their experiences ...... interesting reading.

I don't know how I'll bring myself to do it ....... and am tempted not to ...... though because of things I can't control and couldn't possibly have forseen a year ago ...... that would probably only delay the inevitable and I have to think of his best interests too and not be selfish.

Sarx I don't know what their views are in terms of keeping in touch and seeing how his training is doing ..... but I will ask. Thanks also for the kind words in that yes as a hearing dog for a deaf person he will be cherished and doing an important job. At least I'll have that thought to hold on to.

I know this thread isnt sexual - and it is not in violation to be posted in general - however the overall emotional ties in this threads that defines zoo is quite apparent - I think this is best suited in the zoo section where it will getthe attention it deserves beyond one day and get lost in the whirlwinds of general

good luck to you all - it is a courageous thing to put the needs of your fur love before your own ;)

I had to give up my dog once, a border collie mutt... I was pretty young at the time, only a teenager, but the dog had started to hunt and kill the neighbor's chickens. It was either put her down or give her to a city family, we chose the latter.

Wasnt an easy decision =(

i foster dogs during the summers, and giving them up can be very easy (if we don't 'click' quite right or they're destructive, cause problems in the house, or physically injure me) or it can be extremely hard. so hard, in fact, that i adopted one of the fosters i took in last summer!! ^_^

but when it comes to my steadfast, loyal dog... i would move mountains to keep him with me. unless his life was negatively impacted I would make it work. as long as i'm keeping him healthy, well fed, exercised, mentally stimulated, and socialized he will stay with me.

as for rehoming... just do the best you can to find the perfect home. i know it can be super hard, but when you think of it from the perspective of "will this new home be better than what he/she has now?" and know in your heart that the answer is "yes", it takes away a lot of the pain.

good luck, let us know how it goes!

I have had to rehome two of my guide dogs and will probably have to rehome my current guide as well. It was hellishly hard, but the dogs hated their successors and couldn't understand why they couldn't go with me any longer. Both of them adjusted very well to their new homes, much better than I adjusted to their absence.
LTD

Thanks for such a lovely post southy :).

I did wonder whether to post it here orginially ...... or whether to post it at all as I didn't want to make anyone else feel miserable too.

Although it may seem I'm carrying on as normal around BF .... it's mostly to try and keep my mind off this whole situation ....... and am taking comfort from reading other's people's stories in the sense that obviously I'm not alone.