Humane Society of Elmore County News
When many owners can no longer care for a pet, or when their pet has had had a litter, many of these owner’s advertise these unwanted pets as “free to a good home.” While these owners mean well and some free pets end up in wonderful homes, we still strongly advise against this approach as “free” is all too often seen as “worthless.”
Studies show that pets obtained for free are less likely to ever be taken to a veterinarian for basic immunizations and checkups, let alone and illness or injury, and even less likely to be spayed or neutered eventually leading to even more unwanted puppies and kittens. Free pets are also more likely to be abused and/or discarded because “there are plenty more where that one came from!” Since we ask about the original source of a pet when they are brought to us we can say that well over 90% of the owner surrendered pets were originally obtained as “free to a good home” pet and easily 75% of those have never been to a Veterinarian.
Sadly there are some horrible things that can happen to these “free” pets if they are just given on a first-come, first-served basis. At best a flipper may just take your free pet and sell it for a profit. At worst your pet could end up being used in a prank, as a bait animal, as a breeding animal or thrown out in the middle of nowhere when the fun has worn off.
So what should you do if you need to re-home your pet? If your pet came from a responsible breeder, call them to see if they can take it back or assist with placement as a truly responsible breeder will be there for the animal they produced. You should consider charging a fee that will not only “value” your pet but discourage the resale of pets. Spay or neuter your pet to avoid attracting backyard breeders or puppy mill operators. Interview potential new owners by asking for their identification, phone number, previous pet experience, their current pets and children in the household, how the pet will be contained, and their veterinarian’s name as a reference.
Keep their contact info, call their veterinarian for a reference and if at all possible, visit their home to see how and where your pet will live before your release it to the new owner. For the puppies or kittens, or if you cannot afford to have your pet spayed or neutered, ask the new owner to pledge that they will have the puppy/kitten fixed by the time it is six months old and the adult immediately. If a potential adopter isn’t willing to give you their information or let you visit their home our advice is to politely send them away empty handed. You owe it to your pet to take the time and effort to make sure it goes to a good home.
If time is critical or you are simply not willing to screen potential owners, then please take your pet to a reputable animal shelter rather than give it away free to someone you don’t know anything about. Each county in our tri-county area has an open-admission shelter and while none of us can guarantee placement due to overwhelming numbers, we will do our utmost to find adoptable pets loving and lifetime homes.
We work to screen and educate adopters to make sure they are appropriate and ready to take on a new pet and our adoption fees cover immunizations, de-worming and the mandatory spay or neuter.
Better yet – don’t allow your pet to have yet another unwanted litter by altering it sooner than later and take getting a new pet seriously since it should be a 10-15 year commitment of a sentient being that will add so much to your family’s life.
