by Adopt a Pet, | February 18, 2024
hedgehog94 / Shutterstock
It usually costs somewhere between $50 and $150 to surrender your dog. The cost varies based on several factors such as your location, the type of facility, and the age of the pet. Certain facilities charge less per pet for those surrendering entire litters. Some private rescues do not charge a fee if they accept a dog for surrender, but this varies by organization.
There are many reasons that pet owners may feel their only option is to surrender their dog to a shelter. These include:
Behavior issues
Financial problems
Feeling like they don’t have enough time to spend with the pet
The birth of a baby
An impending move
But is surrendering a dog to the shelter the best solution? Many times, the above issues can be overcome or something can be worked out that allows the dog to remain in the home. If that’s not possible, and every resource has been exhausted, consider rehoming your pet instead of surrendering the dog to a shelter.
Once a dog is surrendered to a shelter, her or his fate is out of your hands. The truth is that many surrendered pets have a hard time finding new homes because the stress of being in a shelter or rescue alters their personalities. In the best cases, they find a new home—but wouldn’t you have more peace of mind if you had input into the type of family that adopted your dog?
Finding a new home for your pet is a better solution that allows you to be sure your dog goes to a good home, and there are tools that make the process easier. Rehome is a website devoted to helping responsible pet owners find new homes for their cats or dogs. It’s easy to use and in just a few minutes, your dog’s profile will be available to potential adopters all over the country.
One of the many resources on Rehome is an application with detailed questions that will help you screen adopters to find the perfect situation for your dog. Rehome also provides an adoption agreement that allows you to specify what should happen to the pet if the adoption doesn’t work out.
The cost of surrendering a dog includes more than just money. Consider rehoming instead so you’ll have peace of mind about the final outcome.