Rehomed our dog through a charity....

[AlphaBeta82]

After a lot of heart searching and thinking we made the very difficult decision to rehome our dog through a charity. We researched the charities around us locally and further afield to find the one we liked the best. On phoning them we were told there was a 4-5mth waiting list, which came as a blow to us but we thought we would go back to the drawing board. Then the charity got in contact with us last week to say they would take our dog the next day as they had a space and from our description would rehome him very quickly.
I found taking him there and dropping him off unbelievably hard and was in tears. The people who worked for the charity were lovely, reassuring and supportive. We exchanged all the information we could and headed home now dog-less. within half an hour of dropping him off an ideal couple requested adoption of him, a home check was carried out and he went to his new home. We were informed as soon as he was rehomed and had requested our details be passed onto the new owners in a hope they will stay in touch.

I just wanted to share our experience, as I certainly know for people like us this wasn't an easy decision and a very difficult experience but one which was handled well. i always know if anything happens in his new home our dog will return to the charity and feel we have done the best thing we could of by him.

[higgle]

A very sad thing to have to do, but very responsible and you can take a lot of comfort that he will be proper loved.

[AlphaBeta82]

It was really sad, he was rehomed due to a number of reasons which weren't his fault, or ours really but I had had him since a puppy and he is now six so as you can imagine it was not something I ever imagined we would have to do.
I do hope the new owners stay in contact, but understand if they don't choose do.

[Cuebill]

Blimey you have been very very very "lucky". Rehoming is not and should not be as easy as this

[AlphaBeta82]

Interesting reply Cuebill What do you mean by 'shouldn't be as easy' as this. We carried out a lot of research prior to our decision and exchanged a lot of information, they had our dogs medical records and history and the reasons for the rehoming. I was relieved by the supportive ease of the process, it was never a decision taken lightly but one made with great care and consideration. The new owners had registered with the charity and I believe information about the dog had been exchanged prior to us dropping him off. I am pleased with the level of care they gave to the process and that my dog did not spend a long time in kennels.
I suppose this wasn't rehoming a difficult dog or one with bahavioural difficulties but a long term, much loved, well trained family pet who for health reasons in our family could no longer live with us, which makes him an 'easy' dog to rehome?
I posted this as the other day some people were being a bit critical of charities, so I wanted to post a positive experience.

[D0oinMeCleanin]

What Cuebill means (I think) is not that rescues should not assist where they are able to when it is utterly impossible for the dog to remain in the home, but that dogs are not toys to be swapped about on a whim.

The rescues, if they were doing their job properly, should have helped you make every effort to keep your dog at home if it was at all possible.

As you haven't given any reason for the re homing, then we cannot know if the rescue acted in the best interests of the dog.

There are dogs in pounds all over the country being pts for no reason other than a severe lack of space in rescue centers. Dogs like yours, who had a loving family, are using up the space for those dogs who are in the pound due to the death of their owner or being found stray. It should not be easy to find a rescue space for a family pet when dogs like this are in need.

I am glad you had a positive experience and that your dog has now found a good home, but I am surprised that you found it as easy as you did, given how full rescues are. I hope the choice to rehome was the only one and that is why the rescue helped your dog over the hundreds who are facing loss of life.

I'd also hope that you repaid their kindness with a stinking, big donation to help them save more at risk dogs.

[AlphaBeta82]

Ok I see your point.
We decided to rehome after 6 years of having this lovely dog as ds (20 mths) allergic. This became more of a problem the more our son moved about etc. We sought advice and put a porch on the back of house for dog to live in in an attempt to keep him seperate. Unsurprisingly our dog found this very distressing being seperated from the family and started howling/ barking, this has gone on for a considerable amount of time. we called in a behaviour specialist to try and help us manage this situation but they couldn't and thought the situation was unsustainable for both us and dog, unless we could have the dog living again with us. We thought long and hard about options for him, privately rehoming etc and decided the best option would be through a charity as they were much more suitable for assessing his needs and a new home etc. Yes a stonking donation was made by us and the people who took him, so in a very short period of time from a financial point of view i hope they did well. I can see your point entirely, but on the flip side of the coin, by having some dogs which come from situations such as ours and turn over quickly the charity is able o raise further funds to help other dogs.

[higgle]

And, AlphaBeta82, he will be a great advert for rescue dogs when he is out and about with his new owners.

[CajaDeLaMemoria]

I think it's extremely likely that the rescue had already matched your dog to this couple and knew there was a very good chance of them taking him, which is why they could take him and rehome him so fast.

It doesn't usually happen that way, especially for 6y.o. dogs.

That said, I am pleased that they could help you and did rehome your dog, because it sounds like an extremely difficult situation. It also sounds like your dog will be much, much happier elsewhere, where he can live inside.

[1MitchellMum]

Aww, that must have been such a hard decision to make. Glad your dog has a new home.

[D0oinMeCleanin]

That makes things sound a bit better from a rescuers point of view. I am sorry you had to rehome your pet. It does sound like it was difficult.

If you want to keep helping the rescue, you could set up a small, monthly DD to them or donate dog food, old blankets etc. where you are able to. You could even offer to volunteer at their fundraisers or bake cakes etc. for them.

Even the smallest bit of help can make a massive difference to a smaller charity.

I hope your dog has a long and happy life in his new home and that your ds is now recovering.

[mercibucket]

We adopted via labrador rescue and they were also v quick at matching dogs to new owners. The old owners had driven hundreds of miles to take the dog to that particular rescue. We heard of the rescue in the first place via someone else who had adopted from them. Glad your dog found a new home so quickly

[mercibucket]

We adopted via labrador rescue and they were also v quick at matching dogs to new owners. The old owners had driven hundreds of miles to take the dog to that particular rescue. We heard of the rescue in the first place via someone else who had adopted from them. Glad your dog found a new home so quickly

[piggypoppins]

I am glad your situation ended well. I am in the same situation with our nearly 3 year old westie and am finding it difficult to find somewhere responsible to take him. What makes it worse is people's assumption that you are doing it on a whim when in reality it is the most difficult decision I have ever had to make.

[LookBehindYou]

I'm glad it had a happy ending OP, although I'm sorry you had to lose him when you so obviously loved him.