List your Pet for Adoption
How to Post Your Pet
You'll want to make flyers for your pet and post your pet to websites that feature pets for adoption. Best Friends Animal Society has great resources for helping you to rehome your pet.Best Friends' Resource Library - a list of great articles and other resources
Best Friends' Find Homes for Homeless Pets - a guide for advertising your pet and screening potential adopters.
Best Friends' Make a Flyer - fill out a few fields, upload your pet's photo, and this web application will create a flyer for you.
A great photo and a well-written description can make a big difference in how many responses you get. Think like an ad agency when you write the listing for your pet. You want to be accurate, but you want to write something that will capture someone's attention and make them want to meet your pet. The most important thing is to include the cutest photo you can find of your pet. If you have a deadline, include that in the subject line on sites like craigslist. Include key details like age, sex, breed, size, activity level, how your pet gets along with kids, dogs, cats, other people, whether your dog is housebroken or has other training, etc. If you need help, email us and we can help you write something compelling. Need better photos? We have volunteer photographers. Email us and we will schedule an appointment.
Screening Potential Adopters
It is up to you to decide how carefully you want to screen any potential new homes for your pet. Depending on the time you have available, you may wish to be very careful to ensure your pet is going to the best home possible. Just remember that not everyone is honest about their intentions when they inquire about your pet. And even honest and well-intentioned people may not be a good match for your pet. To eliminate the largest risks associated with rehoming a pet, we suggest you do the following at a minimum:- Do not give your pet away for free. Charge at least a small rehoming fee, somewhere around $35-$50. Free pets are sometimes sold for medical experiments or other unsavory uses.
- Spay or Neuter your pet before adoption. This will help prevent pet overpopulation and keep your pet from being used for breeding. You can find more information on Spay Baton Rouge's website about resources available for low cost or free spay/neuter services in Baton Rouge.
- Ask questions. Here's what you want to know:
- What kind of life will your pet have with its new owners?
- Will they view it as a member of the family, or just a dog/cat?
- What will they do if it gets sick, or tears up their house, or doesn't get along with their other pets?
- Will it have daily exercise, quality food, regular vet care?
- Do they have experience with your pet's breed or specific issues your pet has?
- How do they plan to discipline your pet or train it?
- How much time will it spend in a crate or in the yard alone?
- Ask open-ended questions and really listen to the answers. Be non-judgmental and you will get more honest answers.
- If they have cats or kids or dogs, does your pet get along with those?
- How does their activity level fit with your pet's?
- What kind of life will your pet have with its new owners?
- Consider your personal safety when arranging to meet strangers who express interest in your pet. Use common sense.
Best Friends Animal Society has adoption packages for dogs and cats that go into great detail about how to screen an adopter and include sample applications and contracts. PitBull Rescue Central also has screening guidelines and a contract you can use. Don't give your pet to just anyone. Ask questions and don't relinquish your pet if you don't feel comfortable with the answers.
When to Post Your Pet
Start looking for a new home as soon as possible. The more time you have, the better the chance that you will find a home before any deadline you might have.Where to Post Your Pet
Craigslist
More and more people turn to craigslist first when they are looking for a new pet. If you screen respondents, you can find really good homes through craigslist. You may wish to create an account with craigslist. This will let you easily re-post your ad if you need to. Plan to re-post at least once a week. People sometimes flag ads for removal, so check that your ad has not been removed.
PetFinder
Individuals as well as shelters can post pets on Petfinder.com. If you qualify for our assisted rehoming program, your pets will also be posted to Petfinder.com & Adoptapet.com by us.
Oodle
Oodle is an online classifieds service that also aggregates classifieds from other sources such as local newspapers and even Petfinder. It reaches a large audience around the nation. Posting ads is free.
Pitbull Central ("pitbulls" or mixes only)
Future Pet
Dog Services USA
Herding Dog Rescue Yahoo Group
Please only post your dog to this group if it is one of the herding breeds.
Contact Other Rescue Groups
This is only a partial listing. Please do an internet search if you cannot find a group that can help you in this list. There are many rescue-related Yahoo groups, for example.Animal Welfare Organizations Near You
What to Do if you Must Surrender Your Pet to a Shelter
Feral cats, kittens, and puppies under 6 weeks of age are more likely to die. Very old or ill animals, and those with noticeable hair loss, are more likely to die. The shelter has a policy that it will not adopt out aggressive animals. Animals that are very frightened at the shelter are more likely to die. Healthy, young, friendly animals, especially purebreds, have the best chance of either being placed in the adoption program or being taken in by a placement partner (what we call rescue groups). But even these animals are at risk if the shelter is already over-full when they arrive.
Even if you surrender your pet to a shelter, don't stop looking for a home. Re-post your ads, especially to Craig's List, including the information that the pet is at a shelter, the shelter's id number, and the information that it has a limited time remaining. Often people will wait hoping someone else will take the pet, and will respond when the situation is urgent. This is no guarantee, so only surrender your pet as a last resort. Pets are also visible on Petango.com until they leave the shelter.
If this is a found animal, you may want to take it to the shelter to give its owner the best chance of finding it. You can put in a backup application specifying that you will take the animal if no one claims it. View our Lost and Found Pets page for more guidance on dealing with a found pet.
Baton Rouge Spay/Neuter (BRSN) is a registered non-profit organization that is dedicated to providing low cost spay and neuter services for dogs and cats to the general public. The clinic is located at 7807 Greenwell Springs Road in Baton Rouge across from Greco's pet supply and in the same building as Associated Veterinary Services. Please visit their website to learn more about their program and fees at www.brsn.org.
Livingston Parish
PetAid is a local, non-profit organization that provides spay/neuter assistance to the residents of Livingston Parish. You can contact them at 225-664-6126.
Companion Animal Alliance Shelter/East Baton Rouge Parish Animal Control
CAA will hold stray animals for the legally required 6 days (not counting the first day) for dogs and 4 days for cats; but owner-surrendered animals may be given 24 hours or less. Animals that are extremely ill or injured may be euthanized immediately. Because it is an open-intake shelter with limited room, many pets that are less-adoptable, i.e. have a minor illness, are shy, nervous or fearful, etc. are killed. When a healthy, adoptable animal comes into the pound, it is not uncommon that a less adoptable one will have to die in its place.Feral cats, kittens, and puppies under 6 weeks of age are more likely to die. Very old or ill animals, and those with noticeable hair loss, are more likely to die. The shelter has a policy that it will not adopt out aggressive animals. Animals that are very frightened at the shelter are more likely to die. Healthy, young, friendly animals, especially purebreds, have the best chance of either being placed in the adoption program or being taken in by a placement partner (what we call rescue groups). But even these animals are at risk if the shelter is already over-full when they arrive.
Even if you surrender your pet to a shelter, don't stop looking for a home. Re-post your ads, especially to Craig's List, including the information that the pet is at a shelter, the shelter's id number, and the information that it has a limited time remaining. Often people will wait hoping someone else will take the pet, and will respond when the situation is urgent. This is no guarantee, so only surrender your pet as a last resort. Pets are also visible on Petango.com until they leave the shelter.
If this is a found animal, you may want to take it to the shelter to give its owner the best chance of finding it. You can put in a backup application specifying that you will take the animal if no one claims it. View our Lost and Found Pets page for more guidance on dealing with a found pet.
Alternatives to Rehoming Your Pet
Find Pet Friendly Housing
View a list at http://www.myapartmentmap.com/pet_friendly/Temporarily Board Your Pet
Solve your Medical Problems with Low Cost Veterinary Services
East Baton Rouge ParishBaton Rouge Spay/Neuter (BRSN) is a registered non-profit organization that is dedicated to providing low cost spay and neuter services for dogs and cats to the general public. The clinic is located at 7807 Greenwell Springs Road in Baton Rouge across from Greco's pet supply and in the same building as Associated Veterinary Services. Please visit their website to learn more about their program and fees at www.brsn.org.
Livingston Parish
PetAid is a local, non-profit organization that provides spay/neuter assistance to the residents of Livingston Parish. You can contact them at 225-664-6126.
Also visit this page that has tips on what to do if you can't afford medical care.
