If, after all your efforts, your situation has not improved and you find yourself needing to re-home your pet, please follow these helpful suggestions. Please keep in mind that animals housed at the shelter can stay with us for weeks, months, and sometimes years, thus surrendering your pet to VCAS must be the final option when all other avenues have been explored.  Keeping animals in a home style setting should be a top priority.  

1. Returning your pet:  Did you acquire your pet from a private breeder or animal rescue organization?  If so, you would have likely signed a contract stipulating that the pet can or should be returned to them if you can no longer keep them.  These groups are usually foster-based thus your pet would be in a home-style environment versus a kennel at a shelter.
2. Make Your Pet More Adoptable:  Animals who are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and groomed have a better chance at finding a new home.  Continue reading for low-cost vaccination and spay and neuter resources.
   • Photos:  Take beautiful portraits of your pet:  on the couch, outside (if they’re a dog), and with a person.  Use these photos when making a flyer or advertising your pet.
   • Flyer:  Click/Tap here to create an eye-catching flyer.  Include their name, age, breed, species, spay/neuter status, vaccination status, likes and dislikes, food preferences, preferred toys, trainings, known commands, and define any limitations (example: not good with cats, small children, other dogs, etc.)  Include your contact information, but ALWAYS meet people in a public place.  Use this flyer to post on social media and around the neighborhood.
   • Ask Around:  This is no time to be shy!  Tell friends, family and co-workers that you’re looking to re-home your pet.  If you are honest, open, and authentic, you are likely to be able to re-home your pet through someone you know.
   • Advertise:  Post flyers at work, at your family and friends’ workplaces, grocery stores, department store, dog parks, hiking trials, vet offices, pet supply stores, grooming shops, malls…etc.  Share the flyer on social media pages, ask shelters and animal rescues if they can do a courtesy post on your behalf, and list your pet on the following sites using the flyer you created:
     • 805 Animals to Good Homes Facebook Group
     • 805 Pets for Adoption Facebook Group
     • Adopt-A-Pet (portal below)
     • Craigslist
     • Dog Rehoming in California Facebook Group
     • Get Your Pet Rehoming Site
     • Next Door
     • Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Ventura Pets Facebook Groups
     • Precious Pets for Rehoming Facebook Group
     • Rehoming Pets in Los Angeles Facebook Group
     • Ventura/Oxnard/Camarillo Pets Facebook Group
     • Ventura County Humane Society
     • Ventura County Pets Facebook Group
3. Interested Party:  When someone responds to your efforts, you have an opportunity to interview them.  Do an initial phone interview before meeting in person.  This way you can eliminate unsuitable potential adopters.
4. Sample interview questions:
   • Past pet experience?  Evaluate their responsibility level.  Let them talk about past pet experiences as that can tell you a lot about how they would treat your animal.  If they had an animal, ask how old they lived and what was the cause of death.  Ask to see photos of their past pets.  Most animal-lovers will have photos to share.  They should also have a few photos of them with their pets to prove the pet they are referring to was theirs.
   • Who is the pet intended for? If not them, ask to speak with the potential owner.
   • If there is a yard, is it fenced?  Unfenced yards may encourage people to tether/chain dogs, a practice that is discouraged and has the potential to be dangerous.
   • Will this be an indoor pet, outdoor pet, or indoor pet with outdoor access?  Pets need human contact. If the pet will be outdoors, they must have access shelter, water, and human contact.
   • Will they walk the dog regularly or provide exercise?  Especially important for young dogs and/or apartment dwellers.  Dogs with yards don’t necessarily mean they get adequate exercise, so ensure they get regular walks.
   • What if the pet gets sick?  Ensure they would seek veterinary care.
   • Do they have children? If so, ask if smaller children will be supervised around them as young children don’t always know how to appropriately interact with animals.
   • Alone time for the pet during the day? Address loneliness and boredom.  Ensure they understand the potential destructive nature of animals left alone and the importance of having a plan to keep them occupied and secure when alone.
   • Own or rent?  Pet policies matter!  If they rent, they must be allowed to have pets.  Don’t accept, “Our landlord doesn’t care.”  Consequences range from returning the animal to you or the animal ending up at an animal shelter.
   • Will they allow a home visit?  If they are unwilling, we suggest immediately ruling them out.  If they are willing, bring 2-3 adults with you.
   • Would they consider declawing a cat?  We suggest immediately ruling them out as declawing is inhumane.
   • Indoor or outdoor cats? Indoor/outside don’t live as long as “indoor only cats”.  We strongly recommend all cats be indoor only as outdoor cats are vulnerable to disease, predation, traffic accidents, etc.  Cats who live indoors only can live up to twenty (20) years.
5. In-Person Meeting:  USE CAUTION when you consider meeting potential adopters.  Meet in a public place like a coffee shop, police station, or fire station and do not bring your pet with you.  It’s a red flag if they refuse to meet in those locations.  You may ask for a re-homing fee to deter unscrupulous individuals.  You can always donate the re-homing fee to a local animal shelter if you’d like.
6. The Hand-Off:  If you’ve found a suitable family, schedule a time and place to do the hand-off.  Again, this should be done in a public place like a coffee shop, police station, or fire station.  Bring their bed, blanket, toys, food, bowls, litter box and litter (if it’s a cat), medication and all paperwork including veterinary records.  Provide the contact information of their veterinarian so they can continue their care.  Lastly, go to the shelter to transfer ownership so the pet is now in their name.
7. Follow-up.  Ask for ID and contact information so you can follow-up to see how things are going.  Provide any assistance over the phone but do not visit the pet.  Seeing the pet will confuse them.