Animal Welfare Professionals

Interested to see how shelters handle owner returns/surrenders?  I know it is hard on the staff as well as the animals, but was looking for any information on how to deal with this issue.  Some months are good and then some months we have quite a few.  Any ideas or suggestions would be helpful.  Thanks

I am one of the smallest shelters in the Houston area  that that is an open intake.  Our city has a lot of apartments and rental properties so we see an influx every 3 months of owner surrenders mostly due to people cant afford the pet deposits.  They love their pets but cant afford 500.00 just to move in. So we work with 2 rescue groups that assist with paying for it up front and some families will pay it back in time and others will donate their time back to community projects to help others out. The other reason people will try to surrender is because they cant pay for vet care may it just be basic wellness checks or spay and neuter.  I will find resources for them so the animal can stay in the home and I don't have to look at them behind a metal kennel gate.  After you open that REAL conversation up on why they are at the front door it usually is solvable without having to intake the pet. I have sat in other shelters where the staff just gives the people a form to fill out and with a little bit of nasty side remarks being made they take the form and animal to the back and the people walk out the door.  I don't want to  make it uncomfortable for the people per say but I want the truth and I want to get to the real reason why we are all there.  I want them to know I will do everything possible to help them keep their pet if they too are will to put in the work.  We have built fences, mowed yards and simply just given our community the ability to ask for help with out being judged or ridiculed.  And for those animals that have to be surrendered because "life Happens" well they get their story told that day and they are networked immediately. 

Good for you for going above & beyond to help pets stay with their families. Every shelter including large municipal shelters should be practicing the same. This is a great opportunity for public/private partnerships so the manpower and financial burden isn't on the back of one agency. Our team is coming to the Houston area in November and will be hosting a Best Practice Presentation for the community - I hope you'll be able to attend!

There’s a study by Dr Gary Patronek that talks about how an adoption return typically leads to a forever family. Adoption and return is like a foster - you learn so much!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/29597307/

We try to keep pets in their homes if possible, we'll give them food if that's the issue or have them come in for training if there's a behavior thing going on. If they do come back we try to have the attitude that at least those folks cared enough to bring them back to a safe place instead of letting them go or selling them on Craig's List. Sometimes adoptions aren't a good fit and we's rather find those folks a better fit than have them be miserable and hate our organization. It also gives us more information about the pet than we had before which allows us to find the pet a better fit as well.