What do you do? We have three dogs and two cats. I'm leaving my husband. I'm not getting rid of the pets out of spite. I can't take them with me, and I don't feel he is responsible. I have a Black Lab, Rat Terrier, and a Rottie/Beagle mix. The cats are domestic short hairs. All have their individual personalities and needs. It breaks my heart. I've been with the Rattie for 15 years. But, I have to move on. What to do?
I wouldn't do that to the older dog. For a dog that age to lose an owner, it would be very traumatic.
Are there no friends or family members willing to take your pets in?
Make up some flyers to put in store windows etc, or maybe see if a friend or relative will take them? or even one, it feels a lot better knowing they are going to a good home then to a shelter.
Just do the best you can -- there come times in our lives where the best thing we can do for our beloved pets is to find them a more stable place to live than we can provide.
The ease of doing this can depend a lot on the area where you live. Urban areas tend to be a little easier to place pets than more rural areas and rural shelters tend to be underfunded and overflowing due to fewer people spaying and neutering their dogs.
A few suggested resources are to look into rescues local to your area (search "dog rescue" plus your city name) and depending on the circumstances of your departure, you may find that your local humane society (as opposed to "Humane Society of the United States" which is different) may have support services to offer. I also know that in my area there is specific support for fostering or placing animals that have been involved in domestic violence situations. The shelter could be an option but it's sort of last ditch and you'd want to find out what the adoption rate is like at your local shelter since adoption success rates can vary tremendously.
I'm very sorry to hear that you're in this situation and I wish you luck finding good placements for your guys. I was in a similar situation recently and thankfully we managed to keep all of the animals between the two of us, but I really didn't think it was going to happen and there's no question that it's going to stretch my finances to afford a place that supports the animals that I took with me. I know how gut wrenching it is to have to face these options, though, and that if the situation had been just a tiny bit worse (or gets worse with the state of the economy!) that I'd be facing the same decisions that you are facing.
 Walking/Running Puppy - Advise needed
 GridPanel border
|
If you MUST just Have to re-home pets?