Surrendering A Dog

Owner Surrender

Our hope is for every pet to have a permanent, lifetime home, but we understand that circumstances can sometimes make caring for an animal difficult and people may need help in finding their dog a new home.

Before surrendering your pet to us we do encourage you to research resources available to pet owners to assist them in dealing with common behavioral and medical issues.

Please consider scheduling a vet visit for your pet to rule out a treatable medical condition that can cause or worsen behavioral problems such as house-soiling and temperament issues. Also, hiring a trainer or enrolling in a behavior class could help you resolve common problems like house soiling, biting, barking and destructive behaviors.

If surrendering your dog for adoption still seems like the right choice for you, please follow the steps in our surrender process.  Filling out an application is not a commitment to surrender.  Our volunteers are happy to talk to you about the process and whether this is the right decision for you and your dog.

 

Step 1: Complete an Application to Surrender

We will review your application and call or e-mail you to discuss the application.  Peppertree takes dogs of all breeds, ages, sizes and with medical conditions as we are able; the only requirement for our program is that they meet our temperament standards.

Step 2: Schedule an Evaluation

All dogs entering into Peppertree’s program must be evaluated by a Peppertree representative before we can accept them into our program.  Typically these evaluations are conducted at our adoption events and you will be contacted to schedule a time to bring your dog for us to meet.  All Peppertree dogs are expected to be friendly with people, and other dogs.  However, even if your dog is not a fit for Peppertree there are often other ways we may be able to help, and it is always worth reaching out.

Step 3: After the evaluation one of three things may happen:

  1. Your dog passes our evaluation and you wish to surrender the dog to Peppertree Rescue, Inc. We will take your dog as soon as a foster home becomes available.  This may not be possible immediately however, and in the meantime we will courtesy list your dog and aid you in finding an appropriate home for your dog.
  2. Your dog passes our evaluation but you wish to arrange the placement of your dog.  If this is the case then your dog will be listed as a courtesy listing and all interested applicants will be directed to you.
  3. Your dog does not pass our evaluation and we cannot accept it into Peppertree’s program.  If this is the case we can often still help find other options for re-homing your dog, and sometimes can courtesy list the dog depending on the reasons the dog did not pass the evaluation.