Finding a Home | Lost Pet | Found Pet

Finding a New Home for Your Pet

1. Pets that have had necessary veterinary care are the easiest to place. Is your pet up to date on shots? Has it been wormed and treated for fleas and heartworm? Has it been fixed? 

2. By far the easiest way to place a pet is by advertising in the paper. Most papers do not charge for free ads; they may limit you to one a month. Say if the pet is fixed, has current shots, house-broken, good with children.

Salisbury Post: Place a FREE Ad online or call 704 797-4220
Lexington  Dispatch: 336 249-1637 

3. Put up flyers, preferably with pictures, at local vets and anywhere with a bulletin board, e.g., post office, drug store, grocery store, library. 

4.  If you have a special breed, do a computer search for rescue groups in NC for that particular breed.

5.   Any one can post a classified ad on petfinder.com: http://www.petfinder.com/local.html

Don’t be fooled by “bunchers”! If someone shows up and wants more than one puppy, kitten or cat, there is a good chance they are selling them to dog fighters to use as bait!   Others sell them to research labs for experiments. They are often couples who may bring their kids or their mother along.  

Interview potential adopters on the phone before you let them into your home. Don’t waste your time talking to children; talk to the adult who will be responsible for the pet.
Does your landlord allow pets? Have they had pets before? What happened to them? What vet do they use? Is the dog going to be on a chain as a watchdog? Is it going to be in a small pet in the back yard alone all the time? Is the cat going to be put outside to be a mouser (and perhaps not fed or cared for)?  Is the cat going to be declawed? Declawed cats will bite if annoyed by children since they can’t put out a warning claw. They often get dumped outside where they cannot defend themselves. 

No-No’s:  Do not adopt young kittens to a home with children between the age of 2 and 5. They are not capable of distinguishing the difference between a living animal and a stuffed one, and far too often injure or kill the kitten. When — not if — the child gets scratched or bit, your pet might end up abandoned or at the pound.  

Do not adopt an animal to one person that is meant for someone else. It’s like having someone else adopt your child for you! Giving a pet for a gift is a very bad idea. Young adults move around a lot, frequently to apartments that don't allow pets. If you want a permanent home for your pet, avoid adopters below the age of 25.  

It might be better to deliver your pet to them so you see where they live and if it is suitable for your pet. Often people will tell you they have a fenced yard, or use a particular vet but it is not true. Check before they come, and have your excuse ready if you see it’s not going to work — “ Well, someone else is coming today, so I’ll have to call you back  about this.” 

Trust your gut. Your pet’s safety and happiness depends on the decision you make. 

By having the new owner sign an adoption agreement, you have the legal right to take the pet back if it is not being cared for as you would wish. Give them a copy of the agreement, but keep the signed copy for yourself. Here is a generic contract: click here to download

LOST PET*

When your beloved dog or cat strays from home, it can be a traumatic experience for both of you. Here are some tips that we hope will help you find your pet.

· Contact local animal agencies: Rowan County Animal Shelter 704 216-7768, Faithful Friends Animal Sanctuary 704 633-1722, Humane Society of Rowan County 704 636-5700. Provide these agencies with an accurate description and a recent photograph of your pet. Check back with the shelter daily.

· Search the neighborhood. Walk or drive through your neighborhood several times each day, calling for your pet. Ask neighbors, letter carriers and delivery people if they have seen your pet. Leave flyers at your neighbors, with a recent photograph of your pet and information on how you can be reached.

· Advertise. Post notices at grocery stores, libraries, community centers, veterinary offices, traffic intersections, pet supply stores and other locations (ask permission first!). You can put a “Lost” ad in the Salisbury Post: Place a FREE Ad online or call 704 797-4220.  Include your pet's sex, age, weight, breed, color and any special markings. When describing your pet, leave out one identifying characteristic and ask the person who finds your pet to describe it.

· Be wary of pet-recovery scams. When talking to a stranger who claims to have found your pet, ask him to describe the pet thoroughly before you offer any information. If he does not include the identifying characteristic you left out of the advertisements, he may not really have your pet. Be particularly wary of people who insist that you give or wire them money for the return of your pet.

· Don't give up your search. Animals who have been lost for months have been reunited with their owners.

A pet—even an indoor pet—has a better chance of being returned if she always wears a collar  with her rabies tag and an ID tag with your name, address, and telephone number. Ask your veterinarian or animal shelter about how to get your pet microchipped.

*Adapted from the Humane Society of the United States Pets for Life program

FOUND A PET

Bless you for helping an animal in need. Here are some tips to help you locate the owner.


Contact local animal agencies: Rowan County Animal Shelter704 216-7768, Faithful Friends Animal Sanctuary 704 633-1722, Humane Society of Rowan County 704 636-5700. Provide these agencies with an accurate description of the pet and where it was found.

Advertise. You can put a “Found” ad in the Salisbury Post: Place a FREE Ad online or call 704 797-4220. This is required by law. Include the pet's breed, color and size, and where it was found. When describing the pet, leave out one identifying characteristic, such as gender or special markings, and ask callers to describe it.


Post Found notices at nearby stores and veterinary offices. In the County, you can put a sign at traffic intersections. A simple Found sign placed at the end of your driveway might catch the eye of the owners as they drive around looking for their pet. Flyers distributed in the neighborhood can help.

 
Be wary. When talking to a stranger who says it’s their pet, ask them to describe the pet thoroughly before you offer any information. If they do not include the identifying characteristic you left out of the advertisements, they might just be looking for a free pet.Ask for photographs and vet records as proof.
 

Remind the owners that a pet—even an indoor pet—has a better chance of being returned if she always wears a collar  with her rabies tag and an ID tag with their name, address, and telephone number, and is microchipped.

(We will assist owners in resolving problems they are having, but we will not assume their responsibilities as pet owners. Special situations will be decided on a case by case basis.)