Giving Up a Pet is Never Easy

There are many reasons why a family surrenders a pet. Economics, lack of pet-friendly housing, illness, and behavior challenges are the most common. For the past few years, we’ve had a waitlist for people who want to surrender a pet to us.

In any surrender, it’s assumed that pets are being given up on. Some people believe there must be something wrong with the pet being surrendered. However, that’s not what we see with surrendered cats and dogs who come into Second Chance.

There are times when there is no other option other than to surrender. Here are a few examples from the past few months.

Lilypad is an older grey tabby cat who came to us when her person became ill and could no longer care for her. She was frightened and confused and spent a lot of time hiding. Now, she’s relaxed and happy in a foster home while she waits for her new home.

Grits came to us after her family had tried everything to keep peace in their home. Grits just did not do well with their other pets. Her family loved her so much but knew it was time to give her the chance to be the only pet in a home. They even created a complete guidebook for her next family!

When Brandi came to us, she had suffered so much loss. Both of her people died, and she was scared, sad, and very shut down. No one in her former life could take her, so she was surrendered to Second Chance. At first, she seemed to be looking for any opportunity to make a break for it. Our staff and volunteers have worked so hard to let her know that she is safe. She needs a forever home to love her and appreciate her kind and sensitive personality.

Sometimes we see pets come to us because someone is trying hard to help homeless cats or dogs but becomes overwhelmed. A big heart doesn’t always match the capacity to care for multiple animals. In these cases, we hope the kind person does the responsible thing and asks for help from Second Chance.

In almost every surrender case, humans know the dog or cat deserves more than they can provide.

When humans surrender a pet to the shelter, let’s be honest, they are judged. The assumptions are that the pets are too high energy, too much work, inconvenient, too old, too expensive, or are not loved.

We see the tears of heartbreak, looks of sadness, and feelings of helplessness about situations that can’t be changed. We can’t think of a single surrender that didn’t come with heartache. Most of the time, the human has looked at every option, and surrendering is the last resort.

Gidget is a senior tuxedo girl who came to us when her person lost their housing. She’s about 10 years old and very healthy for a cat her age. She would love a quiet home with a warm lap to curl up in.

Since 1994, the Animal Resource Center and Shops of Second Chance Humane Society have been serving Ouray, San Miguel, and Montrose Counties. Our adoption hours are every day, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Address is 177 County Rd 10, Ridgway, CO. You can view our shelter pets and services online at secondchancehumane.org.