Surrendering an Animal
Surrendering your Pet
For many people, surrendering a pet can be emotionally upsetting. Often a pet is surrendered because an owner simply has no choice, or is unaware of resources that can help keep them together with their pet. The Chemung County SPCA recognizes and appreciates that this may be a very difficult time for you and your family. Please know that we are here to assist you and to care for your pet if you must surrender it. After working with the shelter, you may find that there are other alternatives than surrendering your pet.
Before you surrender your pet, have you:
- Tried to find your pet a new home yourself?
- Asked friends or family, or posted to reputable online sources?
What resources would you need in order to keep your pet? We can help with the following:
- Find pet-friendly housing
- Provide temporary food assistance
- Provide temporary care for your pet while you move or find new housing
- Help with training and behavior issues
- Provide affordable spaying and neutering for your pet
If surrender is your only option, we need to advise you that:
We will do our best to rehome your pet, however, we cannot offer an adoption or placement guarantee. If the animal is not appropriate for our adoption program, we will not be able to place it for adoption.
For example, we cannot place:
For example, we cannot place:
- Animals with bite histories or those who bite during their stay at the shelter
- Animals with severe, unprovoked aggression towards people or other animals
- Animals with severe separation anxiety or unreasonably destructive behaviors
- Animals who present with medical issues we cannot afford to treat
