Can I Drop My Australian Shepherd Off at an Animal Shelter?

In most cases, you can’t simply drop your Australian Shepherd off at an animal shelter. They don’t take walk-ins. Instead, you will need to find a shelter in your area and then call them to set up an appointment. When you call and let them know that you want to surrender your dog, they’ll typically ask you several questions before setting up the appointment.

Today, most shelters understand that the best course of action is to get the owners to keep their pets. They try to work with the owners who may want to give up their animals to find alternatives. For example, they can suggest training programs, doggy daycare, and even financial resources that can help with many issues owners are experiencing. This helps pets to stay in the home, and it reduces the number of animals crowding the shelters.

Of course, it’s not always possible to keep your dog. In those cases, the shelter will set up an appointment for you to drop them off and fill out the paperwork. You need to realize that once you surrender your Australian Shepherd to the shelter, you are giving up your legal rights to your pet.

Is a Shelter the Right Choice?

Shelters try hard to do a good job taking care of the animals that come into their care. Yet, it’s not always possible. Often, the shelters are crowded, and dogs don’t have enough space. To make more room, shelters will have to euthanize some of the animals. Typically those that have been there over a certain amount of time are first on the list. It’s unfortunate, but it’s a reality you have to consider. Fortunately, there are other options to try first. The shelter should always be a last resort.

Other Options to Consider

You might want to try a local rescue instead of a shelter. Rescues will keep the animals until someone adopts them, which can give you some peace of mind. However, there is no guarantee that someone will adopt your Australian Shepherd. Additionally, rescues are often at capacity and will not have room to take on more animals.

Rather than a shelter or a rescue, you may want to consider seeing if someone in your group of friends or your family might be interested in adopting your dog. This is a good option because it means you may still be able to see them occasionally, and they may already know the people in their new home.

Another option that could work well is to rehome your dog using Rehome by Adopt-a-Pet. This platform lets owners post information about their pets in a profile, which can then be viewed by people looking to adopt. When people are interested in adopting your Australian Shepherd, they will fill out an adoption application, which you can review. This will make it easier for you to find the ideal person or family to adopt your dog. It’s safe and easy to use.