solution center:
pause the rehome. take a really deep breath.

is this a solvable issue?

Financial and behavioral resources for keeping families intact.

We live in a time when people are recognizing the barriers to pet ownership and taking action to support the human/animal bond. In many areas, shelters have established pet food banks and offer low-cost veterinary services, free/low-cost spaying/neutering, and routine vaccinations. There are even a limited number of grants for non-routine medical needs and free training resources available on the internet.

financial support.

Humane World for Animals - Directory of Resources

Find pet food and supplies, low-cost veterinary care, and grant programs offering financial assistance for pet care.

Red Rover Directory of Financial Assistance Programs

Red Rover provides an extensive directory of grants for emergency pet care- organized by national, state, breed-specific, and condition-specific grants.

Red Rover also dedicates a page here to creative tips for running a successful fundraising campaign.

Pet Help Finder

Pet Help Finder is powered by Open Door Veterinary Collective, a national 501(c)(3) non-profit. They provide resources in your area for "Financially Friendly" veterinary practices, pet food banks, and housing.

Feeding Pets of The Homeless: Keeping Pets and Humans Together

According to their website, they are the first national nonprofit to provide pet food and emergency veterinary care to pets belonging to people experiencing homelessness.

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Online Fundraising Campaign

Waggle is the first and only pet-dedicated crowdfunding platform devoted to raising funds for pets in medical crisis. The site provides step-by-step instructions from writing your story to sharing the fundraiser. To ensure everyone's safety and security, Waggle collects the funds and pays your veterinarian directly. They also partner with "celebrities, social influencers, and nonprofits to help pets in need. Your pet may qualify for some extra attention, a matching grant, or sponsorship."

Credit Services

Care Credit and Scratch Pay are credit cards that can be used for routine veterinary appointments, emergency pet care, or a variety of surgeries and treatments in their respective networks. **These are credit cards and subject to credit approval.

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Low Cost Veterinary Care:

Petco Love

Free and low-cost vaccination clinics held at various Petco locations.

Helping Hands Veterinary Surgery & Dentistry of Virginia

Helping Hands provides quality veterinary, surgical, and dental services at affordable prices. Located in Richmond, VA, people travel from all parts of the country to take advantage of their affordable services. Helping Hands does not offer routine wellness checks; rather, they work through veterinarian referrals to perform over 40 surgical and dental care procedures recommended by your veterinarian.

Pets For Life
PFL takes a comprehensive, long-term approach to addressing the inequity in and lack of access to pet resources people experience in underserved communities through door-to-door community outreach and pet owner support services. Providing free veterinary care, supplies, services and information to pet owners, the program builds trust and positive relationships within the communities that are served as opposed to staying on the periphery.

Help available in certain areas - click the link to check your area.

Contact your local animal shelter to learn about unique resources available in your area.

training resources & support.

If you’re feeling defeated, I’m here to assure you that things can improve! I liken training to couples counseling: all parties need to work on their stuff, and that includes the human learning how to be a pet parent. We need to remember that, like children, puppies come into our lives knowing nothing about how to be in the world, and adult animals may have learned the wrong way to be in the world. As pet parents, it’s up to us to give our pets the time and space to decompress, and the resources and support to be their best selves. But to do this, we need to know how to support them, and working with a trainer or behaviorist can help.

If you are unable to afford one-on-one training, the following are some complimentary training resources for specific behavioral concerns. Additionally, please visit my challenging relationships page for emotional support as you navigate the ups and downs of getting to know each other.

Rescued by Training

Kate LaSala, CTC, CBCC-KA, PCBC-A, CSAT, FFCP-E is a professional dog trainer and certified behavior consultant specializing in fear and aggression management. As a former shelter trainer, she partners with rescues and shelters to help adopted and foster dogs succeed by offering free downloads addressing various dog behaviors, as well as her blog, "All Things Dog and Behavior Training." In addition to training, she offers consultations on surrendering, re-homing, and behavioral euthanasia and can help guide you through this decision. She offers a free checklist with her top ten suggestions to consider before surrendering or rehoming your dog.

Ann King: Canine Behavioral Consultant

Ann is a Certified Canine Behavior Consultant who has worked with dogs in rescues and shelters for more than 30 years. She developed "Rescue S.M.A.R.T." as a resource for dog rescue organizations, dog fosters, and new dog adopters to help give dogs the best chance possible at finding and staying in their forever homes. Her site offers a free training library on a variety of training resources.

Laura Cassidy - Certified Cat Behavior Consultant

After volunteering and fostering with cat rescues for several years, Laura recognized the need for improved treatment and understanding of shelter cats’ behavior and body language. With a goal of preventing cats from entering shelters by addressing behavior issues in private homes. Laura offers virtual consultations on litter box issues, inter-cat conflict, aggression, destruction, and more. She also provides consultations on behavioral euthanasia. She also has a blog with free cat behavior resources.

Adopt-A-Pet

Provides TONS of Behavior and Training Resources in their blog and also offers advice for working with a wide variety of specific dog and cat behaviors on their Help To Keep Your Pet page.

Some of my favorite articles.

Rehoming is an option, but it shouldn’t always be the first move.

The 3-3-3 Rule For Dogs: Adopted Dog Adjustment Period Explained

Find out how to set your adopted rescue dog up for success.

The Rule of 3s — Learn About Your Rescue Dog’s Major Milestones

What to expect in the first three days, three weeks, and three months.

temporary help.

If you need temporary housing for your pet while you get back on your feet, consider reaching out to friends and family, your veterinarian, and local boarding facilities to see if they are willing to help care for your pet. See rehoming resources for tips on advertising your pet and writing a bio.

Domestic Violence - RedRover Relief Safe Escape Grant Program

Funding is mainly provided to help with the cost of up to 45 days of pet boarding while a survivor is in a domestic violence shelter. Applications must be submitted by a domestic violence advocate and will be responded to within one business day.

Safe Havens for Pets

Safe Havens for Pets is a searchable directory for pets of those experiencing domestic violence and/or homelessness.

Home To Home

Home to Home is a nonprofit online platform that helps people find new or temporary housing for their pets without involving the stress of the shelter environment. Their goal is to connect pet parents directly with potential adopters or fosters. The site takes you through a step-by-step process to post your pet, either for temporary fostering or rehoming.

from the blog.

Rehoming Pets: Beware of the Comments. We Need To Stop Bullying People Away From Seeking Help.