Considering Giving Up Your Beagle?
Not so long ago, you were thrilled to have a Beagle puppy of your very own. You never dreamed you’d have to give him up someday. Even if you can’t keep him any more, your dog still depends on you to do what’s best for him. Now– more than ever– he needs you to make the right choices for his future. This is a life-altering change for your dog, so we’re going to be direct: Your dog is your responsibility. Your Beagle has only you to look out for his interests. It’ll take patience & persistence to find him the right home, but he deserves your best efforts.
Finding your Beagle a new home involves several steps. Before you start, here are important things to know…
The Truth About Shelters
Shelters & humane societies were created to care for stray & abused animals. They weren’t intended to be a drop-off for people who don’t want their pets anymore. On average, every shelter takes in 100 new animals each day. Let’s face it– there won’t be enough good homes for all of them. Only the youngest, friendliest, and best-behaved dogs will be adopted.
By law, stray pets must be held several days so their owners can find & reclaim them. Stray pets may not be destroyed until the hold period is up. But dogs given up by their owners aren’t protected by these laws because they aren’t “strays”. They may be destroyed at any time. Shelters don’t want to kill these animals but they don’t have much choice– there isn’t enough room for all these animals. Overcrowded shelters mean your dog could be killed the same day it arrives.
Being purebred won’t help your dog’s chances of adoption either. Half of the dogs in shelters are purebreds. If your Beagle is old, has health problems or a sketchy attitude toward strangers, its chances of adoption are slim.
Sending your dog to a shelter hoping he’ll find a good new home is wishful thinking. So, hear this: A shelter is your last resort only after all your best efforts have evaporated.
No-Kill Shelters and Breed Rescue Organizations
True “no-kill” shelters are few and far between. For sure, no one wants to see their pet killed, so the demand for no-kill shelter services is high. These shelters are forced to turn pets away because they don’t have room for them all. Sometimes they choose only the most adoptable dogs to work with.
Breed Rescue services are private, small, shelter-like groups run by volunteers dedicated to a particular breed. Most breed rescues operate out of volunteers’ homes. Like no-kill shelters, demand for their services is high, so your dog may be turned away for lack of room. But a breed rescue can still help you place your dog by providing referrals to persons interested in adopting your dog. You are more likely to have success if you follow the rescue service’s advice and are willing to do your share of the work to find your dog a new home.
If we were to take your dog into our program, he ties up a valued foster home for a Beagle who is at risk of euthanasia in a shelter. Having clearly stated our policy, we are happy to do a Courtesy Listing for you.
Soul Searching
Do you really have to give up your Beagle? There is a big difference between being forced to give up your dog and wanting to “get rid of him”. Search your heart for the real reason your dog can’t live with you anymore. Be honest with yourself. Your answer will probably fall into one of two categories: People Problems or Dog Problems.
The Most Common People Problems
“We’re moving – we can’t find a landlord who’ll let us keep our dog.”
Many landlords don’t allow children either but you’d never give up one of your kids if you couldn’t find the right apartment. Affordable rental homes that allow pets are out there if you dig in to find them. Many pet owners give up too easily. Click here for suggestions that might help you find an apartment and still keep your dog.
“We don’t have enough time for the dog.”
Your dog took far more of your time when he was a puppy than he does now. Are you really that busy? Can other members of your family help care for the dog? Will getting rid of your Beagle really make your life less stressful? When they look closely at their lives, people often discover that the dog isn’t cramping their style as much as they thought.
The Most Common Dog Problems
Behavior problems.
If you got your dog as a puppy and now he has a behavior problem you can’t live with, you must accept that you are (at least partly) responsible for the way your dog is now.
You have 4 options:
- You can continue to live with your dog the way he is.
- You can get help correct the problem.
- You can try to give your problem to someone else.
- You can have the dog destroyed.
If you’re reading this page, we should speak frankly about Option 3.
Consider this: If you are looking for a dog and can select from all kinds of dogs & puppies, would you deliberately choose one with a behavior problem?
No, certainly not– and neither will anyone else. To make your dog desirable to other people, you’re going to have to take action to fix your dog’s behavior problems.
Most behavior problems aren’t that hard to solve. We can help you if you’ll give it a try. We encourage you to try Option 2 before deciding it won’t work, because you’ll only have Option 4 left– having the dog destroyed. That’s the bottom line. If you (who knows & loves your dog best) won’t give him another chance, why should anyone else?
IF YOUR DOG HAS EVER BITTEN ANYONE
If your dog is aggressive with people or has ever bitten anyone, you can’t, in good conscience, give him to anyone else. What if that dog hurt another person, especially a child? Can you deal with the lawsuit that could result from it? You stand to lose your home and everything you own. Lawsuits from dog bites settle for millions of dollars in damages.
Our society has zero tolerance for a dog with a bite history, no matter how minor. A dog who has bitten– whether or not it was his fault– is considered by law to be a dangerous dog. In some states it’s illegal to sell or give away a biting dog. No insurance company will cover a family with a biting dog. To be perfectly honest, no responsible person would want to adopt a biting dog.
So if you’ve read this far, and still feel you need to give away your Beagle… Click here for ideas on how to do it.
We thank the Chow Chow Club Inc.’s Welfare Committee for permission to reprint the above.