REHOMING YOUR PET

Rehoming a pet is a thoughtful and responsible decision made with the well-being of the animal in mind. We realize rehoming your pet is a difficult decision to make but doing so on your own allows you to pick the new home where you know they will thrive and lead a happy life.

If you feel your pet will transition better directly from home to home please click below for our Community Rehoming Program.

If rehoming your pet is do to certain housing, financial, or other situations, we have resources (below) that can help you keep your pet.

 

  • • Franke Fund Loan and Heart2Heart Pet Lifeline Grant provide financial assistance programs to eligible pet owners

    • CareCredit credit card offers health & wellness financing for veterinary care.

  • Pet Friendly Rentals

    • Wedgewood Commons
    • North Lakes Property Management
    • Three Amigos Property Management
    • Goehner Investments LLC
    • River City Rentals

    Boarding Facilities

    • Diggity Dog Daycare
    • Fun Fur Pets
    • It's a Dog's World
    • Marcie's Pet Spa
    • Pet Me Scratch Me

  • • Seek out food pantries as they often offer pet food. Need help finding one? Dial 211 for assistance or visit the website.

    • Heart 2 Heart Pet Lifeline has two Little Food Pantries stationed in La Crosse on the 1800 block of Kane St. and in front of Hamilton School at 1111 7th St. South.

    • Sometimes CRHS receives donations of food that we will not use here. This food gets passed along to the food pantries. We also occasionally have some available to give out. Call us at (608) 781-4014 to check our pet food availability.

  • Here are some online libraries with great information on a variety of issues or concerns:

    • Fear Free Happy Homes Resources
    • Dumb Friends Animal League Resources
    • Maddie's Fund Resources

    Dogs
    Is your dog chewing on inappropriate items, interacting negatively with children or other pets, or barking too much? Are they showing signs of aggression, separation anxiety, or fearfulness? Reach out to us by phone (608) 781- 4014 and we can help refer you to an appropriate behavioral resource.

    Disclaimer regarding rehoming dogs with severe behavior issues:
    Many truly aggressive or dangerous behaviors cannot be “trained” out of a dog. These behaviors can sometimes be managed in the right environment, but it’s important to consider any risks of placing an animal that presents a safety risk. If a pet is a danger in your home, they will likely continue to be a danger in any other home. If you choose to rehome a pet with dangerous behavior concerns, you should thoroughly make sure that the new home is fully aware of the behaviors that they are taking on, and know that they are fully equipped to manage these behaviors. Not doing so can put innocent people or animals in harm’s way.

    Cats
    Is your cat scratching furniture, having litterbox issues, attacking, biting hands or feet, showing signs of aggression, or fearfulness? Give us a call at (608) 781-4014 and we can help walk you through some tips and tricks.

 

Why Rehoming on your own is the best option

Nobody knows your pet better than you! You can provide the best description of their personality, pictures of them in a home setting, and know best what kind of home would be the best fit for them.

It allows your pet to stay at home in comfortable surrounding, allowing you to save them from the fear, anxiety, and stress of being housed in unfamiliar place filled with unfamiliar people and animals while waiting for their new home.

You get a say in the adoption - The best way to ensure they go to that ideal home is to rehome on your own. You can meet potential new families directly, get to know them and pass on any important information.

Your pet will be happier at home – CRHS staff work hard to make the shelter as comfortable as possible for our animals. Our staff and volunteers keep kennels clean and safe, provide socialization and enrichment, and genuinely care about the welfare of each pet. As hard as we try, the shelter does not compare to a home. It is stressful for an animal to stay in a new place, especially one full of strangers and unfamiliar animals. Animals in shelters also have a higher risk of contracting an infection disease -- Feline Upper Respiratory Infection or Kennel Cough are good examples of how illness can spread quickly even in clean, well-managed shelters. Rehoming on your own will avoid much of the fear, anxiety, and stress that animals often experience when being brought to a shelter.

Saves space and resources for other pets in need – Coulee Region Humane Society is the stray holding facility for all of La Crosse County. This means that any lost animal found with in our county comes to CRHS on top of animals relinquished to us. We take in hundreds of animals every year, and it is always a precarious balance in ensuring that we have adequate space and resources available to provide the best possible care for those animals. If you choose to rehome your pet instead of bringing it to CRHS, you are saving a kennel for an animal that truly has nowhere else to go.

If you are re-homing a pet adopted from Coulee Region Humane Society, please notify us at 608-781-4014.

 

Online Rehoming Resources

Disclaimer: Coulee Region Humane Society does not officially endorse any of the options listed below, this list is simply comprised of some of the options you will find with a quick search online. Our best advice – do your research!

Adopt a Pet
Home to Home - Wisconsin Humane
Craigslist - La Crosse - Pets
Wisconsin Rehoming Group

You may also find success on social media platforms like Facebook Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Please note that Facebook does not allow the use of Facebook Marketplace to rehome pets, however you can still post on your page as well as utilize rehoming Facebook groups like Responsible Rehoming - Wisconsin.