Rehoming: Selfish or Selfless?
If you’re in some pet dog groups you will often see people ridicule other for rehoming a dog. People will often say the owner is being selfish wether it’s due to an allergy or just not bonding with the dog. Sometimes it’s just training issues (pulling on the leash, jumping, counter surfing ect.) and I will encourage them to find a trainer first. But I will never go after someone for rehoming a dog that doesn’t fit their lifestyle, that being said there is a difference between making sure the dog goes to home that is a better fit and putting the dog on Craigslist not caring where the dog ends up. But most of the time people want to make sure the dog has a soft place to land.
Sometimes it’s more selfish to actually keep a dog. I’ve seen it where someone buys a dog as a pet, tells the breeder they want a pet they’re placed with a dog that is an active pet and they discover dog sports. They then put an astronomical amount of pressure on not only themselves but also their dog, they become upset when the dog they bought to be a pet does meet their new expectations, they even admit they resent the dog. In my opinion it is selfish for that people to keep the dog. They should place that dog in a pet home and get a dog that meets their new standards. The first will just never measure up to their new set of standards.
Or another example of it being selfish in keeping the dog, it happened in my neighborhood where a dog was getting out multiple times a week and sometimes multiple times in a day. The owner couldn’t keep the dog contained, it was crossing busy roads, harassing people and dogs, he was fearful and would threaten to bite if you did something he didn’t like (such as putting a leash on him or putting him in a crate). The owner was often away from home and would tell us to lock him up in the house often with out water and for 24 hours at a time. She couldn’t afford training and the situation was a risk to himself and others. The sheriffs office couldn’t do much for him because we don’t have animal control, and the shelter could only be contacted between noon and 5 Monday-Saturday. So often he was staying the night in peoples garages. She loved this dog but after multiple incidents and confrontations with the sheriffs office as well as neighbors she agreed to rehome the dog. Now some people would say she was being selfish because she didn’t try everything possible. I say she was being selfless because she realized her and the dog may love each other but she couldn’t keep him safe, she placed him with a trainer to get some of his issues taken care of and find a forever home.
In short we shouldn’t be passing judgement for someone trying to do the best thing for themselves and the dog in the situation. We’re not going to touch on people who do it with every dog they get or flippers, we all know the basis on them. If people want a whole post on situations like that, I can certainly make one in the future.
