Surrendering your Pet

Surrendering your pet for rehoming

All animal admissions are by appointment only. If you have found a stray animal or have a pet you need to surrender, please call us on 9798 8415 before coming down to the shelter. It is important we have the capacity to take in the animal(s) and that they are up to date on their vaccinations prior to coming into the shelter.

What to consider before surrendering your pet

Before Surrendering

We understand this is an incredibly difficult decision to make. We strongly encourage you to try a few steps before making the final decision to rehome your pet. Take a moment to consider the reason why you are contemplating surrendering your pet, and if it something that we can possibly help with, we would be happy to support you and your pet through it.

Cat Behavioural Problems

If you haven’t desexed your cat, this may be something to strongly consider. Entire female cats are likely to show unusual behaviour and become easily agitated when their hormones kick in. Entire male cats can roam for kilometers when looking for a partner. Desexed cats are less likely to do so, reducing their chances of engaging in fights and nuisance behaviours. Desexed cats are also less likely to scent-mark by spraying urine, compared to undesexed cats. AAPS performs an incredible amount of desexing procedures and have seen it to be very beneficial for animal behavioural issues.

Dog Behavioural Problems

Behavioural issues in dogs usually are a result of inconsistent or no training undertaken. This may have lead to toileting issues, barking, jumping, mouthing, or any number of undesirable behaviours. Please consider a dog behaviourist or dog obedience classes. Ensure you are socialising your dog safely and regularly, sticking to a routine and maintain consistency within the house, do not let your dog on the couch one day, then not the next. If there are several members of the family, it is important that you are all providing a similar message regarding your expectations.

Health checks

Your pet may be showing signs of aggression, fear or other problem behaviours due to them being in pain or suffering from a health condition. Our pets cannot communicate with us the way you and I can, so regular health checks are so important to pick up on any medical issues that you may not have noticed.
If you wish to surrender your pet, we also ask threat they are up to date on their vaccinations, to reduce the spread of any diseases or viruses through the shelter.

Surrender Process

Animal Surrenders are admitted by appointment only. We will always try to either admit your pet, or provide the best course of action. We ask that all surrenders are made via appointment after having a chat with our Animal Welfare Coordinators, to ensure we have the capacity and ability to admit and rehome your pet.

At the time of the appointment you will be asked to fill in a surrender form, to provide us with all the essential information about your pets previous lifestyle, to help us find a suitable new home for them. You may be asked to make a surrender donation fee, to help us provide for the animal while it is in our care. Please feel free to bring any toys, food or other supplies for your pet whilst at the shelter. We ask for proof of vaccinations, desexing and any medical history if attainable.

After surrendering

The AAPS is a sanctuary for all animals that need to find a new home. Rest assured, your furry friend will be in good hands with the staff here at the AAPS. Upon entering the shelter, they will be given a thorough medical examination, behaviour assessment and made to feel as home as possible in our big, comfortable animal pens. They may even get to wonder around our office as they begin to socialise more with people.

The AAPS has a strict adoption policy to ensure that every animal goes to only the best of homes. If there are behavioural or medical issues that need tending to, these are fully disclosed at the time of adoption. We also work very closely with all animal rescues and welfare organisations and have a large network of foster cares, helping us take on the more challenging cases or monitor the progress of an animal without having to stay in the shelter environment for too long.

For privacy purposes, once your pet has been surrendered into our care, we are unable to provide you with details of its adopter.

For further information and enquiries

Please contact the friendly staff at the AAPS Shelter by calling us on 9798 8415 or email the animal welfare coordinator at awc@aaps.org.au.