As pet lovers, we hope that our animals will be with us for
their whole lives. All going well, that’s what usually happens. But there may
come a time when you are faced with a difficult situation – perhaps the loss of
a job or stable living situation, a family breakup, or illness. This can lead
to many difficult decisions as you try to work out the best outcome for
yourself, your family, and your pets.
What do you do in this situation? You don’t want to surrender
your pets unless it’s absolutely the last resort. Sometimes, it’s the only
option – see our previous blog post on surrendering
animals. But there are steps you can take to ensure that your furry friends
can stay with you, and it’s a great idea to think about these before anything
happens.
Our main tip - plan ahead! We constantly see adverts telling
us to plan for the future. We are urged to consider car and house insurance,
life insurance, funeral insurance, and income protection insurance. We write
wills to ensure that our families are taken care of. We appoint guardians for
our children so that they will be looked after if the worst happens.
But some events can be more difficult to plan for. What
would happen if your family broke down and you had to find somewhere else to
live at short notice, with your pets in tow? It really can happen to anyone at
any time, no matter how unlikely it may seem right now. Unfortunately, this is
not something we can take out insurance for!
At Moving Paws Inc we recommend that you speak to family and
friends to see who would be willing to step up and care for your animals in an
emergency. Most of us know some fellow animal lovers who may be able to help
short or long term. It’s a great idea to discuss this possibility with anyone
who may be willing to help. Social media can be a great platform to reach out
to like-minded friends.
Family breakdowns can be very problematic for pet owners.
The stress of trying to find accommodation at short notice is hard enough, and
pet-friendly rentals are uncommon in Australia. This situation will also put a
stress on finances – and this can force some difficult decisions.
What would happen if you became unwell or were admitted to
hospital? You may need someone to feed your pets for a day or two, or to
provide full time care for weeks or months. This means that a trusted person
will need to know who they can contact to get to your pets. It is helpful if
they also know what your pets eat and when, along with any special needs.
Moving Paws Inc has a holiday care program that can assist
with short term care at a reasonable cost (and the proceeds go towards the care
of our rescue pets). Our network of carers can host your dogs in a loving home
environment if you know you will be spending time in hospital. More information
is available on our website.
Sometimes, when pet owners pass away, their families are
unable or unwilling to look after the animals left behind. In our experience,
this is a very
common reason for pets to be surrendered to pounds and rescue
groups. Please don’t assume that someone will take on your pets – again, it’s a
great idea to discuss this with your family and have an emergency carer lined
up just in case. In the event that your family or friends are unable to care
for your pets, please ask them to contact Moving Paws Inc for advice and
rehoming options. You can even include our details in your will to ensure that
your furry friends are taken care of.
Some organisations encourage pet owners to carry a card in
their wallets with details of any pets at home, and contact information for someone who can take care of them. This is a great idea.
There is no guarantee that this card will be found or followed, but it may help
to ensure your animals are looked after.
Behavioural issues are another common cause for surrenders.
This can be difficult to handle, especially if your dog’s behaviour changes and
he or she picks up bad habits or becomes stressed. Help is available in many
forms – veterinarians can offer guidance, and there are numerous books and websites
available with dog training tips. If the behaviour is very challenging, a
professional trainer may be able to restore the balance.
Moving Paws Inc is a responsible pet rescue organisation,
and we ask potential adopters to answer questions to confirm what arrangements
they have made for the care of their pets if their circumstances change. Some
responders answer this question with a response that “nothing will happen”, and
this shows that they do not have any backup plan in place. We believe that this
is a vitally important question to ask adopters, for all the reasons outlined
above. If you are adopting a dog from us (or anyone else), please think about
how you would answer.
We encourage you to discuss these contingencies with your
loved ones. It makes so much sense to have a back-up plan for your pets.
Perhaps you have a close friend or relative who is a cat or dog lover (or
both!), who may be willing to take over care if you are unable to.
Thank you for reading! Please share our blog, browse our website, and check out Moving Paws Inc
on Facebook and Instagram.
Regards, Debbie - Founder - Moving Paws Inc.
This blog post sponsored by Bluehound Content Studio
Something for us all to think about!
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