What Does It Mean to Surrender a Shih Tzu?

To surrender your Shih Tzu, it means that you’re giving up your legal rights to them. Once they have been surrendered to a shelter or a rescue, they’re no longer your dog. Many people who find that they need to give up their dog first think about bringing them to a shelter or a rescue. While these facilities do their best to ensure that dogs are adopted, this doesn’t always happen.

It’s important to understand what you’ll need to do when you’re surrendering to a shelter or rescue and to consider some other options that you could choose.

Surrendering to a Shelter or Rescue

Before you can bring your dog to a shelter or a rescue, you’ll need to contact them. Start by checking out the websites of locations in your area, which can give you a better sense of what you need to do and what you can expect. Most of the time, you’ll have to pay a surrender fee to a shelter or a rescue. The cost varies and could be from $50 to $150 or more.

The fees for surrender charged by the facilities are used to ensure that they can continue to operate. When you call the facility, they can let you know how much you’ll have to pay and what paperwork you will need to bring.

When you talk to a shelter or a rescue, they’ll likely ask you if there might be a way that you could keep your dog. After all, they want what’s best for the animal. In some cases, they can provide you with a list of resources that could help with things like behavior issues or financial problems, for example.

Other Options to Consider When Giving Up Your Shih Tzu

In addition to shelters and rescues, you can consider some other options. One of the things you’ll want to do is speak with your friends and family. They may be considering adopting a dog, and they might love the idea of bringing your Shih Tzu into their lives. This could be a nice solution since you already know and trust them and their capability of caring for him.

Of course, we aren’t all fortunate enough to have family and friends who can adopt. In those cases, it’s possible to find people online. However, you always want to be careful when a stranger wants to adopt your dog.

You should ask for references and be sure to request a rehoming fee. This fee from the adopter isn’t to give you financial recourse, but to ensure that only those who have good intentions toward your dog try to adopt. Charge a rehoming fee that’s around the same as what shelters and rescues in your area charge.

To make things easier, you may want to use Rehome by Adopt-a-Pet. This platform is a peer-to-peer service that connects owners with potential adopters. You can create a profile for your dog and then choose from the various adoption applications to find the perfect new home for your Shih Tzu.