Our goal is to find a loving home for every healthy, adoptable pet. We can achieve this by knowing more about the animals that come into our care.
Pets are accepted by appointment.
Call 253-249-7849 option 1 to schedule an initial appointment.
At AVHS, we understand that facing the decision to give up your pet is never easy.
Rehoming your pet is a difficult decision, but sometimes situations arise that make it seem like the only choice. Because you love your pet and the bond between a person and a pet is strong, our first solution is to try to find a way to keep your family together. We’ll work with you to find a way to keep your pets and can offer help with common issues like behavior problems, moving, or even medical costs..
We understand, however, that situations arise that make it impossible for you to keep your pet. In that case, we’ll do our best to help you rehome your pet.
For more information about training or other solutions for keeping your pet, please call us at (253) 249-7849. We will be happy to assist you or refer you to others who can help.
AUBURN VALLEY HUMANE SOCIETY HAS A PROGRAM: HOME TO HOME™!
Home To Home™ helps pets stay out of shelters. It is a unique, direct-to-adopter tool for pet guardians looking to re-home their animals. In just a few simple steps, pets can find a loving new home without ever seeing the inside of a shelter. It’s free to use for both guardians and adopters, and gives animals needing a new home the best of both worlds: their current guardian can find the best fit, and their adopter can learn all about their personality and preferences first-hand. It’s a win-win for pets! To learn more, visit our Home To Home™ website at https://avhs.home-home.org/
Surrendering your pet for rehoming
An initial appointment is required to surrender your animal to ensure that we have enough space and resources when your animal arrives. Auburn Valley Humane Society requires intake appointments so our staff and volunteers can gather more information, collect medical history and behavior traits about each incoming pet and discuss what the best possible options are for you and your pet. Most often, pets do not stay at AVHS at the time of the initial appointment. Instead, we work together to plan the best time for you and your pet based on your situation. We would then schedule a drop-off day and time to best accommodate your needs and the needs of the animals at AVHS.
Part of our initial appointment is completing our Pet Personality Profile. This can be accessed in advance below:
Dog’s Bark (Please complete a form for each pet.)
Cat’s Meow (Please complete a form for each pet.)
Download, print, and complete the questionnaire to provide us with the behavioral traits of your animal.
Bring the questionnaire, current ID, and a copy of your pet’s veterinary records to the appointment.
After all information about your pet has been gathered and the animal assessment evaluation is completed, we will discuss your options with you so you can make the best decision for your pet.
AVHS charges a fee for surrendering your pet to us for adoption. This fee partially covers the cost of caring for your pet, and provides medical treatment, spay or neuter, and behavior therapy (if needed) before placing your pet in a loving, forever home. The average cost of care for an animal that is brought to Auburn Valley Humane Society is $450.00.
Questions about the surrender process? Need additional help? Contact our staff at (253) 249-7849 option 1.
Before bringing your pet to the shelter, consider the following resources to help you rehome on your own. The shelter can be a stressful place for animals so you may want to consider rehoming your pet on your own. Consider rehoming with a family member or friend. Nobody knows your pet better than you.
Alternatives to Rehoming
Please consider these solutions to rehoming issues:
Moving
One of the most common reason people surrender their animals is due to moving to a place where they can’t take their pets. Many people consider surrendering because they are unsure how to go about finding pet-friendly housing, how to travel with their pets or how to help them adjust to a new home. Seattle DogSpot has a FREE 53-page e-book available to anyone with an email address. AVHS also has a guide to find pet-friendly housing.
For information about traveling with a pet or helping them adjust to a new home, see our one of the resources above.
Military deployment
Are you in the military? Going on deployment? The Dogs on Deployment is a non-profit that provides an online network for services members to search for willing volunteers to board their pets (and not just dogs!) during their owner's service commitments.
New baby
Having a new baby is a momentous and stressful life event for everyone in the household, including your pet! For great tips on successfully integrating your baby into a home with your pet, click the button.
Behavior problems
A common reason people need to rehome an animal is if their pet is displaying undesirable behavior. Many unwanted animal behaviors can be corrected, enabling pets to successfully remain in the family. Before surrendering your animal, please consider other options or training solutions. For more effective ways of working with common behavior issues such as resource guarding, separation anxiety, inappropriate urination/defecation or fearful/aggressive feline behavior, click on the button for pet behavior handouts.
Pet allergies
To ease allergy suffering, we recommend two simple steps: First, bathe your pet with a product such as Allerpet (a solution you apply to your pet’s coat), which is sold at numerous veterinary clinics. Then follow simple home cleaning procedures, like vacuuming and washing bedding often. Your doctor can also refer you to an allergy specialist.