With their capacity for love and loyalty, most pits and pit mixes are good candidates for adoption. However, as you probably know, pit-bull-terrier-like dogs are battling everything from a media-driven bad reputation to legislation designed to discriminate against them. Because of this, it’s important to have patience, stay positive and use as many resources as possible to place one of these dogs in a good new home.
Because finding a home for a pit-bull-terrier-like dog poses some unique challenges, please check out the following websites, which include a wealth of valuable information and also allow you to post information about a pit or pit mix in need of a home:
Pit Bull Rescue Central
BAD RAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit Bulls)
Animal Farm Foundation
Pit Bull Rescue Central also includes a list of pit-friendly rescue organizations around the country on its website. You may want to see if there are any in your area that might be able to connect you with potential adopters or let you post your dog’s information on their websites. If you can provide transport for the dog, you can expand your search to surrounding states to increase your chances of placement.
Getting the dog ready for adoption
Help get the dog ready for adoption by completing the following steps:
- First, make sure the dog has had a thorough veterinary examination and is up-to-date on all vaccinations. A healthy pet will be easier to place.
- If your pet isn’t spayed or neutered, have it done. We don’t recommend placing an animal who has not been spayed/neutered into a new home. Doing so can result in unwanted litters, and neutered animals are less likely to show undesirable mating behaviors, such as mounting or howling. Puppies and kittens as young as eight weeks old can be spayed/neutered. For more information, talk to your veterinarian. If you need to find a source of low-cost spay/neuter surgery in your area, check the SPAYUSA website.
- Take several good-quality digital photos of your pet. Make sure your pet is well-groomed, is looking at the camera, and can be seen clearly in the photos. If you don’t have a digital camera, use a cell phone camera or whatever you have available.
- Write a good adoption “ad” for your pet. For some tips on how to write an appealing ad, read How to Write Pet Profiles in the Best Friends resource library.
- When contacting individuals or groups about your pet, it will help tremendously if you have a nice flyer to hand out. At www.petbond.com, you can combine a photo of your pet and the adoption ad into a flyer by following the simple instructions. Plug in your contact information and the adoption ad, and upload a photo, and you’ll have a very attractive flyer. You can save it as a digital file, which can be attached to emails and used for posting on social media websites, and you can also print out hard copies for posting around town.
Putting the word out
Once you have your pet ready for adoption, get creative and think of ways that you can spread the word. Here are some ideas:
- Post the flyer or information about your pet on social media sites, such as Facebook. Ask friends and family members to do the same.
- Put up flyers at your workplace, your church, your veterinarian’s office – and other places where there’s a public bulletin board.
- Contact all rescue groups and shelters in your area. Even if they can’t take your pet, some groups will offer courtesy postings on their websites, or allow you to bring the animal to one of their adoption events. To find local rescue groups and shelters, visit Petfinder.com.
- Dress up the dog in an “Adopt Me” vest or a silly costume whenever you go out in public.
For more information on screening potential adopters and more ideas to help you rehome your pet, read Best Friends’ guide Rehoming a Dog or Cat.
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Best Friends pit bull terrier initiatives
Best Friends is working throughout the country to help pit-bull-terrier-like dogs. At Best Friends, we believe that each dog is an individual and should be treated as such. Click here for more information about the Best Friends pit bull terrier initiatives.
