You need to rehome your collie?
Of all the telephone calls we receive yours will be one of the main reasons people call us.
If you feel you need to rehome your collie (or collie cross) then we will do our best to help but we would ask you to read the following so you understand the various difficulties we face in helping you as quick as you would probably wish for.
We receive, on average, between 5 to 10 calls a day from individual owners who need to rehome their dog. Reasons can be varied from change of circumstances, relationship breakdown, allergies, bereavement as well as the problems owners are facing with the dog such as being left for long hours and destruction being caused, aggression towards other dogs or people and of course quite simply that they didn't realise the time and effort needed to keep a collie happy both physically and mentally.
We also receive calls from other rescues where dogs need our help as they are unable to find suitable homes and more urgently where as strays the dogs time in kennels has ended and without a rescue to assist the dog/s will be put to sleep.
With all these calls being received we have to run a waiting list and act in order of priority. From time to time we have to close the list due to the number of dogs waiting. Obviously the dogs who are facing a very uncertain future through their situation have to be rescued quickly.
For dogs coming from their own homes we have to be able to find a new home for them. Dogs with serious behavioural problems, especially where aggression is involved are difficult to rehome. We do try to address problems dogs might have but are limited to how many we can work with at a time. Please remember that some problems will not be resolved by rehoming and you are asking someone else to try to help the dog. Ask yourself the question that faced with 30 collies to rehome from, of which 25 have no serious problems, would you choose a dog who shows a potential to bite strangers or shows serious aggression to other dogs?
If you do wish to rehome your dog please telephone our office Monday to Friday 9am to 4.30pm on 0871 560 2282 (part of the cost of the call comes back to us to help reduce our phone bill), should you receive our answer phone it usually means we are on the phone so leave a message and we will ring you back as soon as possible. We will offer any advice we can and if necessary details will be taken for our waiting list. We confirm your dog is on our list by letter. We than ask you to contact us by email or phone once every 4 weeks to let us know you still need our help. Experience tells us that people will look to many other rescues or try to rehome themselves (not something we would recommend normally). If we don't hear from you after 4 weeks your details will be removed from the waiting list. This prevents us wasting time and money contacting owners who have already rehomed and allows us to help those who still need help quicker.
On occasions due to the nature of the problem you have with the dog we may ask if you would bring the dog to our centre to be assessed before going on the waiting list. We need to be confident that we can not only rehome the dog but that our staff will not be put at risk by a very aggressive dog. At the same time it may be possible to offer advice on how best to tackle the problems.
Finally, do please consider that once you bring the dog to us you do relinquish ownership. You may well have feelings of guilt and regret and from time to time people contact us wanting their dog back. If there are genuine reasons why you can no longer care for the dog and you are unable to change the reasons for rehoming then it is in your best interests and the dogs to allow us to find the dog a new home.
Of course if at any time whilst you are waiting for a place or when a place is offered you decide not to rehome your dog we do understand - all we ask is that you let us know. It can be frustrating when places are offered and arrangements made for dogs to be admitted and then people do not turn up or let us know.
In fairness to other owners who need our help desperately - please do let us know.
We understand how upsetting this can be for all the family, especially if children are involved but if you feel you have no alternative but to rehome your dog then you can at least take comfort that you have done the best you can by placing him or her in our care.
Whilst we do let any previous owner know when the dog is rehomed we do not pass details of a new owner on as this can cause difficulties for all parties as well as the restrictions placed on us by data protection legislation.
If you have any worries or concerns about rehoming your collie - please ask.
We do understand this decision is never easy and will do all we can to help you and you dog.
ADMISSION FORM
If we have arranged for your dog to come to our centre you may wish to complete the admission form before arriving. The form helps us understand the history of the dog, it's likes and dislikes and can be very useful in finding the right home. Please do complete the form carefully and honestly, if you are unsure about any questions ask on arrival at the centre.
The form comes in 2 parts and is available to download from the links below - either as a Word Document file or a PDF file.
