White and brown spotted dog looking into the distance

CREATING A MORE HUMANE SOCIETY

Rehome Your Pet

This page is for information about rehoming a pet. If you have found a lost or stray animal, please visit lost and lost and found pets. For Marion County stray cats, please visit the frequenty asked questions page.

Find a Home for Your Pet

Deciding to give up a pet can be difficult.

We understand there are times when families must consider surrendering a pet. An unexpected life event—such as illness, death or unplanned move—may make caring for a pet seem impossible. Other times, people think they must give up their pet because they do not know how to handle a particular issue. 

We encourage you to exhaust all other options. Many issues such as chewing, excessive barking, scratching furniture, house soiling and even allergies can be addressed. Oregon Humane Society can be a resource for behavioral and medical treatment, services, or recommendations that may help you keep your pet.

Rehome on Your Own

Here are some tips for ensuring your pet goes to a safe new home: Rehoming Packet (PDF) / Reubicación del paquete en español (PDF)– view online, or download and print.

Rehoming for Behavioral Concerns

OHS has a Behavior Help Line where you can get advice on your pet’s behavior concerns. You’ll be able to leave a recorded message, and OHS will return your call and offer suggestions.

(503) 416-2983

Rehoming for Medical Concerns

Spay and Save Program

For Spay and Neuter assistance, the Spay and Save Program offers low and no-cost spay/neuter surgeries for cats owned by low-income residents in the greater Portland metropolitan area.

(800) 345-SPAY

Community Veterinary Hospital

The Community Veterinary Hospital is located next to OHS Portland Campus and offers preventative care, spay/neuter, dentistry, and urgent care. Services will be offered on a subsidized basis to minimize the financial barriers faced by many.

(503) 802-6800

Good Neighbor Vet

For low cost health exams, vaccinations, microchipping and preventative care, Good Neighbor Vet offers these services at multiple mobile locations in Oregon and Washington.

(888) 234-1350

Pet Friendly Housing

Need to find a home that will accept you and your pets? Find pet-friendly rental resources.

Rehoming through OHS

The first step to surrendering a pet to OHS is to fill out a Pet Personality Profile for each pet you wish to surrender. After we receive your Pet Personality Profile, a staff member will contact you to review the pet’s profile and discuss the next steps in the surrender process.

All surrenders are by appointment only and we do not accept walk-in surrenders. Appointments are scheduled once the behavioral and medical history of a pet has been reviewed. If you have additional questions, please call our Community Resource Center at (503) 285-7722.

Please select the correct personality profile based on your nearest shelter location and the species of pet you wish to surrender.

Surrendering FAQs

In order to ensure resources are ready and available when a pet arrives, Oregon Humane Society requires a scheduled surrender appointment. Without an appointment process, we would have no control over the number of pets that come into our care each day, and our ability to provide the best possible care for each animal would be hindered.

  • Animals who have been attack trained.
  • Animals with a history of aggressive or unsociable behavior.
  • Animals that display aggressive or unsociable behavior during a behavior assessment at OHS.
  • Veterinary examination determines that the animal is medically unsuitable for adoption through OHS.

Pets at OHS receive excellent care from trained OHS staff and volunteers. OHS does not place any time limits on an animal’s stay: a pet may stay at the shelter until a new home is found, whether it takes days, weeks, or months.

  • A driver’s license or other government issued ID.
  • Your pet’s veterinary records.
  • Any of the pet’s items you would like to surrender with the pet (toys, bedding, collars/leashes).
  • All dogs need to be on a leash or in a secured carrier.
  • All cats need to be in a secured carrier.

Our staff will review the animal’s history with you then take the animal back for an assessment. During the assessment, we are looking to make sure we can safely handle the animal and that the animal can be walked and/or housed around other animals. Scheduling an appointment does not guarantee admission to OHS.

Oregon Humane Society is a local non-profit and not part of any national organization. OHS is also not a tax-funded municipal animal services agency. We rely on the generosity of private donors to help us care for over 11,500 animals each year.

The average daily cost we incur to house and care for each animal we receive is $150. OHS does not charge a set fee to admit your pet, so to offset the daily cost of care, we just ask each animal’s family to donate as much as they can comfortably afford. Every dollar helps! 

Contact Us

OHS’ Community Resource Center: (503) 285-7722