Be aware of the pitfalls of rehoming a pet on Craigslist.
Rehoming a pet should never be undertaken lightly. When getting a pet, you should expect to provide a loving home for the life of the animal. For dogs in particular, you can help many behavioral issues with adequate exercise, training and neutering of the pet.
However, circumstances such as serious illness or injury, or the safety of young children, can mean that a pet must be rehomed. If you are in those circumstances and you are using Craigslist to find your pet a new family, take the time to help your pet find a loving, permanent home.
Instructions
Create and Post Your Ad
1. List your pet's good points and bad points. Don't whitewash any concerns you may have about your pet's behavior. If the pet is not good with young children, you don't want to place him in a family with toddlers.
2. Brainstorm the situation in which your pet would be successful. If your dog needs an active home, state that. If he is fearful in new situations, look for a quiet home.
3. Write your ad. Organize the content of your ad to make it easy to understand. To ensure your pet is placed in a good home, request a reasonable rehoming fee, personal and veterinary references, and a home visit. Proofread for typos or grammatical errors.
4. Photograph your pet. Remove any background clutter from the area you'll be taking the photo. Try to focus on the pet's eyes to enhance the emotional impact of the photo. If your pet has red-eye in the photo, use a photo editing tool to remove it.
5. Post your ad on Craigslist. Follow the onscreen instructions for placing the ad and uploading photos. Confirm the ad when you've received the confirmation email.
Respond to People Interested in Your Pet
6. Follow up on a promising potential adopter's references and schedule a home visit.
7. Explain your reasons or say the pet is no longer available if a potential home does not sound appropriate.
8. Remove the Craigslist ad when you have successfully rehomed your pet.
Tags: home visit, young children