
When your pet adoption goes wrong.
There’s poop on your carpet, the cat has gone into hiding, and your neighbors are giving you the stink eye whenever you step foot outside your house. Pet adoption isn’t always a magical experience! What can you do when your new family member is causing disharmony? Before you hotfoot it back to the shelter to return your furry friend, here are some simple steps to take to get you on your way to a happy home.
Seek help
Your first step should be to contact the rescue you adopted from. A good rescue
Be patient
Take a step back and consider what this all looks like from your furry friend’s point of view. There is a multitude of reasons why they may not be settling in.
Some shelter animals are lucky enough to spend the bulk of their pre- pet adoption time in a cozy foster home. Unfortunately for many of them, the days, weeks, or even months leading up to the happy day you took them home were spent in unhappy circumstances as a stray or unloved pet, followed by some time in the shelter. Shelter workers love their charges but it is far from the ideal place to live.
If your new family member is timid or irritable, toileting in inappropriate places, barking, scratching furniture, or otherwise causing issues, give them what they are truly seeking – love and patience. It can be hard to adjust to their new life and they will need your help to make a smooth transition.

Get educated
Dog (and other animal) training is often referred to as ‘obedience’ but the reality is we need to educate ourselves on the best way to communicate with our companion animals. Enlist the help of a qualified animal behaviorist to break down the language barrier using positive,

Work as a team
You wouldn’t expect to bring a new baby home and have just one person interact with them, right? The same goes for pet adoption. The whole family needs to be on the same page and work towards easing your rescue into your home and your lives.
Don’t be afraid to call it quits if your pet adoption isn’t working
In an ideal world, every shelter animal would find their perfect match in the first human who adopts them, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes, despite everyone’s best efforts, a rescue animal needs to be returned to the shelter to have another shot at finding ‘the one’. If your new companion animal just doesn’t get along with your established furry family member or you’ve
Adopting from an animal rescue can be a positive, rewarding experience for everyone involved, but don’t be disheartened if your first adoption goes awry. There are millions of animals in shelters across the world looking for love. Your perfect new furry family member is out there somewhere, just waiting for you to take them in and show them that the world is a pretty great place, after all!

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