Surrendering your pet can be one of the most difficult decisions to make as a pet owner.

Please consider carefully why you need to surrender.

If you are having behavioral problems or trouble training your Shiba, there are many skilled training professionals and training centers in your area that should be able to help you. Although it is important to catch problems early, the benefit of dogs is that they live in the "now", not the "yesterday", and you can retrain and rehabilitate a dog of any age. It is best if you find a training center that is familiar working with primitive dog breeds and uses positive behavior training methods.  Methods such as alpha rolling (putting the dog on its side or back) or corrective collars such as choke, prong or shock collars may seem initially the quick fix to many problems but they can have long term negative effects on your dog's behavior so try to find a trainer or behaviorist that does not use these adversive methods.  Besides, no one gets a dog because they are looking forward to punishing it.  You may also contact us for training solutions as our founder Beki Myers is an Accredited Pet Training Instructor and may be able to help you keep your Shiba in your home.

Shibas also go through a behavioral growth spurt and social changes during the time of adolescence at 6 to 15 months of age, sometimes longer. These mood & behavioral changes can become compounded if you do not spay or neuter your pet. Regrettably, many a dog owner of any breed has thrown in the towel when their pet needed them the most during the maturing process.

If your pet exhibits serious behavioral problems understand that you are at least partially to blame for not seeking guidance before issues became unmanageable.  Please see a qualified and accredited trainer or behaviorist first and try to resolve your problems with your pet before asking us to take your Shiba!

With all of this being said, if you must surrender your Shiba there are a few important things you should know. 

First, Shiba Scout will not turn down dogs due to age, or medical or behavioral conditions of any sort.  Also, we do not buy dogs. 

Second, although we do take in owner surrenders, Shibas that need to be transferred from shelters are our first priority as we are the last option for these dogs.  Because of this, we are usually full and there is generally a waiting list for foster homes.  Please contact us as early as possible about surrendering your Shiba.  You will need to fill out a surrender profile so we can best assess which foster home to place your dog into.  We may also ask that you continue to care for the dog temporarily as we wait for space to become available.

Third, Shiba Scout requires that you sign a Transfer of Ownership Contract when you surrender your dog and that the dog must be placed in our care in one of our foster homes.  We have been asked occassionally in the past to find a home for someone's Shiba, however they did not want to turn the dog over to our rescue.  Although we understand that you would like to be involved in the rehoming process, we need to be able to assess the dog's personaliy first hand in order to fit it with the best possible family.  Also, some dogs do show a personality change (most in a positive way, though some do digress briefly) when placed into a new home or environment and it is good to not only witness this transformation but to be able to inform new pet parents of how the dog will typically react in adjusting to its new forever home.  

If you do not wish to actually place your dog into rescue OR we are currently full and you need to re-home your Shiba sooner, you may have us post a description of your Shiba written word for word by you (please spell check and include as much detailed and honest information as possible, ex.  if the dog has nipped at small children, please include that).  We will ask also for a picture and permission to post your contact information so that anyone interested may contact you directly.  Shiba Scout Rescue discourages that you ask for a rehoming fee for your dog and will not be involved in the actual placement process of your dog (ie. no adoption application, no home visit, no adoption contract, no adoption fee, etc.).

Fourth, since Shiba Scout Rescue is a volunteer, non-profit organization, we ask that you help us in our mission. We appreciate donations of any of your dog's items: leashes, food bowls, collars, halters, food, toys, beds, crates. If your Shiba is not spayed/neutered and/or fully updated on vaccinations, we will have it done before placement and we would appreciate a donation to help us with these costs, although we do not require a surrender fee.  You can give us your donation and/or the items when we are able to take in your dog.

Finally, Shiba Scout Rescue is a no-kill organization which means we will not euthanize a dog due to age, space in the rescue, time the dog has been in rescue, or for treatable or manageable medical and/or behavioral issues.  However, if it is deemed that the dog is under constant severe pain or stress that cannot be treated or managed which would give them a bad quality of life, we will kindly put that dog out of its misery as we do not wish for any of our dogs to suffer.  Since we have begun taking in dogs in late 2007, we have only had to euthanize one dog.

Our foster space is limited, so there is no guarantee that we will be able to take in your dog.  Once you surrender your dog to us, you will have no further knowledge or control of what happens to the dog.  But, you can rest assured that we will give him or her the best possible care and find the perfect new family to love your dog.

If you need a Surrender Profile, please contact us

Beki Myers--Founder Shiba Scout Rescue

970-690-2269

shibascout@yahoo.com

Erin Finsley--Senior Adoption Coordinator

303-570-5715

efinsley@paragonlabs.com