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Keep Pets in Homes

Many animals surrendered to shelters are given up due to solvable behavior issues or lack of housing. These tools can help you eliminate housing barriers in your community and help renters keep their pets, keep more cats in homes and making pet care, behavior and wellness resources and information more accessible to pet owners and potential adopters.

Spotlight > Keep Pets in Homes

Do you have the right to keep your pet?

Tenant advocacy helps keep pets and families together

Would you believe me if I said that in the past 6 years I have adopted out more than 400 dogs and cats, 99 percent of them either adult cats—often very old cats—or large breed dogs, typically pitbull-type dogs? How about if I said I did this at the cost of approximately $75 a month?

Well, if you don’t believe me … you’re right. I didn’t adopt out 400 hard-to-place dogs and cats. I did something even better ... I kept them in their homes.

Read Do you have the right to keep your pet?

Tools and Resources >

  • Magazine Article

    All Pawgwarts houses are equal

    Shelter director explains the power of magical thinking

    by Bethany Wynn Adams

    When the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando in Florida started “sorting” homeless dogs and cats by “Pawgwarts” house, rather than by breed, it led to an explosion of media coverage, shelter visitors and website traffic. But the Harry Potter-inspired idea isn’t just about sorting hats and spells: It’s a way to get people to stop and rethink what “breed” really means.

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  • Blog Post

    The sun is rising on pet-friendly housing

    Arbitrary species, breed and size restrictions in rental housing tear families apart and cause pets to become homeless. Let's put an end to un-"pet-friendly" policies by helping properties welcoming cats and dogs of all breeds and sizes.

    Lack of affordable pet-welcoming rental properties comes at a huge cost to pets and their people

    by Todd Cramer

    During my time at St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, New Jersey, I was privileged to work on an HSUS Pets Are Welcome pilot program designed to encourage property owners to allow pets in their rental units, and to support them with guidance and resources when they did.

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  • Magazine Article

    Born free-roaming

    A cat from Baltimore’s Cherry Hill neighborhood awaits surgery.

    Return-to-field programs reassess ‘the right thing’ for community cats

    by Bethany Wynn Adams

    Until recently, Miami-Dade County Animal Services in Florida was drowning in cats and burdened with low live-release rates. Yet today, the shelter is achieving largely positive outcomes. The turnaround can be traced to a commonsense change in policy: The shelter now vets and returns the majority of cats it receives. Learn why the return-to-field approach is sometimes the most logical and humane strategy for overburdened shelters.

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  • Magazine Article

    Pets die in hot cars

    <em>Animal Sheltering</em> magazine Summer 2017

    Download this Mouthpiece to warn people about the dangers of leaving pets in cars in warm weather

    by Animal Sheltering

    When it's just 72 degrees outside, the temperature inside a car can quickly soar to 116 degrees, even with the windows open and even in the shade. Download this Mouthpiece to let your community know how dangerous leaving a pet in a car during warm weather can be.

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  • Magazine Article

    Walking a mile in the other veterinarian’s shoes

    Public health veterinarian Tamerin Scott, right, a frequent volunteer at the Amanda Foundation’s quarterly Wags for Wellness in Watts clinics in Los Angeles, delivers a pooch into waiting arms.

    Shelter vets and private practitioners can save lives through collaboration

    by Zarah Hedge

    Ideally, all veterinarians would work in harmony to ensure animals in their communities receive the medical attention they need. Unfortunately, relationships between shelter veterinarians and private practitioners are often marked by misunderstanding or mistrust. The persistent, misguided stereotypes—private vets are greedy, shelter vets provide inferior care—can make cooperation difficult. In Southern California, the veterinary community is trying to improve communication between the two camps—with the goal of greater understanding and partnerships to benefit animals.

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  • Blog Post

    It's not cool to leave a pet in a hot car

    But what can we do if it happens?

    by Sam Nelson

    As spring turns to summer, temperatures are quickly rising, which means letting your four-legged companion accompany you on driving errands can be particularly dangerous. I recently visited a local shopping center and when I headed back towards the parking lot, I could hear a dog barking. It sounded slightly muffled, like it was coming from an enclosed space instead of outside. I immediately started to worry and began looking around in cars. It was hot—high seventies at least—which meant the inside of a car was certainly intolerable.

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Find more resources in Shelter + Rescue Essentials