Park County Animal Shelter has joined the growing network of animal shelters offering adoption and rehoming services through Home To Home, an interactive website that helps pet owners rehome their pets without having to surrender them to the shelter. This program also offers potential new owners the opportunity to communicate directly with the current owners, providing firsthand information about the animals.

“We’ve seen the heartbreaking impact COVID-19 has had on pet owners especially when they have to surrender them due to employment or housing issues,” said Megan McLean, executive director of the Cody shelter. “So when the opportunity arose to give pets and their owners another option, we knew we had to get on board. Home To Home gives owners the peace of mind of knowing where their pets are going and to whom. It also keeps pets in homes rather than subjecting them to the noise and stress of a shelter environment.”

Home To Home was created by Panhandle Animal Shelter in 2019 to give pet owners an alternative to surrendering them to the shelter. Within a few months, the Panhandle shelter saw a significant decline in owner surrenders and wanted to help other shelters do the same. It secured a grant through Maddie’s Fund to help shelters and rescues across the country launch their own Home To Home programs.

Those needing to rehome their pets are encouraged to first list them on https://parkcountyanimalshelter.home-home.org/ before bringing them to the shelter. After the owner fills out a brief form, uploads a photo of the animal and hits submit, a PCAS representative will follow up with the owner to introduce them to the site and let them know how to find messages from potential adopters. Both pet owners and prospective adopters will get notifications when they have messages from the other and when a pet’s status has changed. This tool is free to use, but there are some rules to the sites. For example, no money is allowed to exchange hands.

“Not only will this tool make transitions into new homes easier for pets in the community, but it will also leave more shelter resources available to animals with no other options, such as strays and those suffering from neglect or abuse,” said a release from PCAS. While rehoming pets through Home To Home will alleviate the need for some pets to be surrendered to the shelter, it won’t be suitable for all rehoming needs. As always, animals can be surrendered directly to the shelter.

PCAS’ share of the Maddie’s Fund Grant covers the cost of PCAS’ Home To Home website and a year of web hosting. To visit the Home To Home network’s master page, visit www.home-home.org.