Rehome by Adopt-a-Pet: How It Works, and the Alternatives Compared
You searched for a specific service — so here's the straight explainer first: what Rehome by Adopt-a-Pet is and how it works. Then the part most pages skip: why experienced rehomers list on more than one platform, and what the alternatives (including ours — disclosed) actually offer.
What is Rehome by Adopt-a-Pet?
It's Adopt-a-Pet's owner-to-adopter service: individual owners create a pet profile, review adopter applications, meet the promising ones, and complete the adoption directly. It exists because Adopt-a-Pet's main site — like Petfinder — lists animals from shelters and rescues only.
The flow, in plain English: you build a listing (photos, story, records), applications arrive, you screen and choose, you meet, and the adoption completes with the pet going straight from your home to theirs. Free for owners per the platform's published model, with the adopter typically paying a fee the platform has described as supporting animal welfare causes — verify current terms on their site, as models change. It's a legitimate, well-known option, and if it fits your case, use it.
So why look at alternatives at all?
Not because anything's wrong with it — because listing on two or three platforms at once is the honest best practice: reach differs by region and audience, all the serious platforms are free for owners, and more qualified applicants means a better match, sooner.
Judge every option — including ours — by the same four questions: free for owners? Adopter screening? Pet stays home until adoption day? Adoption agreement included? The full side-by-side (with Facebook, Craigslist and the Petfinder surprise) is in our rehoming sites comparison.
Home To Home
Nonprofit and shelter-affiliated.
A network many shelters point owners to — simple listings, direct adopter contact, free in the base model. Reach depends on shelter participation in your area.
Get Your Pet
Built around meeting in person.
Free for owners, with an adopter-side fee under its model (check current terms). Its emphasis on owner-adopter meets matches how safe rehoming actually works.
Cruzapet — ours, disclosed
Same four questions, same scrutiny.
Free for owners; adopters have real profiles you screen yourself; an adoption agreement is built into the flow; your pet stays home until its new family arrives. If Rehome or Home To Home serves your case better, use them — and honestly, use two or three at once.
Whichever platform you pick, the method is the same
Honest listing → real screening → modest adopter fee as a filter → written agreement → handover with records and supplies. Platforms provide the audience; you provide the judgment.
The full step-by-step is in our guide to rehoming a pet safely, with the dog-specific version in how to rehome a dog.
Add Cruzapet to your listing strategy — free, screened, home to home
Post your pet's profile: screened adopters near you, an adoption agreement built in, and no kennel anywhere in the story. Works alongside any other platform you're using.
Start your pet's profileFrequently asked questions
- What is Rehome by Adopt-a-Pet?
- It's Adopt-a-Pet's service for individual owners — regular people, not shelters — to list a pet and adopt it out directly to a screened adopter. You create a profile for your pet, review applications, meet the people you like, and complete the adoption yourself. It exists because Adopt-a-Pet's main site, like Petfinder, only lists animals from shelters and rescues.
- Is Rehome by Adopt-a-Pet free?
- Free for the owner to list, per the platform's published model — the adopter typically pays a fee, which the platform has described as supporting animal welfare causes. Models and terms change, so verify on their site before you rely on the details. Free-to-list is the industry standard: no legitimate rehoming platform charges owners to post.
- How long does rehoming through a platform take?
- No platform can honestly promise a timeline — on any of them, speed depends on your pet (small dogs, kittens and easygoing cats move fastest), your listing quality (daylight photos, honest story), and your fee flexibility. That's exactly why experienced rehomers list on two or three platforms at once: it multiplies reach without multiplying cost, since they're all free for owners.
- What are the alternatives to Rehome by Adopt-a-Pet?
- The main dedicated alternatives: Home To Home (nonprofit, shelter-affiliated network), Get Your Pet (built around in-person meets), and Cruzapet (our own platform — owner-to-adopter with screened profiles and a built-in adoption agreement). All are free for owners. Facebook and Craigslist add reach but no screening. Petfinder is not an option for individuals — it lists shelter animals only.
- Can I list my pet on more than one rehoming site at once?
- Yes — it's normal, smart and free. Reach differs by region and audience, so two or three listings typically find adopters faster than one. The only etiquette: keep listings updated, tell applicants you're screening on multiple platforms, and take everything down promptly once your pet is adopted.
- Which rehoming platform should I choose?
- Judge every platform — including ours — by four questions: is it free for owners, does it screen adopters, does your pet stay home until adoption day, and is there an adoption agreement? Any platform clearing those four bars is a legitimate choice; the honest strategy is picking two or three that clear them and listing on all of them.
About this guide. Written by the Cruzapet Team, drawing on published guidance from the Humane Society of the United States and the ASPCA. Descriptions of third-party services reflect publicly available information at the time of writing — always verify current terms on their sites; all trademarks belong to their respective owners; Cruzapet is our own platform and is disclosed as such throughout. Last updated July 2026.