07/24/2026
💔 The Hard Truth About Returns 💔
Lately, we’ve seen a heartbreaking increase in requests to return dogs that were adopted weeks ago, months ago, even years ago.
We want to explain what that really means.
✅ Mae’s Mutts Rescue is a 100% volunteer, foster-based nonprofit. We do not have a shelter. We do not have kennels. We do not have a building where returned dogs can stay.
✅ Every single dog in our care is living in the home of a volunteer foster family.
✅ When we tell someone we cannot immediately take back the dog they adopted, we’re not being difficult. We’re not punishing anyone. We’re simply being honest. If we don’t have an available foster home, we literally have nowhere for that dog to go.
✅ When you adopted your dog, you promised them a forever home. Forever isn’t just the easy days. It’s moving. It’s life changes. It’s medical needs. It’s training through behavioral challenges. It’s helping a new pack adjust. It’s making room in your life when things get complicated.
✅ Being a pet parent isn’t always easy. Like every family relationship, it takes commitment, patience, sacrifice, and work. We encourage every adopter to not think of their dog as the optional part of life’s equation and instead make them part of the solution.
➡️ Before deciding to return your dog, please please ask yourself: Have I truly exhausted every reasonable option ⁉️
➡️ If there is absolutely no safe or realistic way to keep your dog, we will always do our best to help. But that help often means asking you to keep your dog in your home while we search for a foster or a new adopter.
Again, this is not a punishment.
It’s the reality of a small, volunteer-run rescue that can only save lives when someone has an open couch, an extra crate, and room in their heart.
We know life happens. We know circumstances change. We will always approach these conversations with compassion. But we also ask for understanding in return. We cannot create space that doesn’t exist.
The best gift you can give your dog is the forever you promised them. ➡️ When forever gets hard, don’t give up before asking for help. We’d much rather help you keep your family together than have another dog searching for a new home ⬅️
Thank you to our incredible fosters, adopters, and supporters who make this mission possible every single day. ❤️
