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Once. Never again. In my mid 30s, going through a divorce, moved into a small apartment with 2 dogs, one very old, the other young and high strung. At the time, I was extremely stressed and did not have the time to give the younger dog the attention she needed. I took her to a family who had young kids and left her. I called the next day to see how she was doing and they seemed annoyed that I would call. I then offered to take her back if it did not work out but no response. I felt immense guilt and regret from day one. I went back a few weeks later to see if I could check on her. The family had moved, disconnected their phone. I was full of guilt for years after thinking about that dog. I'm a firm believer, adopt a pet, keep it for life. I broke my own rule but then, but would never do it again. Have had 6 dogs since then, would never give one up.
I pulled a kitten out of a terrible situation years ago - there really was no option of walking away empty-handed. The home stank of cat pee to the point that I could only breathe through my mouth - you have to understand that I have a pretty deadened sense of smell, and I found it absolutely unbearable. There was literally cat fur glued to the hardwood floors by dried cat urine to the point that it too me several minutes to figure out that it wasn't just a pattern on the flooring. I had gone to just "look" at the kittens that were available, and I regret that I didn't take his sister with me. The woman said she was doing rescue and that she had a total of eight cats, but I think there were more and that it was clearly a hoarder situation. I had to bathe the kitten as soon as I got him home - could barely stand the ride home with him.
I was thinking about getting a kitten because my Siamese had died and his "consort cat" (a stray I had taken in to be his companion) was terribly lonely. It was a mistake in retrospect, but my logic was that the older cat could "raise" the kitten to fit her standards. I thought they would eventually bond, especially since before I pulled her in from outside, she'd had at least one litter and might have that mothering instinct. Oh heck no. The kitten was great, but terribly obnoxious to the older cat (who was still quite young - lived another decade to 17), and she HATED HIM. My friend who is a vet and rescues cats said it was simply that she was never going to forgive any cat that I presented her with for not being my Siamese, with whom she had seriously bonded. This turned out to be true.
I tried to get them to bond for three years. When I took in two border collies I had known all their lives after moving to a condo, the feral cat latched on to the male dog and never looked back. She ADORED him. It was really weird. The kitten, by now a young cat, was still not fitting in with the household because he was just too playful (read: annoying) for my dogs (which included a senior dog) and my unhappy female cat. The dogs didn't mind cats at all - they, like my older cat, just specifically did not like the young cat (which they expressed by avoiding him). My older cat was just very unhappy with the situation. My roommate at the time, however, fell madly in love with him. When she finally established her own household (with multiple other adopted cats), she adopted him, where he basically became the lord of the manor and ruled over the other cats in the house. The rest of my animals saw their stress levels decrease, and household harmony reached new highs. And for me, the truth of the matter was that I never really bonded with him, even though he was an affectionate cat - he just caused so much chaos with the other animals, that I didn't really get attached to him because I knew he was going to have to go somewhere else eventually. If my roommate hadn't wanted him, I would have rehomed him far sooner, but they were a really good fit for each other.
It worked out well, but it did leave me wondering about the whole "forever home" concept - he could have bumped along in my house to the end of his days just fine, but rehoming him put him in a place where he thrived (and made my other animals much happier). The only thing I regret is that I had a great cat, but couldn't provide the perfect situation for him. He was a lot of fun.
When I was a kid, we had to surrender a dog. We got her at a shelter but we found she had some health problems and the treatments were more than our family could afford. It was very hard for all of us. We took her to the shelter, and we hope that they fully disclosed her health issues adequately to the new adoptees so they knew what they were getting into. The health issues weren't severe, just chronic.
Yes. I had a ferret that had been given to me by a family member (co-workers of his had the ferret, were taking it to work and basically abusing the poor little guy, getting their kicks by hurling him across the floors...he would run back to them, leaping at them as he approached...they thought it was so funny that they would do it again, and again, and again).
I do believe that because of his treatment, the ferret was learning unacceptable behaviours (not true aggressiveness, but he had no bite inhibition and would clamp down HARD with no warning). He bit me when he was playing, bit my son, and would tease my two cats relentlessly by hanging onto their tails, where they would then panic and run around in an attempt to get rid of him. I was working 44+ hours a week, along with having to drop off and pick up my son before and after work times (adding on an extra 3 hours to the day), and we were living in a cramped one-bedroom apartment. Not a conducive environment for rehabbing a ferret. So at first I advertised in the local paper, stating clearly that the ferret "absolutely would NOT be good with children". Every single person who answered that ad wanted to take him to give to their young child. In the end I took him to the Humane Society, praying that they would find him a good home and not euthanize him (back in those days, if there was no room at the inn, so to speak, the animals were killed to make room for more). I believe he wound up going with someone who did rescue ferrets, but to this day I miss that little guy. As rough as he was, he had a great personality. We just weren't set up to give him proper care.
Yes, a few years ago, I returned the cat to the rescue after spending a year trying to make it work. My resident cat at the time was not accepting, not even tolerating his presence. My cat would continuously chase and attack him. We tried several times to introduce them using different techniques even suggested by Jackson Galaxy but my cat was not having it. My resident cat had lived with other cats before without any problems. After the surrender, almost a year after, I adopted Freyja who my cat did accept without issues. For some reason, he just can't stand this one.
Moreover, he had a very loud, high pitch cry that wakes up everyone in the house morning around 4 am. He would be fed and given attention but he would still cry. He also peed all over the furniture and had urinary obstruction at least twice in a row despite being on a prescription wet diet.
In the end, it was too much. He was returned and adopted by someone else soon after. Sometimes, you try your best but it was not meant to be.
No, I've never given up a dog or cat. When taking in an animal, I make a commitment to keep them for life. Sometimes, it's very hard with issues like senior dogs peeing on the floor, or fighting, but you just deal with it. Dumping an animal in a shelter would never be the answer for me.
When I was in animal rescue, we always had multiple animals. After fostering eighteen puppies at once, everything else is a walk in the park. When my dad died, there was never a thought of sending his animals to the shelter, we just added a few more, even though I was in rescue at the time and had rescue animals in addition to mine. A large yard is a lifesaver.
I don't know other people's situations, but it helps that my spouse and I have good jobs and can afford the expense. For people not experienced with animals, one major issue might be the deciding factor to give them up, but with many animals, it's something you get used to and become good at dealing with.
I adopted a 1-eyed 6 mo old Gt Dane puppy when I was first in an empty nest. I had forgotten how much work puppies are. He was bored to tears with me working. At 6 mo I gave him back to the breeder. She told .e soon that he had gone to a family with a 10 y/o child, big yard, and SAHM. They just loved him and he was very happy.
I adopted a Doberman from the local SPCA many years ago in my want of having a dog after one had passed away. I thought a different breed with a different temperament might be good. He was beautiful, gentle and the papers indicated that he had been trained to do tricks and basic commands. So I took him home with me on a whim. Shame on me! That was probably the worst mistake I've ever made. I called the previous owner to talk about him and see what tricks he could do, how they trained him and what his likes/dislikes were. The previous owner told me he loved going swimming which was why he had to be given up to the SPCA. I didn't understand at first. The owner said that it was so difficult to get the Dobie out of the water, he had to resort to a shock collar to force him out. And since the shock collar worked so well, the owner used it to train him in basic commands and a couple of tricks.
Well, at that point I knew I was out of my comfort zone. This was a huge dog, much bigger that a hound, and I wasn't prepared or well equipped to handle a dog that had been trained using a shock collar. The night he stayed in my home was not so pleasant and he actually scared me. I had a platform bed (low to the floor) and I woke that night with the Dobie over me growling like no one's business. I knew I had to take him back. There was no way I was going to be able to handle him. When I took him back, I told them what the owner failed to actually write on his surrender paperwork. They were not happy, offered free training, but I lived in a different county so I didn't qualify for it. I left him there and I know that's the best thing I could have done, both for him and for myself. BUT, I know that I will never, ever, adopt a dog on a whim ever again.
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When my dad died, there was never a thought of sending his animals to the shelter, we just added a few more, even though I was in rescue at the time and had rescue animals in addition to mine. A large yard is a lifesaver. 
