The short answer
List your dog free on LocalPetFinder with honest photos and a modest fee, meet adopters in a public, pet-friendly place, and hand over the records with a written agreement. That is the Edmonton Humane Society's own advice, and it keeps your dog home the whole time. If you need a shelter, book an appointment: Calgary Humane has no mandatory surrender fee but a triaged waitlist, Edmonton Humane takes in on capacity, and AARCS needs pre-approval. If the problem is money or a crisis, the programs below may let you keep your dog.
Rehome your dog on LocalPetFinder, free
List your dog at no cost. They stay home until the right family is found, you screen adopters through a verified contact form, and you choose who adopts. Reviewed within 24 to 48 hours.
Listed by Alberta owners right now
50 dogs in Alberta are being rehomed by their owners on LocalPetFinder today. Your listing would sit alongside them, on the page for your city.
What Alberta shelters ask at surrender
The Calgary Humane Society manages surrenders by appointment only through its Surrender Intake Form, runs intake on a triaged waitlist, and asks owners to exhaust all other options first. There is no mandatory fee to surrender. If you need help with the form, call 403-723-6025. The City of Calgary's Animal and Bylaw Services does not accept surrendered animals and sends owners to the Humane Society.
The Edmonton Humane Society manages intake based on capacity and asks you to use its online HELP tool first. An appointment is required to surrender a pet, booked through admitting at 780-491-3522. It publishes no fee and no waitlist length. Its rehoming guide is the most useful document any Alberta shelter has written for owners: it recommends trying to rehome privately first, suggests a modest rehoming fee to help cover costs, and says to meet adopters in a public, pet-friendly place, with dog parks not recommended.
AARCS dropped the word surrender in 2023 and calls it public intake. Every request needs pre-approval and is not guaranteed, a Care Contribution Fee of $50 to $100 may be required, the process takes days to weeks, and the rescue says plainly that rehoming should be the last resort for any pet guardian, after family and friends, with any issues disclosed. In Red Deer, Central Alberta Humane Society asks about alternatives before surrender and can be reached at 403-342-7722; it does not publish a fee or a process online.
A LocalPetFinder listing is the private-first route those organisations describe, with the strangers filtered out: your email stays private, adopters reach you through a verified contact form, and you decide. Our screening guide has the questions to ask, and the safety guide covers fees, meetings and handover.
Help that may let you keep your dog
- Calgary. Calgary Humane Society's community services include a donation-based food bank with an online application, Pet Safekeeping boarding for 21 days for people leaving family violence by agency referral (403-723-6025), and Emergency Boarding for 10 days during a crisis. AARCS runs a pet food assistance program in Calgary by appointment.
- Edmonton. The Edmonton Humane Society Pet Pantry supplies food and supplies once a month for up to five animals to adults with ID (780-229-2945). Its Emergency Boarding can care for a pet for up to 60 days by agency referral, and PALS subsidises spay and neuter for qualified low-income households. For vet bills it refers owners to outside funds rather than running its own.
- Outside the two cities. The Alberta SPCA's Pet Safekeeping program boards for 21 days and is available to anyone who lives outside Edmonton and Calgary. Central Alberta Humane Society in Red Deer offers 21 days of emergency boarding at no charge to people in crisis, by referral.
If money or a short-term crisis is the reason, read our financial hardship guide and alternatives to rehoming before you decide. If you work through them and rehoming is still right, that is the responsible call, not a failure.
What Alberta law says
The Animal Protection Act says no person shall cause or permit an animal they own to be or to continue to be in distress, where distress includes being deprived of adequate shelter, ventilation, space, food, water or veterinary care. An animal left for more than 24 hours without adequate food, water or shelter counts as abandoned, and a peace officer may take it into custody whether or not it is in distress. The fine is up to $20,000. Bill 22, the Animal Protection Amendment Act, 2026, received Royal Assent on May 14, 2026 and raises the maximum to $250,000 with possible jail time; it comes into force on proclamation, which had not happened when this page was checked. Enforcement is by the Alberta SPCA outside Calgary and Edmonton, by the Calgary Humane Society in Calgary, and through 311 in Edmonton. None of this touches an owner who rehomes properly.
Licensing is municipal. In Calgary a licence does not transfer: the City says that if you sell or give away your pet you must make a licence transfer in person and the new owner buys a new licence ($45 for an altered dog and $71 unaltered in 2026). Calgary's Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw also requires you to disclose a Nuisance or Vicious designation when selling, giving away or transferring a dog. Edmonton licenses under its Animal Care and Control Bylaw. There is no provincial minimum age for rehoming a puppy; our puppies guide covers how to place a litter responsibly.
Looking to adopt a rehomed dog in Alberta?
Dogs listed by their owners appear beside rescue dogs on every Alberta city page, with the owner's own account of why the dog is being rehomed. Start with dogs for rehoming in Calgary or Edmonton, the province's small dogs and senior dogs pages, or every adoptable dog on Alberta dog adoption.
Frequently asked questions
How do I rehome my dog in Alberta?
Edmonton Humane Society’s own rehoming guide recommends trying to rehome your dog privately first, charging a modest rehoming fee to help cover costs, and meeting adopters in a public pet-friendly place rather than a dog park. That is the route LocalPetFinder is built for: list free, keep your dog home, screen adopters through a verified contact form, and choose the family. Shelter surrender in Alberta is by appointment and runs on capacity.
Does the Calgary Humane Society charge a surrender fee?
No. Its surrender page says there is no mandatory fee to surrender. Surrenders are managed by appointment only through the Surrender Intake Form, intake runs on a triaged waitlist, and the Society asks that you exhaust all other options first. For help with the form, call 403-723-6025. The City of Calgary itself does not accept surrendered animals and refers owners to the Humane Society.
How does surrendering to the Edmonton Humane Society work?
The Society manages intake based on capacity. It asks you to use its online HELP tool first, and an appointment is required to surrender a pet, booked through admitting at 780-491-3522. It publishes no surrender fee and no waitlist length, so ask when you call. We could not reach the City of Edmonton’s own animal care pages to confirm its policy.
Will a rescue like AARCS take my dog?
Only after pre-approval, and it is not guaranteed. AARCS calls it public intake rather than surrender, says it should be the last resort for any pet guardian, asks you to try family and friends first and to disclose any issues, and may require a Care Contribution Fee of $50 to $100. Expect days to weeks.
Is it illegal to abandon a dog in Alberta?
Under the Animal Protection Act, no person shall cause or permit an animal they own to be in distress, which includes being deprived of adequate shelter, food, water or veterinary care, and an animal left for more than 24 hours without adequate food, water or shelter counts as abandoned, so a peace officer can take it into custody. The fine is up to $20,000. An amendment passed in May 2026 raises the maximum to $250,000 with possible jail time once it is proclaimed in force.
Does the licence transfer to the new owner?
In Calgary, no. The City says that if you sell or give away your pet you must make a licence transfer in person, and the new owner buys a new licence; 2026 dog licences are $45 altered and $71 unaltered, and cats are licensed from three months. Calgary’s bylaw also requires you to disclose a Nuisance or Vicious designation when selling, giving away or transferring a dog. Edmonton licenses under its Animal Care and Control Bylaw, with cats under six months exempt. Other municipalities set their own rules.
What help is there if I want to keep my dog?
Calgary Humane Society runs a donation-based food bank, Pet Safekeeping boarding for 21 days for people leaving family violence by agency referral, and Emergency Boarding for 10 days during a crisis. Edmonton Humane Society’s Pet Pantry supplies food once a month for up to five animals at 780-229-2945, its Emergency Boarding can care for a pet for up to 60 days by agency referral, and its PALS program subsidises spay and neuter for low-income households. AARCS runs a pet food assistance program in Calgary by appointment. Outside the two cities, the Alberta SPCA’s Pet Safekeeping program boards for 21 days, and Central Alberta Humane Society in Red Deer offers 21 days of emergency boarding at no charge by referral.
Should I charge a rehoming fee?
Yes. Edmonton Humane Society itself suggests a modest rehoming fee, and the reason is filtering: a free dog draws people who resell animals, and a reasonable fee signals that the dog is cared for. Set it at a level that reflects their age and vet care, and if keeping it feels wrong, many owners donate it to an Alberta rescue afterward.
Related guides
Rehoming Guides by Province
Surrender rules, fees and the help that lets you keep your pet are different in every province. Each guide covers the shelters, the law and the owner-to-owner route where you live.