SEATTLE - A survey of several Northwest animal shelters finds that policies are nowhere near as rigid as that of the California shelter that left talk show host Ellen DeGeneres in tears on her show.

KING

Animal shelter polices over rehoming animals vary, but keeping records up-to-date is a No. 1 priority.

DeGeneres broke down last week as she told her audience that a rescue group took back a dog named "Iggy" that she had adopted because she violated the adoption contract when she gave it to her hairdresser.

People at several Northwest shelters say they are more concerned about finding loving homes for animals, and are less concerned about rigid rules.

"That was just too much over the top. We wouldn't go to that extreme," said Brenda Barnett, CEO of the Humane Society for Seattle/King County.

But, she said, if an animal doesn't work out and the owner does give it to someone else, they want to know about it so they can update the records.

"We're OK with it, we just want them to let us know so we can transfer the microchip," she said.

The Seattle Animal Shelter prefers that people bring the animal back, but they say they place the welfare of the animal first. And they too want to know so they can update their records.

"We wouldn't go and check out the home but we would hope that people would be comfortable letting us know that it didn't work out," said Mike Kokernak, acting animal care supervisor. "We're not going to go pound on your door, but we still want to know."

Kokernak said often, people "rehome" a pet with friends or family members.

"If they find family or friends that have more time or more experience, we're pretty much OK with that," he said. "We just hope that people are going to do the right thing."

The Spokane Humane Society prefers that the animal be returned to them, but if it's rehomed, they just want to be sure it's a good fit.

"We want to make sure the placement is good. Make sure if other pets are involved the match is good," said Executive Director Dave Richardson.

Richardson said the main thing is making sure the pet is placed in a loving, permanent home.

Humane Society

Twelve-year-old Sam is available for adoption at The Humane Society, where a special program provides a $50 discount on the adoption fee for cats, kittens, and dogs 3 years and older, for senior citizens 60 and older.

"We all want what's best for the animal," he said "We want to be their voice because they don’t have one."

Barbara Baugnon, spokesperson for Oregon Humane Society, said the organization supports the idea of rehoming animals.

"Who would know the pet better than the people who have been taking care of it?" she said. "It's almost like a foster care. They know the pet better than we do."

But again, they would like to know about it.

"We ask them to call us and let us know," she said.

While the adoption contract at the Progressive Animal Welfare Society in Lynnwood says that an animal should be returned if it doesn't work out, companion animal shelter director Kay Joubert said she is well aware that people do find new homes for animals on their own.

"We know people can appropriately rehome animals and on our Web site we have an entire page on how to do that," she said.

The key thing, she said, is that the original owner took proper care to be sure the new home is a good fit.

"We want to make sure the animal is in a safe, lifelong home," she said.

Joubert said they too want to have the updated information so the records are up-to-date and ideally they'll connect with the new owners.

"In the end people have to make a decision about their family, their lifestyle and abilities, " she said. "We treat people as adults and try to have faith in them."

Brenda Barnett of the Seattle Humane Society seemed to echo that sentiment.

"Here you have a person who is trying to be part of the solution. What's the down side of that?"