Utonagan Welfare

It is a sad but inevitable fact that, as a breed gains popularity and becomes more numerous, some dogs will find themselves "surplus to requirements", as it were.

All TUS registered breeders accept responsibility for their puppies FOR LIFE, so they should be your first port of call if and when you need to re-home your Utonagan. If you have some special reason why you have not/cannot contact your breeder, we will of course still help you with re-homing your dog.

There are also many non-registered breeders out there. Some have never joined the Society, some have ceased breeding and may not be in a position to take dogs back - or have just lost contact. Worse still, some have been actively ex-communicated.

And last but not least, a sadly increasing number of Utonagan find themselves in rescue centres up and down the country. What is more disturbing is that an unusually high proportion of these dogs end up being re-homed again within 2 years of being 'placed' from the rescue centre. Thus we cannot emphasise enough the value of putting your dog with a dedicated breed rescue.

With that in mind, if anyone spots a Utonagan in a rescue centre please let us know. Most rescue centres are happy to hand over dogs to a breed rescue as they know kennels are not an ideal place for any dog, no matter how hard the dedicated staff work to provide a stable and loving environment!

"Utonagan Welfare will only guarantee to contact registered breeders if one of their dogs is handed in, or reported to be in a rescue centre. Other, non-registered, breeders may be contacted out of courtesy, but this is at Utonagan Welfare's discretion."

N.B. Anyone can claim to be running a rescue service. The Utonagan Society has a network of trusted volunteers who will do their best to take in any Utonagan in need. No profit is made. We re-home with a stringent contract to prevent Utes in our care from further harm. Unfortunately, at this time, we cannot and do not recommend any other Utonagan rescue service.