Forever home

A forever home is a term used in pet ownership. When a person gets a pet from a reputable breeder, and from many shelters and rescue operations, they are asked to provide that pet with a "forever home" as part of the adoption agreement. This exists in order to cut down on the number of pets abandoned or dropped off at humane shelters.
There are two basic understandings of what this means. The wider concept simply says that the adopter of the pet agrees that the animal's well-being is now their personal responsibility for the rest of the animal's life. If the adopter can no longer keep the animal for any reason, they would need to be responsible for finding a healthy and happy home for the animal, and making sure that the people of the new home are taking good care of the animal for the rest of its life. Should the adopter die before the animal, they should have a plan in place for the care of the animal.
The narrower concept puts conditions on when and why the adopter could arrange to move the animal to a new family. Some forever home agreements might specify that the adopter will not stop living with the animal simply because they or someone else comes to dislike the animal, or that the adopter will always be sure that the animal will be welcome should they move to a new place. Some agreements might specify allergies or violence on the part of the animal as reasons to move the pet to a new home.
The key idea remains, however, that the person adopting the animal has made and agreement to be responsible for that animal's care and health for the rest of its life.

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