A private rehoming often happens between people who trust each other — a friend, a family member, someone known through the dog's own world — and that trust is exactly why the paperwork gets skipped. Writing it down is not a sign of suspicion. It protects the dog if circumstances change, protects the new owner if a health problem surfaces, and protects you if questions are ever asked about where he went and on what terms. A clear, kind document written at the time is worth far more than everyone's memory of a conversation a year later.
Put the transfer in writing, even between friends
The agreement does not need legal language to be useful, but it does need to be specific, signed and dated by both of you, with each keeping a copy. Identify the dog unambiguously: name, breed or description, age, sex, colour and markings, and microchip number, supported by a photograph attached to the agreement if possible. Identify both people with full names and contact details. State plainly that ownership of the dog transfers from one of you to the other on the stated date, and note anything of value exchanged or confirm that the transfer is a gift, so there is no ambiguity later about whether this was a sale, a long-term foster or a trial that one side believed was still running.
Cover the honest details inside the agreement
List what is included with the dog — his collar and lead, remaining food, medicines, paperwork and any equipment. Disclose, in writing, what you know about his health and behaviour: ongoing conditions, allergies, fears, any history of biting, guarding or escaping, and how he is with children, other dogs and cats. Note the arrangements for the microchip record to be updated into the new owner's name, and for his veterinary practice to be told. Include a return clause both of you genuinely accept — for example that if the new owner cannot keep him within an agreed early period, he comes back to you rather than being passed on again — because that single clause prevents many of the saddest outcomes in private rehoming.
Hand over health records the new owner needs from day one
The new owner's vet should be able to pick up his care without a gap. Hand over his current vaccination record and any rabies documentation, a health summary covering ongoing conditions, allergies and previous reactions, a list of current medicines and when they are given, and his recent veterinary history — recent test results, surgery or treatment notes, and anything under active monitoring. Add his weight history if you have it, his usual food and feeding routine, and your vet's contact details so the new practice can request the full clinical history directly.
Decide what each of you keeps a copy of
Both parties should leave the handover holding the same core set: the signed agreement, the health summary and vaccination record as they stood on the day, and the microchip transfer confirmation once it is processed. The new owner keeps the originals of the clinical documents going forward and adds to them from the transfer date, so his file tells one continuous story rather than starting blank.
Make the handover itself match the paperwork
On the day itself, work through the documents together, check the microchip details aloud, and confirm phone numbers by actually calling them. Completing the move in KinsLe through Transferrable Profiles transfers his profile to the new owner with his history, records and routines intact, giving both of you a clean, dated record of a handover done properly.