You can decline an adoption up to the moment possession of the pet is transferred to you. At that moment, you become the pet’s new Guardian and are responsible for them. You do not have the right to return the pet to the Guardian from whom you adopted. (You may send a message to the Guardian to ask if they would be interested in taking back their pet, but be aware that their circumstances almost certainly won’t allow it and they are under no obligation to do so.) If, despite your best efforts, the adoption just isn’t working out, as the pet’s new, legal Guardian, you have the right to re-list the pet on our site for someone else to see and adopt.