‘Not fair to the animals.’ Why you can’t bring your pets to the Wake shelter anymore
After months of adoption pleas, closures and four canine-flu deaths, the Wake County Animal Center will no longer accept pets surrendered by their owners.
“We really tried not to go to this route,” Dr. Jennifer Federico, Wake County’s animal services director, said in an interview with The News & Observer. “But I think after canine influenza, it just made us reconsider a lot of things.
“And it’s not fair to the animals to be housed inappropriately because we couldn’t say no to people,” she said.
Why is the shelter making this change?
The policy change is the latest action the center has taken in recent years to curb the number of pets pouring into the shelter.
▪ During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the shelter required pet owners who wanted to surrender their animals to schedule appointments, often making them wait six weeks or more.
▪ In 2023, the shelter put out pleas for adoptions nearly every other month to avoid euthanizing adoptable pets because it had no space for new animals coming in.
▪ In October, the shelter closed to the public for eight weeks to quarantine roughly 100 dogs because of a canine influenza outbreak. Four dogs died from that outbreak and, at the height of the outbreak, 78 dogs had symptoms.
Now people will have to look to area rescue groups and make their own efforts to rehome the pets they can no longer keep.
It will be difficult for some pet owners, Federico said, and there has been criticism from the community.
“It’s change, and people don’t like it,” she said. “And what I’ve said is ‘OK, well, we’re going to do this for now and let’s see. Because we have to figure it out, because what was happening isn’t working.”
From July to September, the center saw a 16% increase in the number of animals entering the shelter compared to the same time period in 2022.
Out of the 2,612 animals that came in, 1,394 were strays and 389 were pets surrendered by their owners.
What about cats? The ban on owner surrenders applies to all animals, but the shelter may allow owners to surrender cats and animals other than dogs at a later point.
Are there exceptions? People who adopt a pet from the Wake County Animal Center on Beacon Lake Drive and can no longer keep it may return the animal. But pets from other shelters, rescues, stores or breeders will not be able to be surrendered at the animal center.
Would a new Wake animal shelter help?
Wake County has identified land for a bigger animal shelter, and there should be money in this year’s budget for the project. But it will be years before a new shelter opens.
There are 132 kennels for dogs at the shelter when they are used according to best practices for humane care of the animals, according to a county news release. But most of the time the shelter has to double up, placing two dogs in a space designed for one.
“This results in a crowded adoption floor, putting stress on the dogs’ physical and emotional health,” the release stated.
Where can you surrender your pet in Wake County?
The SPCA of Wake County accepts animal surrenders by appointment but doesn’t know yet how the change at the Wake County Animal Center will affect its capacity, said Darci VanderSlik, communications director for the nonprofit.
Wake County created new webpages with resources, including tips about how to rehome a pet and a list of rescues that have helped place animals at the shelter.
Note: For those looking to adopt a pet, from Jan. 6-12, adoption fees for pets 6 months and older will be reduced to $25 for dogs (from the regular $95) and a “name-your-price” for cats. As of Friday morning, seven cats, 69 dogs and two puppies were waiting in the shelter to find their homes. Another 23 cats, two kittens and 22 dogs were in foster care, ready for adoptions.
This story was originally published January 4, 2024 at 2:38 PM.
