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Surrendering Pets To Shelters: What You Need To Know

It's usually up to counties to set their own rules for surrendering pets.

A viral post about a dog left at the Guilford County Animal Shelter in Greensboro has people asking questions.

The post says Calloway, a 16-year-old dalmatian, was left by his owners in the shelter parking lot because they didn't have an appointment to surrender him.

Jorge Ortega, the Director at Guilford County Animal Services, says they're still trying to figure out what happened.   When we talked to him Monday afternoon, he said Calloway was left in their parking lot, but they didn't know who the owners were.  They also didn't know the animal's medical records.

"Right now he's currently being held as a stray for the 72 hours, the mandatory hold, and then once those 72 hours are up we'll determine whether he's a good transfer candidate, adoption candidate or just a foster candidate so he can live out the rest of his life," Ortega explains.

All shelters across the state have to abide by that 72-hour rule.  Shelters have to keep an animal at least 3 days before euthanizing or putting the pet up for adoption or in another home.  The exception would be if the shelter had owner consent to euthanize an animal sooner than that.

But for most shelters, surrendering pets is a last resort.

"We want to try to solve the problem before they get to the shelter," Ortega tells. "So, this is why it's so important to make sure we start working a little more proactively."

That's where the appointment to surrender pets comes into play.

"It’s been proven that if we give owners more time to think about the reason for surrender or we get them a list of resources whether that be another organization they can personally re-home the animal to, or pet food or vet and low-cost veterinary care, it reduces the number of animals coming in," Ortega says.

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture Animal Welfare Division sets rules when it comes to shelter capacity and other health and welfare guidelines, but says it's usually up to the counties to set their own rules for surrendering pets.

In Guilford County, the shelter is considered an 'open-admission' shelter, which means they don't turn pets away.  They do, however, ask pet owners make appointments to surrender their pets.  To schedule an appointment, you can call (336) 641-3413.  The hours for surrender are listed as Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

In Forsyth County, the Forsyth Humane Society says it works with Forsyth County Animal Control when it comes to animal adoption and intake.  The Humane Society says it schedules intake appointments 2 weeks in advance and they can't guarantee placement in their adoption program due to limitations on space and resources.  You can contact the Forsyth County Animal Shelter at (336) 703-2480.

The shelter in Burlington also asks that pet owners make an appointment to surrender their pets.  To do that, you can call (336) 578-1386 or email animalservices@burlingtonnc.gov.  The shelter's web page says scheduling appointments allows them to make sure they have adequate resources and space for the pets.  It also gives pet owners time to fill out necessary paperwork in advance.

The Burlington Animal Shelter says it sees an uptick in surrendered pets around the holidays and that it's a daily occurrence for them.  Before an owner surrenders a pet, they try to work with them to fix the problem they might be facing.  That could mean helping with vet care, fencing or even looking for places to rent.  They also recommend pet owners try and re-home animals themselves using resources like adoptapet.com.

As for Calloway the dalmatian, Ortega says he's with a vet to try and learn more about his medical background.  We'll keep you updated when we learn more about the dog.  In the meantime, Ortega says there are plenty of other older dogs that are currently available for adoption at the shelter.

All shelters have a list of resources on their website to try and help pet owners avoid surrendering their pets if at all possible.  Most shelters will only take animals if you are a resident of the county where the shelter is.  Click on the links below for more information.

Guilford County Animal Services

Forsyth Humane Society

Forsyth County Animal Control

Burlington Animal Services

Rockingham County Animal Shelter

Davidson County Animal Shelter

Randolph County Animal Shelter

Stokes County Animal Shelter

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