Starting November 1, 2010, ACR&S will no longer be accepting owner surrenders. We are simply overwhelmed with surrender requests. There are too many unwanted animals, and not enough foster homes or financial resources to help them.

Why?

"Last year, at least 305,222 dogs and cats were dropped off at North Carolina shelters, and 214,475 were euthanized. The cost of handling all those animals is nearly $30 million. The real numbers are likely higher, because only 73 of 100 counties had reported their 2010 data to state government as of February." (Source)

Part of this is due to the economy. Fewer people have extra money to pay for pet care and vet bills. Many people have had to move to smaller apartments where pets may not be allowed. More landlords are placing restrictions on pet ownership because of rising upkeep costs.

Fewer people are adopting animals, and fewer people are making donations to rescues. So we have more animals coming in, who are staying with us longer, costing more money. ACR&S does not have a central facility, all of our pets are located in foster homes, and it is our foster parents who pay our-of-pocket for most of the costs of rehabilitating and caring for their foster animals. Only a very small portion of ACR&S' funding comes from donations and adoption fees, and we receive ZERO grant or government funding.

What are my options?

The first and best option is to try to keep your pet. We've heard from a number of owners who have modified their lifestyles significantly to allow themselves to keep their pets.

Some people choose a pet friendly apartment even if it isn't as nice, or is farther from work. Some people cancel their cable TV and change their shopping habits to keep more money available for supplies and vet care. Some people go to farmer's markets and search for discounted produce so they can continue to feed veggies to their pets.

For other people, none of these are viable options; they are already doing these things to provide food and healthcare for themselves and their children.

If you have a pet that you absolutely need to surrender, please take the pet to your city or county animal shelter/humane society. There is a listing by city here (please note this is not our list and may be out of date, please call the shelter to be sure). You can also find your local shelter by Googling "MYCOUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER NC" (replace MYCOUNTY with your actual county name).

Below are links to a few very good county animal shelters with whom we work closely. 

Guilford County

Mecklenburg County

Orange County

Wake County

I can't risk the shelter, they might euthanize my pet!

You can try advertising your pet on Craigslist. However, you have no guarantee that the next owner won't end up in a similar situation and your pet will end up at a shelter anyhow.

If you find that a shelter is your only option, don't feel bad about making that choice. Surrender to a shelter is not a guarantee of euthanasia. Shelters often reach a much wider variety of people than small rescues, so it sometimes means they have a better chance of adoption in a shelter.

Even if they end up having to be euthanized in the shelter, euthanasia is not always a bad option, and it is certainly not an evil or a heartless choice to make. In this world, many animals have no choices but a painful death after a miserable life without adequate food, shelter, or medical care. That is the heartless choice. Euthanasia is a gift that we have been given to be able to spare animals that suffering, the gift of being able to offer an animal a peaceful and painless end that might otherwise be denied him.

We wish you luck in your search for a home for your pet, and peace in whatever decision you arrive at.