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Surrendering Your Pet
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If for some reason you can no longer take care of your pet you can surrender it at no cost to the Durham County Animal Shelter adjacent to Animal Control. It is preferred that you transport your own animal to the shelter however Animal Control will do courtesy pick-ups of surrendered pets at no charge. It is however more efficient for you to transport your own animal as Surrender requests are lower priority calls for Animal Control Officers and may not be completed for several days after the request is received. The owner of the animal must also be available at the time the animal is picked up to relinquish ownership by signing an agreement to do so.
It is important that the owner is aware that not all animals surrendered can be held for adoption due to the number of animals brought to the shelter and space limitations. Behavioral soundness will be evaluated once the animal is determined to be healthy. Animals that display or have displayed aggression destructive vices shyness or evidence of fear biting may be euthanized. The shelter can and may euthanize the animal on the day it is surrendered depending on the above situations.
For these reasons it is important that the owner makes strong considerations prior to deciding to surrender the animal. It is suggested that the owner exhaust all attempts to place the animal in a new home prior to contacting Animal Control. The owner should also check into any potential owners to ensure the person is responsible and may not be attempting to obtain the animal under false pretenses such as for the purpose of dog fighting or being used to train dogs to fight. For this reason "free to good home" ads are not suggested. If the owner is unable to secure a responsible person to assume ownership it may be in the best interest to surrender the animal. Animals with definite breeding may be eligible to be placed with a breed rescue until a new owner can be found. The shelter can provide numbers of breed rescues to assist with this placement.
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