Wake County Animal Center

About

The Wake County Animal Center strives to create a humane community for the pets and people that live here. As the only open admission shelter in the county, we take in all stray, abandoned and surrendered pets in Wake County. Together, with community partners, we treat and re-home thousands of homeless animals every year.

Pets available

Adoption process

Visit our shelter any day from 12pm to 6pm (may be closed for holidays or inclement weather) to see our available animals. NOTE: animals available IN FOSTER are not housed at the shelter. Please refer to Steps to Adopting an Animal in Foster. All animals seen in out gallery may not be available for adoption, as our gallery is also used to help owners look for lost pets. Some of those pets may not be available to the general public. You must be 18 years old or older and have a valid government issued ID in order to adopt from our shelter. You are required to interact with any animal you wish to adopt. This helps you determine if you think they will be a good fit for your home. Once you have decided they are the one, head up to the front desk with their name and ID number and staff will explain the next steps for you. Any animal that came into our shelter as a stray, must complete their mandatory Stray Hold period before we can finalize their adoption. If the pet you wish to adopt is currently on Stray Hold, you can place a deposit for adoption. If the owner does not reclaim prior to the completion of the Stray Hold period, we can move forward with the final adoption process. Staff at the shelter are happy to explain the process if you have additional questions. All animals adopted from our shelter must be spayed or neutered before being brought home. Good news! We can do that here and it is included in the adoption fee!

Location

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