Community Impact
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SPCA Wake's Helpline provides free guidance for whatever pet needs or concerns you may have. Whether you need help managing your cat's or dog's behavior or need information on affordable spay/neuter services, veterinary care, or anything else -- we're here for you!
The SPCA of Wake County celebrates the human-animal bond and is committed to helping pets stay in their homes and out of the shelter system. As a part of that effort, our Community Impact team provides resources and interventions to support our community and help pet owners in crisis or families facing temporary hardship.
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Pet Helpline
SPCA Wake’s Pet Helpline, the first in our state, provides assistance for a wide range of needs to help keep pets in homes, out of shelters, and improve both human and animal lives. Pet Helpline staff collaborates with all SPCA departments to provide a solution or additional resources tailored for each case.
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Temporary Crisis Pet Housing
Crisis foster homes provide temporary care for pets when their owners are displaced by hardship in order to reunite that family once housing, finances, or security is re-established.
Request help finding crisis housing for your pet — or sign up to be a crisis foster hero! -
Rehoming Assistance
Sometimes, for whatever reason, keeping a pet in his current home isn’t an option. Whenever possible, we aim to help pet owners find adoptive families without that pet ever having to enter the competitive shelter system. Our Pet Helpline provides resources for successful pet rehoming, including courtesy adoption listings viewable to families seeking a new pet on our website.
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Pet Food & Supplies
Pets and people in need receive free pet food and supplies through partnerships with 10 local agencies, including Meals on Wheels of Wake County. Click here to request assistance with pet food & supplies.
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Pet Behavior Support
According to data from our Pet Helpline, the #1 reason owners requested to surrender their pets was due to behavior and training challenges. In an effort to help resolve behavior issues, our Pet Helpline provides one-on-one support, including learning materials for common training needs as well as in-person training or behavior modification through our partnership with Triangle Pet Behavior. View our Pet Behavior Library or contact the Pet Helpline to speak to someone about behavior concerns.
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Supply Redistribution
Our Community Impact team distributes needed supplies to other shelters and organizations around North Carolina, including disaster response efforts.
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Low-Cost Wellness Clinics
SPCA Wake hosts multiple pop-up Wellness Clinics each year providing free or $5 essential (rabies and distemper-combo) vaccines to help keep our community's pets healthy at an affordable price. These clinics also provide $5 microchips and free pet collars with personalized ID tags to help pets easily find their way back home should they ever get lost.
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Community Cat Support
One of the best ways to reduce the shelter euthanasia of cats and kittens (both stray and formerly owned) is by managing the outdoor & feral cat population to prevent excessive breeding of unwanted litters. In 2023, SPCA Wake added a dedicated staff person specializing in community cat management efforts. This program enables us to lend out humane traps for TNVR (trap, neuter, vaccinate, return), provide low-cost or fee-reduced spay/neuter surgeries for unowned community cats, and divert kittens born outdoors from further breeding so they can instead find loving homes. Click here for expert help and support managing or TNVR'ing your neighborhood community cats.