Need Help Finding A New Home for Your Pet?

Animal shelters across the country are at max capacity. The SPCA of Wake County is one of them. We are a limited intake facility and urge community members to consider every alternative to relinquishment. Resources are available to help. 

1. Avoid the shelter

Rehome by Adopt-A-Pet:

Do you need to rehome a cat or a dog? Here’s how you can find them loving families without having them set foot in a shelter or rescue! PLUS! Your pet will also be viewable on our website. SPCA Wake is partnering with Adopt-A-Pet; a website designed to help place a pet from your home directly into another loving home!

To rehome your pet on your own through Rehome by Adopt-A-Pet's program, simply sign up on their website. When prompted, use the coupon code: RCXHAQTL2U8AD8Z (this will reduce their listing fee significantly). Once you are finished, your pet’s listing will be viewable under the adoption menu on our website via the “Rehome by Owner” link. Potential families will submit applications for you to review if they are interested in a pet.

2. Shelter options

If you would like to have a pet considered for intake through SPCA Wake or discuss other rehoming options, or if you would like to discuss returning an SPCA Wake adopted pet, please complete our Rehoming Assistance Help Form. A help form is required in order to have a pet considered for intake. Make sure to monitor your email after completing the form.

Important! Please Read! It's important for the owner to complete this form. Intake decisions cannot be made without our team being able to communicate with the owner of the pet.

Need Help Finding A New Home for Your Pet?

Animal shelters across the country are at max capacity. The SPCA of Wake County is one of them. We are a limited intake facility and urge community members to consider every alternative to relinquishment. Resources are available to help. 

1. Avoid the shelter

Rehome by Adopt-A-Pet:

Do you need to rehome a cat or a dog? Here’s how you can find them loving families without having them set foot in a shelter or rescue! PLUS! Your pet will also be viewable on our website. SPCA Wake is partnering with Adopt-A-Pet; a website designed to help place a pet from your home directly into another loving home!

To rehome your pet on your own through Rehome by Adopt-A-Pet's program, simply sign up on their website. When prompted, use the coupon code: RCXHAQTL2U8AD8Z (this will reduce their listing fee significantly). Once you are finished, your pet’s listing will be viewable under the adoption menu on our website via the “Rehome by Owner” link. Potential families will submit applications for you to review if they are interested in a pet.

2. Shelter options

If you would like to discuss returning an SPCA Wake adopted pet, please complete our Rehoming Assistance Help Form. A help form is required in order to have a pet considered for intake. Make sure to monitor your email after completing the form.

Pet behavior problems are one of the main reasons pets are relinquished to shelters. You might be surprised to learn that you can solve some behavior issues in your own home or with a professional trainer. If you have concerns over your pet's behavior, please complete our Pet Behavior & Training Help Form, and one of our specialists will contact you.

Community Cat is a term used to describe outdoor, unowned, free-roaming cats. Just like house cats, community cats come in a variety of shapes, sizes and personalities. Community cats who have dedicated caretakers to provide them with spay/neuter services and regular feedings, can live contently outdoors for the rest of their lives.

If you are looking for support or guidance with community or colony cats, including food, supplies, or information on spay/neuter, please complete our Community Cat or Colony Support Assistance Help Form. Once received, one of our experts will contact you.

Monetary Donations

There are 3 ways you can make a monetary donation to SPCA Wake:

• You can make a monthly or one time gift on our Website.
• You can mail a donation to: 

The SPCA of Wake County,

ATTN: Donations Department

200 Petfinder Lane,

Raleigh, NC 27603.

• You can give us a call at (919) 532-2083.

Pet Food & Other Supplies

The SPCA of Wake County is currently accepting physical donations of pet food/supplies and other items. For an up-to-date list of needed items, please check out our Chewy & Amazon wishlists. 

You can drop off your donation(s) at our Pet Adoption Center anytime between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm. Our Pet Adoption Center is located at 200 Petfinder Lane, in Raleigh, NC. 

Please note: Items that will NOT be accepted are comforters, sheets, pillows, stuffed toys made for children, or expired food/treats of any kind.

Pet's can go missing quickly, whether through an open door or gate at home or when frightened by loud noises. It can be a scary and stressful experience for both your family and your pet. Try not to panic. Your quick response combined with neighborhood networking greatly increases the odds of locating your pet.

Below, you will find information on what to do if you have lost your pet. If you would like to provide us with information about your pet and receive these resources in an email that you can reference later, please complete an SPCA of Wake Lost Pet help form. When completing the form, please Include as much detail as possible and attach photos when prompted. If we receive a call from someone who has found a pet matching your pet's description, we will contact you.

Lost Pet Resources

Within the First Hour

Knock on your neighbors doors to ask if they have seen your pet. Post on community message boards or apps. This could include neighborhood apps such as Nextdoor & Ring Neighbors, a neighborhood email list, or a Facebook group. Make sure to include a description of your pet (color, size, male/female), last known location or closest intersection and a photo.

If your pet is microchipped, contact the microchip company right away to report them as lost, and update your contact information if needed.

Within the Next Few Hours

Start searching the Petco Love Lost database and upload your pet's photo's now. Petco Love Lost, an SPCA of Wake Partner, provides free facial recognition software to help reunite lost pets to their owners. Your pet’s uploaded photo will be scanned against photos of found animals at local shelters and those reported by the community.

Next, make a flyer. Walk your neighborhood and hand it out to neighbors, postal carriers, UPS/Amazon drivers, landscapers and tell them about your missing pet.

Consider setting up a PawBoost alert.

Within the First 24 Hours

Call your county's animal shelter to see if anyone has turned your pet over to them. If you live near the border of a neighboring county, contact their animal shelter as well. Make sure to check back as frequently as you can.

Hang lost pet posters. Hang posters at major intersections within a 3-mile radius of where your dog was lost or a 1-mile radius of where your cat was lost. Once the pet is found, retrieve your lost pet posters from wherever you hung them.

Post your pet on social media. Include clear photos of both your pets face and body, and include your contact information. Continue to look for your pet frequently on shelter websites, lost & found websites & social media groups.

SPCA Wake can help with short-term pet food needs if supplies are available, but hearing about your overall needs will help inform future program development. To tell us about your pet food and/or supply needs, please complete our Food & Supplies Help Form

If you are contacting us today to request food assistance for community cats or a colony of cats, please complete our Colony Support help form instead.

Pet Welfare Concerns

The SPCA of Wake County does not have the law enforcement authority to investigate these situations. Please contact your local city or county animal control services to report the situation. 

Below are the numbers for the local jurisdictions for residents in Wake County:

• Garner Animal Control: 919-772-8810
• Holly Springs Animal Control: 919-557-9111
• Raleigh Animal Control: 919-831-6311
• Cary Animal Control: 919-319-4517
• Wake County Animal Control: 919-856-6911

Wake County Animal Control can only help unincorporated Wake County, Apex, Fuquay-Varina, Knightdale, Morrisville, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Wendell, and Zebulon. They do not have jurisdiction to enforce animal control laws in Raleigh, Cary, Garner, or Holly Springs because each municipality has its own local ordinance.

If your local animal control services does not have the capacity to help, fill out the NC DOJ Animal Welfare Complaint Form

Thank you for contacting us about the pet you have found. We appreciate you taking time out of your day to help this pet. 

If you have not already done so, please try to locate an owner. For guidance on how to reunite a pet with its owner, please review the resources below. To report a found pet, browse our area’s Petco Love Lost database, create found pet flyers, and find additional found pet resources, please visit Petco Love Lost.  

Since the SPCA of Wake County is not an animal control agency, we cannot accept found, stray, or abandoned animals. If you are unable to house the pet, please contact your local animal control.

Stray Animal & Found Pet Resources

Check For an ID Tag & Microchip

If you are able to safely restrain the pet, make sure to look for contact information on an ID tag or a microchip tag. Additionally, you can reach out to a local veterinarian to have the pet scanned for a microchip. If a microchip is found, please use the AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup tool to find the microchip company and contact information. From there, you can reach out to the microchip company for help with uniting the pet with their owner.

Work the Neighborhood

Speak with neighbors, postal carriers, landscapers and anyone else that might know who the animal belongs to. You can also create found reports and check for missing pet postings on neighborhood apps such as Nextdoor & Ring Neighbors, a neighborhood email list, or a Facebook groups for your area. In addition to social media, please consider notifying your local municipal shelter. Many owners will check in frequently with their local municipal shelter to see if their pet has been turned in. 

Register the Pet on Petco Love Lost

Petco Love Lost, an SPCA of Wake Partner, provides free facial recognition software to help reunite lost pets to their owners. Take a photo of the found pet, upload it and search the Petco Love Lost database. You can also use this tool to create a free Petco Love Lost found pet flyer to share on neighborhood pages in your area.

Last, but not least….

If someone contacts you to claim their pet, please be sure to confirm proof of ownership. You can do this by asking for veterinary records and asking for a photo.

To tell us about your temporary pet housing needs, please complete our Temporary Pet Housing help form.

To request a trap rental, please complete our Trap Rental help form. Once received, a member of our team will contact you.

To receive veterinary care information & resources, please tell us about your needs by completing our Veterinary Care Help Form. 

If you are reaching out to us today regarding our microchip & vaccine pop-up events, please click HERE for more information.

Please note: If you have a pet or animal that needs immediate medical assistance, please contact a veterinarian immediately.