Admissions Process

Please understand that, as a no-kill humane society, Carolina Animal Rescue & Adoption cannot accept every animal brought to our shelter immediately. We treat every animal’s life as precious and will not resort to euthanasia to control the number of pets at our Adoption Center. Therefore, we will accept the surrender of owned cats and dogs by appointment only as space allows.

• To make an appointment, please click here.
• For more information about our admissions process, click here
• If you have found a stray, click here.

We schedule appointments as needed. Each appointment will last approximately 30 minutes. Please allow additional time if bringing multiple animals. We will contact you to schedule your appointment after we aquire your appointment application.

When you bring your pets, please have:

• A completed owner surrender form (even if you already emailed it)
• All veterinary records
• Your pet’s medications
• Special food or treats that your pet needs
• Your pet’s bed, toys, leash and other belongings from home
• Your pet’s crate or carrier
• Your $100 surrender fee in cash, credit card or money order form (no checks please)
  

Why does CARA collect a surrender fee?

When we admit a pet to our Sanford Shelter, we are committed to providing for his or her care until adoption, regardless of the length of his stay with us. The routine veterinary treatment and daily care we provide your pet will be costly. This fee is the prior pet parent's contribution toward his or her continued care while awaiting a forever home.

When you arrive:

• We will test your cat for feline AIDS and leukemia, or we will test your dog over 6 months of age for heartworms.
• A staff member will evaluate the temperament of your pet.
• After we screen your pet we will collect your surrender fee if we are able to admit him or her.

CARA does not admit strays directly into its care for two reasons. First, owners who have lost a pet need a central location to find him, and that is their local municipal shelter. Second, as a private, no-kill agency, we must use our cage space to save the largest number of lives possible, and strays must be held for a period of time during which they cannot be adopted. When a stray is brought to the CARA Shelter, the good Samaritans who found him are directed to the appropriate animal control facility. Thus, if an owner is searching for the pet, he has adequate time under the “stray period” (a mandatory period of time that the pet must be held under state law) to find him at the government shelter. When the pet’s stray period has ended, we then can transfer the pet to our shelter through our transfer agreements with the government shelters.This is where the majority of CARA's animals originate and this is why we seldom have space available. This policy exists to give stray pets the best chance of being reunited with their families. For more information about what to do if you have found a stray, please click here .