Stray & Owner Surrender

Found a stray pet?


Stray animals can be dropped off at the side entrance labeled "Animal Intake" during our normal hours, Tuesday - Saturday, 12:30 to 5 pm. If you have found a stray before business hours, you can call our main line at 828-264-7865. You may also call Watauga County Animal Care and Control at 828-262-1672. Please note that Watauga Humane Society will not pick up stray animals. If you are unable to bring a stray animal to Watauga Humane Society, you may call Animal Control and an officer can pick the animal up, time permitting. If you have found a sick or aggressive animal at large, after business hours, please call Watauga County Sherriff's Department at 828-264-3761, and an officer can be paged. Our LOST AND FOUND page, and the Watauga County NC Pets Lost and Found Facebook page are great additional resources for finding owners or lost pets.

If you have lost a pet, you can view all animals within our care on our website under "Animals in our Care" section, to see if someone has turned your pet in as a stray animal. All animals that are brought in as strays, will be held on a mandatory 72 hour stray hold as to allow the owner time to reclaim and will be unavailable for adoption.

If not reclaimed, stray pets will be spayed/neutered, microchipped, receive all neccessary vaccinations, and made available for adoption.

Owner surrenders


Making the decision to surrender your pet can be very difficult. At Watauga Humane Society our staff is here to assist you in this decision. Working with you, we can help find alternatives to surrendering.In the event that surrendering is the only option, we will help set up an appointment to ensure there is space available for your pet. Please note that surrender appointments can take up to 30 minutes.

To speak with a staff member regarding your current situation, please call (828) 264-7865.

Once an animal is in our care, they will receive appropriate vaccinations to protect them during their stay. We ensure every animal is spayed/neutered, up to date with rabies vaccination, and mircochipped before adoption. Our staff and volunteers provide daily care and enrichment to every animal, and make every effort to ensure they are comfortable with us. You can check out some of the activities and care provided here!