What to do when local animal shelters won't take a stray dog?
Local shelters often reject stray dogs because they are full or because the finder is outside their service area. Furthermore, keeping a stray for more than a few days can legally classify the finder as the owner, resulting in steep surrender fees and leaving people with no viable place to turn.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Paying the owner-surrender fee
- 2Having someone else drop off the dog and pretend it was just found
- 3Releasing the dog back outside where it was found
- 4Reaching out to breed-specific rescues or posting on social media apps like Facebook and Nextdoor
- 5letting the dog sniff hands and watch the cat from the door or window
- 6asking neighbors if they know where the cat came from
- 7leaving food or letting the cat inside for a few hours at a time to test the waters
- 8Keeping them outside
- 9Considering a heated cat house
- 10Asking neighbors for help
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I have since called every animal shelter within a 30-mile radius. None can take him because either the dog or I am outside their service area, or because they are full.”source ↗
“Today, I brought him to the local shelter, only to be told that because I have had him for longer than three days, I am now considered his legal owner. They said the only way they will accept him is if I pay a $150 owner-surrender fee.”source ↗
“I’ve tried looking everywhere on Facebook and on google and everything I found no one will take him, it’s crazy”source ↗
“I agree and I’ve had him scanned multiple times but nothing shows up, and the law that the shelter is stating I can’t find any evidence of, it’s very frustrating”source ↗
“Basically, I am now very emotionally attached to the cat and am contemplating adopting it and bringing it inside.”source ↗
“Neither my husband nor I have ever grown up with or owned a cat so we have zero experience.”source ↗
“We already have a dog who can get quite jealous and has occasional aggression towards other dogs.”source ↗
“We have no idea how the cat will react to being inside- is it even possible to acclimate a cat that’s been outdoors for that long?”source ↗