Found a Stray?

If you have found a lost animal, the best chance of reuniting them with their family is to start locally. Most animals are found within a few miles of their home. Even if the animal seems to have been “dumped,” the proper authorities should be notified.

Local Animal Services

Please contact the appropriate shelter for your area to report a found pet or to check for lost reports:

New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office Animal Services. 910-798-7500

Brunswick County Animal Services 910-253-1738

Pender County Animal Shelter 910-259-1484

Craven County Animal Control 252-637-4606

Jones County Animal Control 252-448-7001

Duplin County Animal Services 910-296-2159

Lenoir County Animal Services 252-526-4200

Immediate Steps to Take

• Scan for a Microchip: Any local vet clinic or shelter will scan a found pet for free.

• Post Locally: Use apps like Nextdoor and Facebook groups (e.g., "Lost and Found Pets of [Your County]").

• File a "Found" Report: Even if you keep the animal in your home while searching, notify the county shelter so owners can find them.

Owner Surrenders

Deciding to rehome a pet is a difficult choice. While we provide an Owner Surrender Form for those in need, please be aware of our current status:

Important Notice: Our foster homes are currently at maximum capacity. We are unfortunately unlikely to be able to take in new surrenders at this time.

We strongly encourage owners to explore alternative rehoming platforms like Rehome by Adopt-a-Pet or Home To Home, which allow you to keep your pet in your home while finding them a new family directly, bypassing the stress of a shelter environment.

Still have questions? Please reach out via our contact form below, and we will do our best to point you toward the right resources.

Below is a categorized list of breed-specific rescues that operate within or serve North Carolina.

Aus. Cattle Dog Australian Cattle Dog Rescue Assoc. acdra.org‍ ‍

Beagles. Triangle Beagle Rescue. tribeagles.org

Boxers Carolina Boxer Rescue carolinaboxerrescue.org

Bully Breeds Bullies 2 The Rescue bullies2therescue.com

Chihuahuas Chihuahua Rescue & Transport chihuahua-rescue.com

Dachshunds Little Paws Dachshund Rescue littlepawsdr.org

Dobermans Doberman Rescue of the Triad doberman-rescue.com

German Shepherds. Southeast German Shepherd Rescue southeastgsrescue.org

Golden Retrievers Neuse River Golden Retriever Rescue nrgrr.org

Great Danes Waters Edge Great Dane Rescue watersedgegreatdanerescue.com

Jack Russells Russell Rescue of the Carolinas russellrescuecarolinas.com

Labs Lucky Labs Rescue luckylabsrescue.com

Pugs Mid-Atlantic Pug Rescue midatlanticpugrescue.org

Seniors Forever Dream Senior Dog Sanctuary foreverdreamseniordog.org

Siberian Husky North Caroline Siberian Husky Rescue husky.rescueme.org/northcarolina