Animal Shelter

Until further notice, the following non-essential Animal Shelter services have been suspended: owner surrenders, stray drop-offs of healthy cats, trap loans and extended hours. At this time, our hours are Monday through Friday from 12-4:30 pm for owner reclaims, serious adopters with approved application, and rescue pick-ups. Call the shelter at 704-920-3288 with questions or concerns. Thank you for your cooperation.

The Cabarrus County Animal Shelter is one of the core responsibilities of Cabarrus County Animal Control, a division of the Cabarrus County Sheriff's Office.

The shelter is an open admission shelter, which means we do not turn away any animal in need. We are a public facility that provides safe, temporary shelter for homeless animals while the staff searches for permanent homes for the animals through community adoption or transfers to Rescue Partners. The animal shelter is NOT a pet boarding facility. While the shelter is open admission, we operate under managed intake and require pre-scheduled appointments for all owner surrenders. Please see our hours of operation for details.

Staff at the Cabarrus County Animal Shelter is committed to placing safe and healthy animals in the community by searching for appropriate permanent homes for adoptable animals. We work with approved Rescue Partners nationally to place animals with workable behavior concerns and treatable medical issues with groups with resources to take on those specific cases. To determine if an animal is adoptable, shelter staff must rule out any underlying medical conditions and/or temperaments that present safety risks to the community. Euthanasia is a last resort. When necessary, euthanasia is carried out with respect to the animals by a Certified Euthanasia Technician following best-practice guidelines set by the NC Department of Agriculture. It is important to Cabarrus County that all animals at the shelter receive care and compassion.

The best way to help limit euthanasia in our animal population is to spay and neuter your pets! Intact males can catch the scent of a female in heat and will urge them to wander off tracking the scent. This is a common reason for males to escape their yard. If the male finds the female in heat they are at risk of mating if they can get to one another. By spaying your females and neutering your males, you will eliminate this entire scenario which ultimately leads to unwanted litters of animals that fill up the shelter. There are also many health benefits to spaying and neutering your pets including avoiding many types of cancer. This can be an expensive surgery, but there are wonderful organizations, like Spay It Forward, that provide financial assistance so every pet owner can make the responsible decision. Please, make the call.

Shelter Procedures

Any animal that presents to the shelter as a stray is held for 72 hours per the Department of Agriculture. These animals can be viewed on lost and found. Any animal that presents as an owner surrender is not required to be held for 72 hours. Animals are evaluated upon intake and receive a 2nd evaluation before an adoption / rescue / euthanasia decision is made. Once an animal has been evaluated, they can be viewed on adoption and rescue. All animal shelter laws can be viewed at the Department of Agriculture.

Animal Protection Advisory Board

Cabarrus County regularly receives public input on shelter operations from the Animal Protection Advisory Board, a Board of Commissioners-appointed citizen group. County residents interested in serving on the Animal Protection Advisory Board can request an application through the County Manager's Office at 704-920-2100