Surrenders

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Are you looking to relinquish your pet(s)?

Is there a way we can help you keep your pet? Wanderers’ Rest Humane Association maintains a food pantry Madison County residents. Our staff would be more than happy to assist you with keeping your pet if possible.

• We do not want to turn anyone away!  However, we have limited kennel space. If we are full, we may ask you to wait a couple of weeks before taking your cats or dogs in. If necessary, we can provide some food/supplies in the meantime.

• Any dog found as a stray in Madison County must only be brought to Wanderers’ Rest Humane Association by the town/city/village dog control officer. Staff will provide individuals with the number to their local DCO.

• The owner must be present at the time of surrender and sign off on the surrender contract. Dogs and cats will not be accepted from friends or family without explicit permission from the owner.

If you are surrendering a dog please ensure s/he remains on a leash while in the parking lot and in the lobby. If you are surrendering a cat please ensure s/he is secured in a crate. If you need a crate or leash please stop in the office to ask for supplies.

If you have veterinary records for the pet you are surrendering please be able to provide them to animal care staff for review.

To surrender or bring in a stray cat, an appointment MUST be made in advance.  Thank you for understanding. 

At this time, we are only able to accept surrenders/strays from Madison County. You can still call us and we can help to provide you other options if you are from out of county.

Owner Surrender / Stray Fees

We are a non-profit shelter and have to be able to pay for the cost of food, medical needs, sheltering, and general operational needs in order to provide our animals with the best care possible. Due to this, there will always be a fee associated with surrendering an animal to us, even strays. Please call us at 315-697-2796 to discuss this fee. 

Appointments MUST be made before bringing in any animal. If the animal does not appear to be healthy or is injured, we cannot accept them. We do not have a vet on staff, so we may ask you to bring the animal to the vet prior to coming to our facility if it appears to be sick or injured.

If you bring your pet into the shelter with the hopes of placing it up for adoption, please bring with you all of the pet’s paperwork and veterinary records. This includes proof of spay/neuter surgery and proof of current vaccination status. In addition, pictures and a short write-up will help us tremendously when working to find your cat a new home as nobody knows your cat better than you and shelter pictures can be a challenge when marketing animals.

WRHA Cannot Accept Feral Cats

A feral cat is a wild, completely unsocialized cat that is one or more generations from a domestic cat.
Feral cats are not able to be handled and keep their distance from humans at all times.

Resources for Trap, Neuter and Release
Spring Farm Cares: (315) 737-9339
Operation Wild Cats: (315) 363-3750

Resources for Spay/Neuter Assistance (these groups do not trap ferals)
Cat Coalition: (315) 420-7729
SANS: (315) 422-7970