Surrendering a Pet
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Are you considering surrendering your pet or a stray animal? The decision to give up your pet can be a difficult one, but Southern Pines is here to help. If you are in need of medical or financial assistance to keep your animal in the home or need information about how to rehome your animal without bringing them to the shelter, please view the community resources available on our website. If you believe surrendering your animal to the shelter is the best option, our Community Resource Coordinator can help walk you through our surrender process. Southern Pines practices care-based intake, which helps us ensure that we have the appropriate resources to properly care for all of the animals that we take in. To do this, we require a surrender appointment and fee to help off-set the cost of care for each animal.
For more information or to set up an appointment, please either fill out the form on this page, or call 601.544.6632 and press 7599 to speak with our Community Resource Coordinators. If they are unavailable, leave a voicemail with your name, phone number, county of residence, and a brief description of the animals you need to surrender, and they will return your call as soon as possible. Thank you. |
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Surrendering to Southern Pines:
A Step-by-Step Guide
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Southern Pines takes special care to make the surrender process as easy and judgement free as possible. We employ a Community Resources Coordinator who will be responsible for setting up your appointment, counseling you through the process, and being your point-of-contact for any follow up after your drop off. If you've decided to surrender your animal to Southern Pines Animal Shelter please follow these steps to make this process go smoothly:
1. Talk your decision over with our Community Resources Coordinator
Please call the Surrender Department at 601-544-6632 in order to discuss your options. If you're unable to speak directly with our Community Resources Coordinator please leave a detailed message and they will return your call as soon as possible. Our Community Resources Coordinator is out of the office on Wednesday and Sunday. 2. Make An Appointment
Southern Pines Animal Shelter practices care-based intake, which helps us ensure that we have the appropriate resources to properly care for all of the animals that we take in. This appointment system allows us to manage our intakes which has been instrumental in us becoming a no-kill shelter. We always strive to provide the animals at our shelter with the best care possible and often our capacity for care is directly affected by our intake. Our Community Resources Coordinator is happy to discuss your availability to surrender and find a time that works for both you and our organization. Please keep in mind our surrender wait times vary from a couple of days to up to six weeks during our busy season. We accept animals from the entire state of Mississippi and we intake around 7,000 animals annually, consisting almost entirely of just cats and dogs. Beginning January 1, 2019, we are no longer taking in community cats from outside of our contract areas. Please visit our community cats page to determine if this may apply to you. At the time you make an appointment the Community Resources Coordinator will give you the next steps in the process, but we will outline them briefly here so you know what to expect. 3. Arrive at Your Scheduled Appointment Time and Date
You will receive a phone call 1-2 days before your appointment to confirm. At this time please let us know about any cancellations or if you need to reschedule. If there is no need for alterations, please arrive at the shelter as close to your scheduled time as possible. Often we have appointments coming in at various times throughout the day and a late arrival can shift all of our appointments and cause frustration for our other customers. When you arrive on the property please make sure your animals are comfortable and secure in your vehicle and make your way up the ramp to the front office to notify office staff of your arrival. 5. Request Additional Donation The average cost of care for one animal from initial intake to adoption is around $500. This cost can fluctuate depending on the animal's age, behavior, and medical needs while in our care. For example, an adult dog that tests positive for heartworms that receives treatment during their stay carries an additional cost of $200-$400. Southern Pines is dedicated to providing the best quality of care to all of the animals during their stay at the shelter, but that is only possible with help from our community. Please consider bringing an additional donation with you at the time of your appointment in order to help us save more lives than ever before. 6. Your Pet Goes Up for Adoption After the counseling session we will take the animal to go through the intake process. Your obligations end here and we will take the animal to get up to date on all treatments, go through a brief behavior assessment, and place the animal in appropriate housing. Often, many animals surrendered will go up for adoption immediately but in some cases senior pets, animals with medical issues, or animals with behavior concerns may take some time to become available for adoption. In some circumstances an animal may not be a candidate for adoption. Many of our animals will be posted to our website very soon after you drop off and you can follow their progress online or you can follow up with the Community Resources Coordinator after you drop off. |
SURRENDER FEES & INFORMATION: Residents from Forrest County (excluding City of Petal) and the City of Hattiesburg live in areas that contract with Southern Pines Animal Shelter. These contracts ensure animals from those areas are prioritized when we have room for intakes. Contract residents are required to pay the required surrender fees in full at the time of relinquishment to the shelter. All contract residents must be able to provide proof of residence using their state-issued ID, recent utility bill, lease agreement, or mortgage statement with their name and address on it.
QUESTIONS? PLEASE CONTACT US AT 601.544.6632 |
