Surrendering a Pet
At Morris Animal Refuge, we understand that surrendering your pet is always a last resort. Before filling out our surrender form, please read our Resources for Pet Owners guide, which may help you keep your pet or allow you to bypass the shelter system entirely.
Before You Surrender
When having an issue with an animal, whether it’s behavioral, medical, or a life circumstance, it can seem insurmountable. Before surrendering an animal to a shelter, check out our Resources For Pet Owners to see if there are any resources that can assist you with keeping or rehoming your animal.
Surrendering Your Animal to the Shelter
Before we can take custody of your animal, we require the submission of a surrender form. If you have multiple animals, please fill out a form for each animal.
Once your form is submitted, our intake team will reach out to you within 3-5 days with follow-up questions and next steps.
To offset the costs of caring for your animal while they’re in our care, we ask that all surrenderers pay a fee at the time of surrender. We accept cash or card.
Dogs (less than 30lbs) – $50
Domestic Cats – $50
When you arrive for your surrender appointment, please bring your photo ID and any medical records you have for the animal. You must be 18 years old to surrender an animal.
We understand that surrendering to the shelter is the last option left for many pet owners. To surrender an animal, please use this link to fill out our surrender form.
It’s important that you fill out this form to the best of your ability with as many details as possible. This will give your animal the best chance of finding a new home.
Managed Admission
Morris Animal Refuge is committed to taking in any animal in need that we can humanely care for. As a managed admission shelter we do surrenders by appointment only to allow us to better manage the flow of animals to avoid unnecessary euthanasia and to plan the necessary time needed with each owner to get the most information we can about the animal. We will also work with the owner to help them find alternatives to surrender – for example – giving them information on low-cost food resources, low-cost medical care, alternative pet-friendly housing, etc. For more information about surrendering an animal to Morris or for intake diversion resources please visit our Resources for Pet Owners page.
