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Wake County's only Open-Admission Shelter: Wake County Animal Center

Wake County Animal Center will be at Spring Fling!
Wake County Animal Center will be at Spring Fling!

If you live in Wake County, you’ll want to know about our next organization! The Wake County Animal Center has been joining us for Spring Fling for years now and we are happy to have them join us again! As regulars to the event, they had this to say about it:

"Spring Fling is the biggest animal event of the year - filled with fantastic vendors, animal welfare organizations, food trucks, and more! It's a great way for shelters and rescues to market for adopters, volunteers, or foster homes while also promoting adoptable animals and other programs. Personally, I love shopping at all the local vendors that support the local animal community."

Wake County Animal Center is our open admission (the only one in Wake County), county shelter that receives all the stray and abandoned pets in Wake County. They also take owner surrendered pets and as an open admission shelter, they have to take any animal that comes through the doors. This means that sometimes they end up with animals other than dogs and cats, like chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, and even birds or reptiles on occasion! They work with fosters, volunteers and rescues to re-home thousands of pets each year. They also have an adoption center, which welcomes visitors to come and look at the pets on their adoption floor (during adoption floor hours.)


wake.gov/pets

Open admission shelters, like Wake County, need so much community support. When they have to take in every animal that comes in, there’s always a risk that tough decisions have to be made because of space limitations. This is where the community can make a huge impact! Rescues can pull animals into their programs, individuals can foster for the shelter or for a partner rescue group, share adoptable animals to help them find homes, donate supplies to help care for the pets there and make their stay more comfortable, or volunteer their time to help pets in the shelter destress and get some extra attention.


You can follow them and keep up with their adoptable pets on their website, and on Facebook and Instagram!


Don't miss visiting the Wake County Animal Center team at Unleashed's 12th Annual Spring Fling Dog & Cat Fundraiser on Sunday, April 13, 2025, from 12-6 pm at Koka Booth Amphitheatre!!


Stay up to date on all things Spring Fling 2025:



Wake County Animal Center

  • Writer: Amy
    Amy
  • Apr 21, 2024
  • 2 min read



You may be familiar with our next organization, especially if you live in Wake County. We welcome back the Wake County Animal Center to Spring Fling.


“The Wake County Animal Center strives to create a humane community for the pets and people that live here.”



The Wake County Animal Center is our open admission, county shelter that receives all of the stray and abandoned pets in Wake County. They take owner surrendered pets (by appointment,) and all found pets. Since they take any animal that comes through the doors, they sometimes end up with animals other than dogs and cats, like chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, and even birds or reptiles on occasion!


The Wake County Animal Center adopts out over 3,000 animals every year. They work with fosters, volunteers and rescues to re-home as many pets as possible. They also have an adoption center, which welcomes visitors to come and look at the pets on their adoption floor (during adoption floor hours.)


While housing animals, The Wake County Animal Center focuses on these "Five Freedoms"- principles that are relevant to the welfare of any animal species:


"Freedom from Hunger and Thirst by ready access to fresh water and diet to maintain health and vigor.
Freedom from Discomfort by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area.
Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment.
Freedom to Express Normal Behavior by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal's own kind.
Freedom from Fear and Distress by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.”

Meeting these Five Freedoms is a part of what it takes to fulfill their mission statement:

MISSION STATEMENT: Determined to make a difference for the animals and citizens of Wake County through adoption, education, enforcement and community partnership.

During the Animal Center's business hours, there are staff available to answer questions regarding finding a lost pet, adopting a pet, if you found a stray and ways to rehome your pet. There are also many great resources and information about all of these on their website.


Check out their website for many resources and news updates like these too:






You can also follow them on Facebook and Instagram and see their available pets here:




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