If none of these alternatives or resources will allow you to keep your pet, and you’ve emailed us and we were not able to help, then you may need to surrender your pet to the shelter.

Surrendering your pet to an open-admission shelter should always be the last resort. Shelter staff and volunteers are compassionate animal lovers who do their best to save every animal brought to them. But the shelter environment is very stressful to pets. In this environment, even the sweetest animals may become difficult (even dangerous) to handle or may suffer from recurrent illness. Thus, euthanasia is always a possible outcome.

If you’re a Frederick County resident, the shelter to surrender to is Frederick County Animal Control. You will need to make an appointment to surrender your pet, so don’t wait until the last moment. To make an appointment, please email or call 301-600-1855. More information on the process is available here.