Animal Surrenders
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We understand that surrendering a pet can be a difficult—but sometimes necessary—decision.
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Because we prioritize health, safety, and humane care, our shelter typically operates at or near full capacity (for more information on capacity for care, please see below). To ensure we manage intake responsibly and fairly, we use the form below to add all incoming animals to our intake and surrender waiting list. This system helps streamline the process and ensures that every request is responded to in the order it is received.
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If you need to surrender an animal, please complete the Surrender Request Form using the link below. As soon as space becomes available through adoptions, our team will contact you directly to schedule your intake appointment.
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Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to help as many animals as possible.
Want to Learn More?
What is Capacity for Care—and What Does it Mean?
Capacity for Care (C4C) is a best-practice framework used in animal sheltering to ensure that every animal receives the level of housing, care, and attention necessary to remain healthy, safe, and behaviorally stable. Put simply, capacity is not just about how many animals can physically fit in a building—it’s about how many animals a shelter can care for humanely and responsibly based on available space, staffing, time, and resources.
Shelters, like ours, that operate within Capacity for Care are able to provide adequate housing, minimize stress, prevent outbreaks of illness, and support positive outcomes such as adoption. When shelters exceed their true capacity, animal health and wellbeing begin to decline. To learn more about the principles behind C4C, reputable overviews are available from the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program.
Why Capacity Changes Over Time
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A shelter’s capacity is not a fixed number. It ebbs and flows depending on several key resources, including:
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Staffing levels and daily care time
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Availability of appropriate housing units
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Access to medical staffing and treatment space
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Current population’s medical or behavioral needs
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Length of stay and rate of adoption or transfer
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Because these factors change, responsible shelters continually monitor and adjust population levels to ensure the animals already in their care remain safe and healthy.
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Housing Standards and Space Requirements
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Physical space is one of the most important components of humane capacity. Our shelter is small and must work within its structural limitations. We currently only have 11 operational dog runs, and for cats we adhere strictly to the housing guidelines established by UW Shelter Medicine, which require a minimum of 18 square feet of floor space per cat—a standard designed to minimize fear, anxiety, stress, and frustration. These evidence-based recommendations help improve health outcomes, reduce illness, and support positive behavior during an animal’s stay.
More information on feline housing standards is available from the University of Wisconsin Shelter Medicine Program.
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Access to Veterinary Care and Legal Requirements
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Access to timely veterinary care is a critical factor that directly influences a shelter’s Capacity for Care. Our shelter does not have an in-house veterinarian; all medical services—including intake exams, vaccinations, diagnostics, and treatment—are provided through external veterinary providers. Because we have scheduled access to veterinary care rather than on-demand services, intake timing must be carefully coordinated with available veterinary appointments.
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When an animal on the surrender waiting list does not have a current rabies certificate and/or is not spayed or neutered, the wait time for intake is almost always at least one week. This allows the shelter to schedule required medical care and ensure compliance with state laws.
We coordinate intake timing with veterinary availability so we can protect animal health, comply with state laws, and operate within our Capacity for Care.
These guidelines and capacity principles are essential in keeping animals stable, healthy, and ready for adoption. Operating within Capacity for Care is a crucial part of ensuring every animal receives the level of humane treatment they deserve.