Policies & Care

PET POLICIES & CARE

The Allegany County Animal Shelter serves as the local municipal shelter for Allegany County, Maryland and only accepts animals from within Allegany County.

Stray Animals

If you have found a stray and need to bring an animal to the shelter, you must have a valid ID. Lying about owning an animal could result in you being charged with animal abandonment. If you have found a stray animal and are willing to house and care for that animal until the owner can located, you may send us a picture and other pertinent information to alleganyshelter@gmail.com. We will post the found animal on our lost and found Facebook page and contact you if the owner is located.

Our Animal Control Division will respond to calls to pickup sick/injured stray animals as well as dogs that had been running at large and have been contained.

Owner Surrender

Due to limited shelter capacity, we cannot guarantee that we will accept animals for surrender. We ask that owners contact us in advance so we can assess available resources and space and determine the best plan for the animal’s care. In most cases, intake may need to be delayed until kennel space becomes available, a foster home is secured, or the animal has received the required vaccinations. During this time, we will work with the owner to explore alternatives. This may include promoting the animal for adoption through social media and other online resources, as well as contacting our network of rescue partners for assistance.

To help protect the health of the animals in our care, all animals must be current on required vaccinations before being admitted to the shelter. If vaccinations are needed upon intake, additional fees will apply. We charge a surrender fee of $100 for dogs, $50 for cats and $75 per litter of kittens/puppies to help offset the cost of caring for these animals.

Feral/Community Cats

We do not take feral/community cats at the shelter. Rather, we endorse Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) as a humane method of controlling feral cat populations and as a means of establishing a system of community-based resources dedicated to:

• Ensuring feral cats are spayed/neutered, vaccinated and adequately cared for by feral cat colony caretakers;
• Abating nuisances or other public health or safety threats caused by feral cats.

 

Dog License Information

Required in Allegany County
Cost: $5 per dog spayed or neutered
$20 per dog unspayed or unneutered

Places to Purchase:
• Allegany County Animal Shelter
• Hillside Animal Hospital
• North Branch Animal Hospital
• Western MD Animal Hospital
• Town of Luke
• Allegany County Health Department

Must have current Rabies certificate to purchase.

Rescue Policy

Please click HERE to download the Rescue Policy.

Issued in accordance with Allegany County Code Chapter 225-1. Must have current Rabies certificate to purchase.