Frequently Asked Questions

How do I adopt an animal?

Our Adoption fee for cats and dogs ranges from $50 to $125. This fee includes spaying or neutering, initial vaccines and flea treatment, a microchip, a free physical exam from an area veterinarian after adoption and one month of free veterinary health insurance. We will also provide a starter bag of Science Diet pet food, cardboard carrying case for cat adopters, coupons/discounts/giveaways from other retailers as available and informative literature to help make the adoption a success. All animals are spayed or neutered before leaving the shelter, many of which are performed before being placed for adoptions making it possible for you to take your new companion animal home the same day you visit the shelter.  There may however be animals who have not been spayed or neutered prior to moving to our adoption rooms and for these animals we ask for your understanding while we keep them at the shelter an additional 24-48 hours while they are spayed or neutered.

What preparations should I make before adopting an animal?

Before you adopt a dog or cat from the animal shelter, it is a good idea to outfit your home with certain necessities. There will be an opportunity to purchase leashes, collars and other training equipment during the adoption.

If you are adopting a dog, you should purchase:

• Dog food (at the shelter, we feed the dogs Science Diet; if you plan to switch to a different brand, we strongly recommend mixing the new brand with Science Diet food for a few days in order to ease the transition)
• Food and water bowls
• Crate or baby gate to facilitate house-training
• Pick-up bags or "pooper scooper"
• Emergency fund
• Optional but wonderful: dog bed, chew toys (ask us about Kongs!), treats, and interactive toys such as frisbees, tennis balls, etc. 
  

 

If you plan to adopt a cat, you should purchase:

• Kitty litter pan and scoop
• Kitty litter (we recommend starting with ordinary clay litter, as this is what we use at shelter; you may switch gradually to your preferred type if desired)
• Cat food (at the shelter, we feed the cats Science Diet; if you plan to switch to a different brand, we strongly recommend mixing the new brand with Science Diet food for a few days in order to ease the transition)
• Food and water bowls
• Emergency fund
• Optional but wonderful: canned food, cat treats, interactive toys (feathered wands, etc.)

Do I need a license for my pet?

Residents of the city of Asheville must obtain a license annually for their dogs. The fee for a license is $10.00. Failure to obtain a license is punishable by a $50.00 fine. You may obtain a license registration/renewal form at City Hall. If you reside in Buncombe County but not in the Asheville City Limits, you do not need a pet license, although we do encourage you to obtain Asheville Humane Society tags for all your pets.

Can I obtain an ID tag from the shelter if I don't adopt my animal there?

Absolutely, and we strongly encourage you to do so. We are one of the only animal shelters in the country to make tags available at no charge to the community (although we appreciate a small donation to offset our costs associated with the tag). All tags obtained from us contain a unique animal number, which we enter into our computer system. Whenever our animal control officers pick up an animal with one of our tags, they will attempt to return it to its home, or to contact the owner if returning it to its home is impractical.

We also sell customizable tags at the shelter: for the low cost of $5.00, you may have a tag printed with your name, address, telephone number, and other information.

Less than 3% of the cats that come into our shelter without tags are ever reunited with their owners; less than 15% of dogs without tags are reunited with their owners. Almost 100% of animals with current tags are reunited with their owners.

What does it mean to "microchip" a pet?

Although we strongly encourage every pet owner to obtain a tag for their pet, we recognize that collars can come loose and tags can break off. We therefore provide a microchip for all adoptable animals. The microchips we use are made by the 24hrPetWatch company and are smaller than a grain of rice. They are totally inert, and completely harmless. A shelter technician injects the microchip just beneath the animal's skin between the shoulderblades, where it will remain for the life of the animal.

Animal Control Officers scan every animal they pick up with a special device that detects the presence of a microchip. Shelter staff also scan every animal that comes through our doors. Each animal is scanned at least twice before it is euthanized or made available for adoption. If a microchip is detected, we will attempt to provide the same door-to-door service that we provide for tagged animals. Once we even returned a cat to its owner in South Dakota, based on the presence of a microchip!

We can provide a microchip for your own animals during most business hours, at a cost of $10.00.

What vaccinations will my new pet have?

Dogs and puppies are given a DHLPP booster (distemper-parvo booster), an intra-nasal Kennel Cough booster, and a general de-worming.

Cats and kittens are given a Feline Panleukopenia booster and a general de-worming.

All animals over the age of four months receive a rabies vaccination.

All animals receive a flea treatment on entering the shelter.

Where do you get your animals from?

The adoptable animals come from two sources: owners who can no longer care for their pets, and stray animals. Animals are brought to the shelter by either Animal Control or individuals. Stray animals are moved straight into our stray room. They are held for 72 hours while we try to find the owners. During that time, the public may not view the animals. Only people who are missing pets and who file a lost pet report are allowed in the stray room. After 72 hours, if the animal is not claimed, it becomes our property. Owner-relinquished animals become shelter property as soon as they are brought in. Once an animal is shelter property, it is evaluated for adoption.

How do you decide which animals to make available for adoption?

Animals are evaluated in the following five areas:

Age

Animals must be at least eight weeks old in order to be moved to the adoptions room. Because young animals tend to be adopted much more quickly, we are likelier to move a younger animal into adoptions than an older animal.

Health

Although we provide some medical treatment for animals in our custody, we do not have the resources to treat costly or chronic conditions. Animals with minor health problems are treated before being placed for adoption; animals with more serious problems are not placed for adoption.

Temperament

We do not place any animal that has shown signs of aggression, or has an aggressive history, in adoption; this includes aggression toward humans or other animals. Similarly, animals that are not socialized to people and who might bite humans in fear are not considered adoptable. Finally, animals relinquished for severe behavior problems, such as "constantly escapes," are not adopted.

Available Space

Once an animal is moved to an adoption room, it will remain there until it is adopted, unless it becomes seriously ill or develops behavioral problems. We can move new animals into adoption only as cages become available..

Breed/Type

Although we do not believe that purebred animals make better companions than mixed-breed animals, we acknowledge that certain breeds and appearances are adopted more rapidly than others. We consider the public's affinity for a given breed in deciding whether to place a specific animal for adoption.

Animals deemed adoptable according to these criteria are placed in an adoption room. Any animal not deemed adoptable is euthanized. Our euthanasia technicians, trained in protocols recommended by the Humane Society of the United States, inject the animal with an overdose of sedatives; death occurs quickly and painlessly. This is the most humane method of euthanasia available.

I'm not sure that my new animal will work out. Can I return it and get a refund/exchange?

Please understand that you are not purchasing an animal from us: you are adopting a lifelong companion. If you are not sure that your new companion will "work out" for any reason, please do not adopt from us until you are certain. The adoption fee covers our costs associated with the adoption, including sterilization, vaccinations, and boarding. We are unable to return your adoption fee in the event that you change your mind about an animal; nor can we "exchange" an animal.

Although we take every precaution to ensure that your new companion will be healthy, some animals come into the shelter with an incubating disease; and there is always some risk of disease transmission when unrelated animals are housed under one roof. We will not offer an obviously sick animal for adoption, and we test for diseases where feasible, but we cannot guarantee that your pet will be disease-free. For this reason, we cannot pay vet fees associated with a sick animal or refund your adoption fee if your animal is sick.

How many animals come into your shelter each year?

This number varies, but for the past few years we have received between 8,000 and 10,000 animals at our shelter annually. This includes stray animals picked up by our officers, litters of young animals turned in by overwhelmed owners of fertile animals, animals turned in by owners who are moving or who for other reasons have decided to end their pet ownership, aggressive wild animals, and some few animals seized in cruelty cases, brought in by owners for euthanasia, and other reasons.

How many animals do you adopt each year?

Again, the number varies; last year, 1,777 animals left our shelter for new homes, and another 227 left our shelter for placement through other animal organizations.

In addition, 993 animals were reclaimed from the shelter by their owners. This figure does not include any tagged or microchipped animals: such animals are returned immediately to their owners' homes and do not even enter our system.

How many animals do you euthanize each year?

Most animals leave our shelter through one of three means: they are returned to their owners, they are adopted to new owners, or they are euthanized. Remaining cases (e.g., animals that are transferred to rescue groups) account for less than two percent of our animals.

The math is unalterable. We received 8,145 animals last year; we adopted or returned to their original owners 2,770 animals. 227 animals left the shelter through other means. Last year, we euthanized 4,968 animals.

But there is good news: due to the efforts of animal control, the animal shelter, Humane Alliance, and other animal advocates in our community, this number is steadily dropping. With everyone's continued work, we will one day achieve our goal of becoming a "no-kill" community, in which no health animal is euthanized due to a lack of a loving home.

Why aren't you a no-kill shelter?

Sadly, the math is unalterable: if we take in 8,145 stray or abandoned animals each year, and we're able to find homes for only 2,770 of these animals, that means that 4,968 animals have nowhere to go. We believe that given the circumstances, a painless death is the best choice among a limited set of awful choices.

No-kill shelters disagree, and try to alter the math. The best no-kill shelters sharply limit the number and type of animals they will take. If they're near capacity, they'll refuse to take in additional animals, forcing the owners to find another place for the animal. Many no-kill shelters will never accept animals that will be difficult to adopt, such as older or injured animals. Owners often report to us that they've brought us animals only after being refused by one or more no-kill shelters. The worst no-kill shelters will house animals for years in small cages, often causing animals to go literally insane. We do not believe this is a preferable, or even realistic, alternative to euthanasia.

There's nothing wrong with no-kill shelters, as long as they're honest about their limitations -- especially the limited number of animals they're able to help. However, until we end the pet overpopulation problem in our community, a full-service shelter that performs euthanasia is a tragic necessity.

We understand why people get angry over euthanasia; the situation makes us furious, and it sickens us that we must euthanize so many wonderful animals each year. We believe that this anger is properly directed at the source of the problem: pet owners who abandon their animals, or who do not sterilize their animals. No-kill shelters do not address the real problem; only a concerted effort to end overpopulation can do that.

One more point is important: certain euthanasias are required by law. For example, animal control officers are prohibited from releasing aggressive wildlife. Similarly, some owners specifically request that their sick or injured pet be humanely euthanized; in such cases, we are legally and ethically bound to do so.

What does it mean to have a pet overpopulation problem in Buncombe County?

As long as there are more abandoned animals in our community than there are homes for them, we will have an overpopulation problem. Because we are charged by the community with managing this problem, we are perhaps more aware of the crisis than most.

Overpopulation causes a host of problems: feral dogs and cats can endanger the health and even the safety of people, domestic animals, and native wildlife. Equally important, they live in an unaccommodating habitat, with harsh winters, speeding cars, disease, and insufficient food. Feral animals reproduce at a rate greater than domesticated animals, making the problem even worse. Our tax dollars must pay to cope with these problems as long as overpopulation plagues us. And the only realistic short-term solution to overpopulation -- euthanasia of excess animals -- is an intolerable long-term solution.

There is only one acceptable long-term solution to overpopulation: we must, as a community, lower the birthrate of companion animals by spaying and neutering our pets.

I'm a responsible pet owner, and I'd like my cat to have one litter before I spay her. What's wrong with that?

We understand the desire to let your pet become a parent. Some people want their children to learn about the miracle of birth by watching the family pet have a litter. Baby animals are also adorable, of course, and many people even believe that a animal must become a parent in order to mature properly. While this belief is completely untrue (in fact, many animals develop neuroses when their children are taken from them), we understand and appreciate the sentiment behind it.

It is our affection for young animals, in fact, that makes us so passionately opposed to pet owners allowing their companions to have "just one litter." Because of overpopulation, we are forced to euthanize wonderful puppies and kittens almost every day, and we hate doing it.

We often must euthanize entire litters whose owners were trying to teach children about birth, or who were trying to give their pets a "natural" life. These owners have not considered what their abandonment of the puppies or kittens will teach their children about the value of living beings, or how the abrupt loss of her young will affect the mother. And even when owners are able to find homes for an entire litter, these are homes that might otherwise have been available to the animals at the shelter.

We cannot escape the math. Each extra pet brought into the world will, as long as we have a pet overpopulation problem, represent one animal that will be euthanized. Please have your pets sterilized today.

Finally, note that in Asheville and most other areas of Buncombe County , pet owners are required by law either to have their animals altered by the age of six months or to obtain an unaltered animal permit for each animal they do not have spayed or neutered. These permits cost $100 per animal, and help defray the cost of animal control services.

Why won't you let me adopt a nonsterilized purebred animal from the shelter?

It's a common belief that only mutts show up at the shelter, that purebred animals are worth too much to be abandoned by their owners. This is not true; on the contrary, almost a quarter of the animals that animal shelters receive are purebreds. Our overpopulation crisis does not apply only to mixed-breed animals.

One of our most important goals is to reduce pet overpopulation. If we let you adopt a purebred that isn't sterilized, we would be working against that goal, encouraging rather than discouraging pet breeding. Our policy -- that all adopted animals must be sterilized -- has no exceptions.

Can you help me get my own animals spayed or neutered?

There are several community resources that may be able to help you:

• Humane Alliance Spay/Neuter Clinic operates a low-cost spay-neuter clinic. You may reach them by calling (828) 252-2079.
• Animal Compassion Network offers assistance to low-income pet-owners at their adoption days and through the mail. You may contact them at (828) 258-4820.
• Asheville Kennel Club has limited spay/neuter funds for dogs only. You may reach their answering service at (828) 258-4833.

Asheville Humane Society sometimes has a limited amount of spay/neuter assistance available, primarily for cats. If you are unsuccessful with the above options, please call us at (828)236-3885.