Surrendering Your Pet

Please be advised as of July 1, 2019, HSNEGA’s Surrender Policy has changed.

The Humane Society of Northeast Georgia is a selective admission animal shelter, meaning we take in animals surrendered by owners as well as animals from other shelters and rescue groups across north Georgia.

Please understand that HSNEGA cannot accept every animal brought to our shelter. We respect the difficult decision of owners to relinquish their pets, but we will not euthanize to control the number of animals at our facility. Therefore, we can only accept the surrender of adoptable owned pets as our capacity and resources allow.

An appointment is required for the surrender of owned pets so we can better manage our intake and ensure resources are available to adequately help them. Please allow at least 30 minutes for the evaluation process and allow additional time if bringing multiple animals. No call no show turns your appointment deposit into a donation.

OWNER SURRENDER REQUEST FORM

Admission of any animal into HSNEGA is dependent on the animal’s health and behavior. Please keep in mind that an animal can behave VERY differently in a stressful shelter environment than how they behave in a home setting with people they know and trust. HSNEGA’s intake guidelines for both owned animals and rescue animals include, but are not limited to, the following:

• All animals must be weaned, eating solid food, and at least 8 weeks old
• All canines 6+ months must undergo a heartworm test and may be declined due to a positive test
• All felines must undergo a feline combo test and may be declined due to a positive test
• All animals must be free of any visible skin issues such as ringworm or mange
• All animals must be friendly and socialized and cannot exhibit any aggressive or extreme fearful behaviors toward other animals or humans

Because HSNEGA does not euthanize based on space or duration of stay, our intake guidelines ensure the animals in our care are as mentally and physically healthy as possible so that they can find a life-long home quickly.

Pets previously adopted from HSNEGA will be considered for surrender if kennels are available. Please notify HSNEGA as soon as possible if you are faced with returning an adopted pet. We will do everything we can to speed up the process; however, please be aware there could be a one month or more waiting period due to space availability.

HSNEGA can require up to a 30-day wait period between the time of surrender and the adoption of another animal at our facility.

HSNEGA also accepts small exotics/mammals such as ferrets, birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, and hamsters as our resources allow. These animals must be surrendered with a habitat, bedding and food. For more information on surrendering a pet, please contact the HSNEGA at 770-532-6617 or AnimalCare@HSNEGA.org.

Why does HSNEGA ask for a fee when an animal is surrendered?

When we admit a pet to our shelter, we are committed to providing for his or her care until they are adopted, regardless of the length of stay. The average cost of the veterinary treatment and routine daily care we provide each pet is $325. HSNEGA is a private, nonprofit organization with no government or corporate funding. As such, we rely on donations to keep our doors open to the animals that need us. The fee helps ease the shelter’s costs for providing continued care while each pet awaits a new forever home. Surrender fees are as follows:

• *FREE to surrender any animal UNDER 3 months of age
• $50.00 to surrender an animal OVER 3 months of age ($40 with proof of spay/neuter)
• $10.00 nonrefundable surrender appointment deposit (good for one reschedule and applied to overall surrender fee)
• Additional $10.00 microchip registration fee for any pet already microchipped

If you are interested in surrendering your pet to HSNEGA, please click the link below to fill out the request form. Please note that this does not guarantee HSNEGA will take in your pet. This form gives our team more information about the rescue to help us better serve you. HSNEGA has the right to refuse any animal that does not meet our intake guidelines.

Owner Surrender Request Form

Information for Stray/Lost Animals

The Humane Society of Northeast Georgia is a private, non-profit animal welfare agency and, as such, we are legally prohibited from taking strays/found animals directly into our facility. Per Georgia state law, stray/found animals must be taken to the municipal animal control facility that provides for such service in the jurisdiction in which the animal was found.

Each facility has varying stray hold times. Some animal control agencies may allow the finder to hold the animal for the mandated time, but the finder must file a found pet report and make a good faith effort to reunite the pet that they have found with its legal owner. Owners who have lost a pet need a central location to find them, and the best location is their local municipal animal control facility.

Please contact your local Animal Control Agency for information on their acceptance policies for stray animals. Below is a list of the animal control agencies for the surrounding counties of northeast Georgia.

Barrow County Animal Control:  770-307-3012

Forsyth County Animal Shelter:  770-888-2500

Gwinnett County Animal Control:  770-339-3200

Hall County Animal Services:  678-450-1587

Jackson County Animal Control:  706-367-5480

Lumpkin County Animal Control:  706-867-7297

Stephens County Animal Control: 706-282-3275

White County Animal Control:  706-219-2689