animal ordinance and procedure for Adopting or Relinquishing
an Animal
Jackson County Animal Ordinance
Notable changes to the ordinance
- Don't sell or give your animals away at Walmart
or any public place. Unless you are a licensed pet
store, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, or a licensed
shelter, it's illegal! (see section 15).
- You can now file nuisance complaints with the magistrate
(See section 16).
- All animals adopted from the shelter MUST be spayed
or neutered within 30 days. If not, they wll be seized.
Make sure you're compliant! (Section 9A).
- The shelter's mandatory animal hold for strays is
now 3 days. After that, your pet will be either made
available for adoption or euthanized (see section
6).
Adopting an Animal
Adopting an animal usually costs $50 for dogs and $35
for cats. This fee includes $35 towards the animal's
mandatory spay or neuter, $5 for a
rabies vaccination, and a $10 housing fee. (You will
receive a coupon to present to your veternarian). Fees
are reduced for animals that have already been spayed
/ neutered and / or received a rabies vaccination. To
adopt an animal, you must provide your driver's license
and physical address.
The following is a partial list of veterinarians who
can spay your pet (please call to find out if additional
charges will apply):
- Jackson County Veterinary Associates (828) 586-8383
- Sylva Animal Hospital (828) 586-6138
- Cope Creek Animal Clinic (828) 586-3534
- Cherokee Animal Hospital (828) 497-5508
- Cashiers Village Vet (828) 743-5656
- Asheville Humane Alliance (828) 252-2079 (Read about
monthly
spay trips sponsored by ARF)
Relinquishing an Animal
Before you surrender your pet, you should browse our
site to learn about low-cost options for obedience training,
behavior modification, and spay/ neuter. Most animal
behavior problems can be fixed with a little work. Call
us. We can refer you to dog obedience trainers,
or just give some helpful hints over the phone that
may allow you to continue living with your pet. Most
animals that are surrendered at our shelter will be
euthanized.
If you must relinquish your animal, please call ahead
to see if we have room. Do not tie animals to our gate
or abandon them. Animal abandonment is a criminal
offense.
Please be prepared to spend some time with a staff
member when you come in to surrender your pet. Please
bring your pet to the shelter yourself. Owner information
will be very helpful in placing your animal in a home
that matches your pet's needs. You will be asked to
fill out a personality profile about your pet.
What to Bring
- Pet Surrender Profile
- Veterinary records. Your pet will be more likely
to be adopted if it has veterinary records. Also,
this saves the shelter the expense of having to vaccinate
your animal.
- Keep pet supplies and toys. Unfortunately, we do
not have the storage space to hold your pet's supplies
and toys. Please tell the staff person who does your
surrender counseling that there are things you'd like
your pet to have in its new home and a note will be
placed on your pet's paperwork for the new owners.
- Come during shelter hours. Please DO NOT leave your
pet outside the shelter when the facility is closed.
This can be dangerous to your pet's health, and we
cannot guarantee that someone will not take the animal
from outside the shelter. Do not give your pet to
anyone who approaches you in the parking lot, as people
can often have other motives for acquiring your pet.
- Donations of money or supplies are always welcome.
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