Metro Animal Shelter Changes Policy on Surrenders

The Metro Animal Shelter are changing their policy due to an uptick in surrender rates in recent years. This per a statement from the City of Casper.

"...animal shelters should be the last resort for pet owners" stated the shelter.

Surrendering a pet at Metro requires an appointment, an in-person interview, and a $60 per animal fee. There are multiple no-cost resources for members of #ourcommunity to rehome pets that we encourage individuals to utilize before making an appointment to surrender at the shelter. Home-home.org and rehome.adoptapet.com are two free options that citizens of Casper have found to be successful.

Adoption fees at Metro will remain the same. The cost to adopt a dog is $50 and the cost to adopt a cat is $35. Included in the adoption fee is a microchip and a voucher for a free health exam. A $100 deposit is required for the adoption of an unaltered animal, this deposit is refunded with proof of spay/neuter.

Historically, Metro Animal Shelter has provided options for owners to surrender unwanted pets, and then cared for the animals until re-homing options became available.

50% of the shelter’s daily population coming from animal surrenders. This trend brought to light an issue with pets being surrendered for reasons outside of the spirit of the policy, which is meant to protect pets in unforeseen emergency situations. Additionally, it has put a strain on the capacity of the facility.