Option 1: Giving Up a Pet to the Animal Shelter (Last
Resort)
Animal shelters in our region—such as the Russell County Animal Shelter (https://www.russellcountyva.us/161/Animal-Shelter) and Tazewell County Animal Shelter (https://tazewell.dogrescues.org)-are sadly overcrowded, underfunded, and often operating beyond capacity.
If surrendering your pet is unavoidable, we encourage you to take the following steps:
• Vaccinate your pet: This protects them from disease in a high-risk shelter environment.
• Spay or neuter your pet: Altered animals are more likely to be adopted and less likely to reproduce if they are not adopted.
* Keep your pet until there is space. Call the animal shelter and ask if you can keep your pet until space is available at the shelter.
* Please remember that public shelters are limited in capacity and may face the choice of euthanizing your animal. Please ensure you've done all you can before surrendering a pet to your local shelter.
FRCA offers free spay/neuter for pets being to the shelter surrendered to a shelter.
If you are considering this option and need help altering your pet before surrender, please contact us. We want to give your pet the best possible chance at adoption.
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Option 2: Rehome Your Pet Directly
If you’re unable to keep your pet but want to avoid the shelter system, consider rehoming through trusted friends, neighbors, or online tools. One free, safe, and reputable platform is:
Rehome by Adopt-a-Pet – This service helps connect your pet with loving families while giving you control over the rehoming process.
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Option 3: Contact an animal rescue to take your pet
Friends Russell County Animal does not accept cat, dog, bird, or small animal surrenders. The rescue may not be within the Southwest Virginia region, but transportation may be possible with the help of our local animal shelters. They work with rescues and transport shelter pets to them weekly.
Homeward Trails Animal Rescue (link https://www.homewardtrails.org )
Friends of Homeless Animals (link: https://foha.org)
Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation ( link https://www.lostdogrescue.org )
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Option 4: You May Just Need a Little Help
Before giving up your pet, ask yourself: “What do I really need right now?”
Often, it’s not that you want to rehome your pet—you may just need temporary support.
Friends of Russell County Animals offers a Shelter Intervention Program to keep pets and families together whenever possible. We may be able to help with:
• Emergency or urgent veterinary care
• Basic wellness care
• Spay or neuter assistance
• Pet food or essential supplies
• Guidance or creative problem-solving
If you’re struggling, please complete our
assistance application and a team member will follow up with you directly.
