SURRENDER YOUR PET
Animal Control Division accepts all dogs and cats from Cleveland City/Bradley County residents at no charge. No pet will be turned away. Owners who surrender their pets will give up all rights to the pet. Pet owners are required to sign a surrender form stating they are the owners.
Pets may be surrendered at the Animal Control Division or an Animal Control Officer can be dispatched to pick your pet up. However, you must be at home to surrender your pet in order to sign the form giving the Animal Control Division the right to pick up your pet.
There is no age limit on the pet to be surrendered.
- By law, stray dogs/puppies and cats/kittens must be held for 3 days in order to give owners a chance to claim the animals.
- If a dog/puppy or cat/kitten is healthy and not aggressive, it will be placed for adoption.
- If the dog/puppy or cat/kitten is injured or ill, it may receive basic medical care or may be sent to a rescue group to recuperate and be adopted.
- In cases where the animal is suffering, euthanizing it might become necessary.
- There is no hold period for owner-surrendered dogs/puppies or cats/kittens.
- Stray animals that are deemed eligible for adoption have no time limit after the 3 days. If they are not adopted and there is no rescue group to take them, they could be euthanized soon after the 3 days. Animal Control Division may euthanize them due to health, temperament or lack of space.
The key criteria considered for adoption eligibility are health, temperament and space. If a pet has a medical condition, a rescue group may help. If there are none, we have no choice but to euthanize them after the stray hold period. Aggressive animals will not be placed for adoption. Over 7,000 pets are handled at the Animal Control Division (A.C.D) each year, and sadly there are not nearly enough homes for all of them. Spay or neuter your pets. It saves lives.
Pet owners who wish to find out if their former pet was adopted can call (423) 479-2122 and select option 1.
Our motto at the Animal Control Division for pet owners who surrender their pet is: Please use us as the last resort! Before you surrender your pet to the Animal Control Division, we encourage you to exhaust every other avenue. Below are some avenues to consider:
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1) Cleveland Daily Banner –---(432) 472-5041
2) Tennessee Trader Paper—(423) 476-3911, 476-1420. 336-5020
3) Rescue Groups