SPCA of Wake County

I got my baby, Luna, from here and she is the perfect fit for our family. The staff were all very friendly and so eager to answer any questions I had/​pair me with dogs they think I might get along well with. It’s obvious they love these animals and want them to be adopted. The whole facility is very clean, the rooms are very large, and you will never see piles of poop or puddles of pee like you would at the Wake County Animal Shelter.
The questioning can be a little excessive, but for me that just shows how committed they are to finding loving, forever homes for all pets.
I will always recommend the SPCA to anyone looking to adopt.

They were fine to work with. The facilities seemed clean and nice. The issue I have is that when we adopted our little guy December 2014 (3.5 month old neutered kitten) and brought him home we of course took him for his first vet visit. He had really bad roundworm AND protazoa so multiple dewormings and 10 days of medicine via syringes to our little guy. It was EXPENSIVE (he was of course so worth it). I know it’s tough to get animals healthy when they come from the streets but our little guy had been there awhile and had a «clean bill of health.» Well let me tell you the nerves I had to feel for two weeks while he was getting over all of this intestinal distress… the poor guy had anal prolapse every time he was picked up or stood on his hind legs. I want to adopt again, but I know I’ll have to pay an arm and a leg to adopt and pay for all the vet bills on top of it for my new family member AND my current little guy because he’ll again be exposed to the roundworm and protazoa (because there’s no way they SPCA shut down the room, sterilized it and treated all the other cats who shared the space with my guy).

I have adopted nearly all of my pets from the SPCA growing up, at both the old and new location. I love the new facility, it is extremely nice and I highly recommend that you check this place out when looking for the next member of your family.
I have also volunteered at the SPCA as a cat matchmaker and at the fundraising events, this was a great experience as well.

Last week drove 24 miles to donate items. Found few more old collars so not complete waste of my time to drive way out here again to exchange mislabeled collar (paid $ 25 for it). Knowingly paid premium because profits benefit non-​profit organization. Greeter was nice as were employees last week. But store clerk was not. No apology. Customer service was severely absent. Beware that collars labeled different on front & back– no telling what’s inside the re-​closable packages. Bring tape measure

I have never had a good experience with the SPCA. Twice now we looked at a dog, fell in love with one, and they decided to give the dog to someone else. The first time, years ago, the dog wasn’t ready to adopt and so we reserved him and came back. In that span of time, another family decided they wanted him, and so the staff response was to draw names out of a hat and the other people got him, even though we were there days before these people were. Today, we played with a dog for 20 minutes, the volunteer taking care of her told us the process, but in the time it took to go to the front desk, someone else decided to adopt that specific puppy. The trainer didn’t seem to know of anyone else who looked at the dog because she told me «congratulations!» I had to explain that someone else got him first and she didn’t seem to understand. And now we have to explain it to a really disappointed two year old. Thanks for that.
As for the process, you pick an animal, they do an interview to see if you’re a good fit, and you pay a small fee and take him/​her home. They give nice accommodations to a relatively small number of animals and are very choosy about the owners. Just don’t let yourself fall in love with an animal until you’ve signed something.

I adopted my Fur-​ever daughter Ella here back in 2009. I am so grateful that the SPCA brought this dog and I together. They took her in after her original owners fed my sweet girl gorilla glue abandoned her. When I met Ella she was shaved from her big surgery but through all that pain, you could tell the people here took great care of her. She was happy dog! Even happier when we left! All of the folks that work here are compassionate and loving people. Always adopt, don’t shop!

I adopted my dog from Wake SCPA as a first-​time foster fail. I’m still on the foster email list and can say these folks tirelessly make every effort to get these animals permanent homes. That said, they’re honest and up front about any health or behavioral issues they observe. These folks love animals and are personally vested in their welfare. They’re no doubt ecstatic about being a no-​kill shelter which is so awesome!
PS — the dog I adopted from WSPCA is the sweetest, most loving dog I’ve ever had.

Excellent cat and dog choices! The place is clean and volunteers are eager to help with most questions.

This is the cleanest, friendliest, most organized animal shelter I’ve ever been to. Our next cat is going to be coming from this place. I love the holiday art show, with the cat print art and the free wine. My 7-​year-​old still has the cat print art from last year hanging on his wall.

We love the SPCA! When my boyfriend and I decided that we were ready to adopt a kitten, the SPCA was the first, and only place we went.
On our first visit we filled out a survey about what we were looking for in a pet, what our home was like, what our expectations were and what our history with pets was. After that we were given a visitors pass and were allowed in to visit the kittens, cats, puppies, dogs, and bunnies.
All of the animal rooms are very well kept and there aren’t any overwhelming bad pet smells. Most of the animals were sleeping, but the ones that were awake all seemed happy. The staff were very interactive and persistent in reminding us to sanitize our hands.
On our second visit we were able to check in at the front desk since we had already filled out the survey. We decided on a kitten and started the adoption process. The adoption counselor took around an hour telling us about our new kitten’s medical history, what we needed to do and she answered every single one of our questions. She was very knowledgeable and it was very obvious that she wanted to take the time to make sure this kitten was going to have a good home.
On a downside, I was disappointed that our new kitten came home with an upper respiratory virus and conjunctivitis, but we are taking care of him!
The website is very helpful and provides a ton of information not only about animals available for adoption, but also pet care and pet FAQ. I feel good that we can call the pet help hotline if we have any questions and we feel confident that we made the best choice. If we every adopt again, we will go back to the Wake County SPCA!

I’m an adoption counselor, volunteer, previous adopter and big supporter of another, cat-​only shelter in Raleigh… so that place truly has my heart (
), but when we decided we were ready for a pet of the canine persuasion, I knew exactly where we’d go.
I participated in the SPCA’s K9−3K walk last spring and have visited their facility for last year’s Open House. Since they became no-​kill, they’ve been on my radar for my own personal dog adoption. The shelter is beautiful and spacious, and they house a really helpful shop where you can buy pretty much anything you need to take your new pal home (crates, toys, beds, leashes, collars, harnesses, etc.) All the animals are in big, open rooms and they have little fenced in areas outside for playtime.
When we came in to adopt, we filled out a little survey about what type of dog we were interested in, detailed our energy levels, time we could devote to a pet, and so on. The SPCA utilizes the «Meet Your Match» program* (think e-​Harmony for pets), so once an adoption counselor had looked over our form, we were given a little colored paper and were told to look specifically at dog’s whose rooms also had that color. I’m a little OCD, so I’ve had a list of potential dogs that I’d seen on the website for months and while we looked around at all the pups for a bit… we knew who we wanted to visit with. We played and interacted with 2 different dogs and had made our choice in about an hour.
We then worked with a counselor, discussed the dog’s medical and behavioral history, and were allowed to walk him outside. We left to leave to go shopping for food and other supplies, and to set up our home before bringing baby home. When we returned to the SPCA, we filled out our contract, went over microchip info and headed home. The process literally took all day (including the 2 hours when we left to shop/​go home), but it was absolutely worth it and the staff/​volunteers were incredibly helpful.
*More on «Meet Your Match» program here:

This is an incredible facility. It’s nearly everything you’d want to see in a shelter: cage-​free (unless the animal is being treated for something or on a special diet), big rooms, plenty of toys and beds and playtime and staff that actually wants to do the right thing for each of their pet residents.
Some of the rooms open out to large sun rooms where the cats can snooze in the sun. The dog rooms don’t have their own sunroom, but there is an area for them to be let out to play.
You can stay as long as you’d like, and if you’re a frequent visitor, you can get a frequent visitor pass allowing you access without the paperwork. Once you decide, the adoption counselor will work with you to make sure you’re chosen companion is a good fit — both you and your pet get a fun little personality-​matching profile.
And cats and dogs aren’t all, there’s even some rabbits if your preference tends to the more sedate pet. The gift shop is also a nice thing to have available; they carry everything you might need to make your new friend feel welcome when the time comes to take him home.

If you are looking for a pet, this is the place to go! They always look after the interest of the dogs and cats. We got our last dig from the and I can truly say they care about their animals! Two thumbs up!

I have to give a big 5 stars to the Wake County SPCA for officially transitioning to a no-​kill shelter and pet placement program.
The staff here is friendly and invested in the welfare of the animals. What more could you ask for?

Great place to find a loveable dog, cat or bunny. The animals come and go very fast, especially the youngsters. I visited this location twice in the last week, once during business hours and the parking lot was full around 2:00~, every dog was just about gone.
You can have a private play session with the pet of your choice to see if your compatible, etc.
I didn’t like the fact that people freely squirt hand sanitizer dozens of times on their hands carelessly. You really should wash your hands, rather than using a chemical to try and cleanse them. How about wash stations throughout the complex? If you go, please take a minute to wash your hands in the bathroom before exiting the building.
The place is filled to the rim with «volunteers»!!! I give them a huge pat on the back.
Drawbacks of adopting from here, you get interviewed, counseled, etc. They will try and talk you out of certain animals if they feel they are inappropriate for your household. Good for some people but not for all. Plus, they demand you take your newly adopted pet to a Vet within 2 weeks of adoption, that’s another $ 150. I know its neccessary but please be prepared before going in there half cocked and ready to adopt.
The animals are usually spade or neutered, dewormed, tick and flea killer applied, potty trained.

The people there were amazing in helping us get our new bff. They were flexible and kind. the facility was clean and welcome. They really do the best job of taking care of your new pal, even before you meet them. :)