Cancel

Open app

Search

SPCA of Wake County

3.6 (52 reviews)
Closed 11:00 am - 6:00 pm

Services - SPCA of Wake County

Animal shelters

SPCA of Wake County Photos

You might also consider

Recommended Reviews - SPCA of Wake County

Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
Yelp app icon
Browse more easily on the app
Review Feed Illustration

Reviews With Photos

Cat
Roo F.

Copped me a fuzzy friend. I named her Squid. She is very playful and so adorable, so I wanted to make sure she had a good place to go. I took her in to make sure she was all okay and up-to-date on her shots. The staff was very friendly and kind when talking to me, and they gave me a lot of good information when I visited. Also, we looked around the shelter at the other pets just for fun, and the facility is very clean. Overall, they have a lot of helpful and friendly employees if you have any questions or concerns with animal rescue! I was very pleased with my experience. Also, If you're looking for a good place to volunteer, the SPCA has great resources too!

Guinea Pig brothers.  The perfect addition to our family!
Meaghan G.

Covid has been really hard on my 5year old, and he's honestly been a trooper, but not being able to see a lot of his friends has put him in a funk, and affecting his sleep. Our dog is amazing, but I was hoping If I could find a smaller fur friend for our son's room, it may help. Just for fun I was browsing the SPCA website and fell in love with two guinea pig brothers. They are adorable and we are already so in love. Even with Covid, SPCA's communication has been awesome, but things are a bit different currently. Check their website for updated rules. Everything is currently by appointment and you do have to leave a message on the phone, so gotta have patience with that. When we came to bring our babies home, they met us outside and made everything easy peasy. I also really appreciated their informative paperwork.

Stephanie J.

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.

Elisha M.

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!

Who's a handsome bear?!!
Sue B.

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.

Ana María T.

My fiancé and I adopted our perfect cat from this shelter. The facility it's amazing, the animals have a great space to be in while waiting for their human match! The staff was very helpful and helped us to find the right match for our needs.

I recently adopted my kitten from the SPCA on my friend's recommendation. The adoption process literally took less than 24 hours, which I was really happy about since I had been talking to another adoption center and the process was taking weeks. The volunteer that I talked to on the phone who also assisted me at the center was super nice. I would recommend adopting pets from this center since the process is super quick (they don't even ask for additional references), the pets are taken care of well, they gave all the required documents for my kitten, and I was able to buy some basic necessities on the spot at their retail store.

Cooper 06/25/2018
Wendy S.

Plenty of lovely animals to choose from. Very clean facility and the animals were all clean and well taken care of. Everyone there was very helpful and we were able to bring our boy Cooper home the same day. Everything we needed for him was available in the SPCA's store. Not as cheap as I could have found elsewhere, but the money goes to a good cause. I'm not going to be adopting again in the near future, but I would highly recommend everyone go to the SPCA for their next furry family member. Please remember, not only puppies need homes; older dogs need homes, too. Adopt; don't shop!

See all

1 month ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Kayla W.
80
44
81

5 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

3 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 4
Oh no 0

5 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 2
Oh no 0

3 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

4 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Lynne S.
0
176
11

3 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Samantha R.

Samantha R.

Helpful 0
Thanks 2
Love this 0
Oh no 3

3 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 1

2 years ago

Great crew and I adopted a beautiful kitten last year and it was quick and easy. Good ng back and looking to adopt a dog

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

5 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 2
Oh no 0

10 years ago

Helpful 5
Thanks 0
Love this 5
Oh no 0

4 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Mary P.
61
79
2

4 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

14 years ago

Helpful 4
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0
Photo of Sue B.
0
23
3

12 years ago

Helpful 3
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0
Photo of Ann H.
372
1689
9765

14 years ago

Helpful 4
Thanks 0
Love this 2
Oh no 0

8 years ago

Helpful 5
Thanks 0
Love this 3
Oh no 0

5 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 1

7 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

8 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

8 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

8 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

10 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

6 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

4 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of D C.
0
32
1

4 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

15 years ago

Helpful 5
Thanks 0
Love this 3
Oh no 0

8 years ago

Helpful 4
Thanks 0
Love this 2
Oh no 0
Photo of Everyday C.
70
183
613

16 years ago

Helpful 3
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

7 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

8 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

5 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 1
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Lauren B.
10
20
44

9 years ago

Helpful 4
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

9 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

9 years ago

Helpful 3
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

6 years ago

We got our first kitten here. The people at the desk were very helpful and informational in walking us through our adoption process.

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Ryan E.
8
42
22

12 years ago

Helpful 8
Thanks 0
Love this 2
Oh no 0

7 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

12 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 3
Oh no 0

Page 1 of 2

Ask the Community - SPCA of Wake County

Do you neuter dogs and how much would it cost?

Yes! SPCA Wake offers low-cost spay/neuter services. Pricing depends on the dog's weight & gender, and whether you would like add-on services like heartworm testing, vaccines, microchip, etc. The full menu with service prices can be found at… Read more

Looking a small dog for a senior woman who just put her dog down 3 weeks ago. Please help. Low maintenance, no shedding. Can you help?

I have Diamond who would be great, I can’t afford to take care of her anymore,she sweet,spoiled, love family, low maintenance, will be on med rest of her life to shrink a mass on her bladder she love to take walk, belly rub, her snack after a walk… Read more

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

Review Highlights - SPCA of Wake County

My two other pets came from wake county animal shelter which is great too.

Mentioned in 2 reviews

Read more highlights

You might also consider

Rusty's Rescue Ranch - Marshall

Rusty's Rescue Ranch

(18 reviews)

Don't waste your time with these people. I went through a long application process for three dogs…read morewe were looking at only to be spoken down to about my living situation and how it wasn't right for the dogs I was looking at. I've owned the same breed in a similar living situation before and have years of experience volunteering in shelters. The vibe I got from them the whole time was "you're not good enough; you're under investigation." I couldn't be more committed to the work of animal shelters, but I have to say, this kind of behavior is one reason why people go and buy dogs. I will never do that, but it saddens me that they treat so many potential adopters so poorly.

I genuinely reached out because I wanted to help dogs in need and foster for this rescue, but after…read moremy experience, the negative reviews honestly make complete sense. The communication was rude, dismissive, and unnecessarily condescending from the start. Instead of having a normal conversation or working with someone willing to help, the attitude immediately felt hostile and judgmental. After reading more reviews, there seems to be a very clear pattern of poor communication, disorganization, aggressive responses to applicants, and treating potential fosters/adopters like they're a problem instead of support. The official violations notice tied to this rescue only made the experience even more concerning. (AWS-WL-2025-5 for review) At the end of the day, the saddest part is that the dogs are the ones paying for poor management and the inability to treat people with basic respect.

Safe Haven Cat Shelter & Clinic

Safe Haven Cat Shelter & Clinic

(26 reviews)

I have been volunteering at Safe Haven for almost 2 years now and have found the experience to be…read moregreat. There are several different positions so you can be as involved with the cats or as little as you want. I was initially nervous to volunteer as I was afraid I would fall in love with every cat and want to take them home. There have been a few I've wanted to take home but mostly I am just happy to see the kitties taken care of. There is always someone to help you if you aren't quite sure what to do and plenty of training provided. Everyone has been friendly.

Got my 3 fur babies neutered. Made appt and they send out confirmation and consent forms prior…read more The name of the place may have changed as it's now called Safe care. There is a clinic where they do spay and neuter and across the parking lot is adoption. They have everyone come in for drop off at 7:30 and pick up is at 3:30. They will do rabies and vaccines included in price and also offer microchip and post op pain meds for additional cost. The prices are very reasonable, I believe it was $85 for neuter. If you don't have hard plastic rectangle type carrier, they will have you transfer pet to one of theirs. My cats came out of operation and were so happy to get out of carrier. Contrary to what I thought, they had the zoomies from being confined all day but were back to normal next morning. We were told to separate them at first but they are so bonded, they just weren't having that. The check in process was first come first served and took awhile but line moved and staff seemed caring and took their time with any questions.

Hope Animal Rescue - Got this bundle of joy 5 years ago at Hope Animal Rescue. Her name is Elsa. They are a wonderful organization.  I highly recommend them.

Hope Animal Rescue

(11 reviews)

MEEEE-OW!!!! These guys rock!!!…read more I am a traveling contractor who does not get the opportunity to be at home with my pets very often and the majority of that responsibility goes to my partner. With an ill pet, all you want to know is, "Is he going to be ok?" "Is she getting better?" Our pets are more than a part of our family, they ARE our family. When my pet, Sparky, became distant and annoyed, and began to eat less, he also had a growth on his chin that I could not help him with...because I am not a doctor. Ah-ha! I reached out to HOPE Animal Rescue and I can't be more grateful. They stepped in and helped get Sparky to a veterinarian within a few days, after the application process was completed, and Sparky is a HAPPY CAT. Laurel was especially helpful in that she made the process seem like there wasn't a process...even though we all know what it takes to get things done today. Feats like this are not marginal notes in life...they are magnificent, loving, caring moments in time that help us to remember, "Wow. I really don't feel so alone out here in the world." I cannot say enough about HOPE Animal Rescue. In a way, Hope Animal Rescue rescued my pet AND me, because I was so distraught over what was happening to him and the not knowing is what creates the fear. Thank you to Laurel and the entire VOLUNTEER staff and businesses that help to support Hope Animal Rescue. You rescued the best part of me today...and if you're doing that for me, I know that you're doing this for a lot of other people. THANK YOU for all of the hard work that you're doing out there for the animals that aren't a part of our health care system.

Great system in place. Adopted my dog easily and they confirmed it was the best place for the dog.read more

Independent Animal Rescue - Tiger, whom we adopted from Independent Animal Rescue in 2014, living the good life.

Independent Animal Rescue

(4 reviews)

I had adopted my puppy from iIAR recently. A big shout out to all the professional volunteers. They…read moreare careful placing their animals in a safe, loving environment.

Independent Animal Rescue (IAR) goes above and beyond to care for companion animals in the Durham…read moreand Chapel Hill communities. They are truly all-volunteer and every decision they make is made with the best interest of the dog or cat in mind. I started fostering kittens with IAR in 2014 and continued on as a foster for several more years before transitioning to other volunteer roles. I also am what is known as a foster fail, having adopted an adorable lanky kitten early on as a companion for our resident kitty. Due to personal health concerns, I sadly stepped down from my volunteer roles last year, but I have a deep love for IAR and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone looking to adopt a dog, cat or pair of kittens, or to foster or volunteer! If you happen to be on one of the North Durham Nextdoor websites, on just about every post concerning community cats or dogs you'll see numerous individuals who have found help through IAR recommending them as a resource for guidance and support. I am sure the same is true throughout Durham, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro. IAR is quick to step in when there is a need - whether it's saving kittens who are in storm drains, feeding and spaying and neutering feral colonies, or rescuing and caring for homeless dogs and cats until they find their forever homes.

SPCA of Wake County - animalshelters - Updated May 2026

Loading...
Loading...
Loading...