How do I adopt one of these dogs?

Open the dog's card. It takes you to that dog's page on its own shelter or rescue's website, and that group handles the whole adoption: the application, meeting the dog, the fee and the paperwork. NC Pet Project lists pets from many groups in one place. We do not house animals or take adoption applications.

How current is this list?

We read each shelter's and rescue's own adoption list once a day, early in the morning, and rebuild this page from it. A dog adopted since our last check can still show here until the next one, so the shelter's own page has the final word. How the list works names every source and when we last checked it.

Why are some pets marked as on a stray hold?

Some shelters list a stray as soon as it comes in, while it waits out the holding period that gives an owner time to reclaim it. Those pets cannot be adopted yet, so the list hides them at first and leaves them out of every count on this page. Untick "Hide pets on stray hold" under More filters to see them.

Dogs for adoption in North Carolina

More than 4,900 dogs, including more than 1,000 puppies, are waiting at 270 North Carolina shelters and rescues in 85 counties. Every dog links to its own shelter or rescue, which handles the adoption.

Dogs for adoption by county

Pick your county to see the dogs at its shelters and rescues, along with low-cost spay and neuter help nearby.

No dogs listed today in 15 counties: Alleghany, Ashe, Bladen, Chowan, Gates, Greene, Hyde, Martin, Northampton, Perquimans, Person, Richmond, Robeson, Tyrrell and Washington.

Counts from our latest daily check, without pets on a stray hold. A shelter or rescue that serves more than one county counts in each.

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Adopting a dog in North Carolina

Before you adopt, read our guides to adopting versus buying a dog in NC, how to spot a legitimate rescue and when to spay or neuter a dog by size.