Chatham Animal Rescue Education Inc.
Our Mission
The mission of Chatham Animal Rescue & Education (CARE) is to promote the health and safety of all dogs and cats in Chatham County, NC. CARE foster caregivers provide loving, stable homes to homeless cats and dogs, helping them become the best possible pets for their future forever families. CARE works with the Chatham County Animal Shelter to save the lives of unwanted cats and dogs, manages feral cat colonies, and serves as an educational resource. CARE’s Lillie’s Fund is a targeted spay/neuter program, subsidizing sterilization surgeries for pets owned by lower income families in Chatham County. CARE is a nonprofit animal welfare organization that has served the community since 1975 and relies on individual and corporate donors for support.
As a volunteer-based organization, we are completely reliant on the dedication of our wonderful volunteers to support our mission.
Adoption Policy
Pet Adoption Policy
Meeting Our Foster Animals
CARE is a volunteer-based organization which relies on foster caregivers to provide loving, stable homes to homeless cats and dogs, helping them become the best possible pets for their future forever families. We do not have a brick and mortar facility; our foster pets reside in our volunteers’ homes and become a part of the family until a forever home is found. You can meet many CARE foster pets at CARE adoption events or, after an application is submitted, by agreement with the CARE foster caregiver at a mutually agreed upon place.
Adoption Process
If you are interested in adopting a particular animal that is listed on the CARE website, click on Adoption Application and complete the application form. You will receive an automatic notification by email when CARE has received your application. Your application will be forwarded to that animal’s volunteer foster caregiver, who will review your application and contact you within 72 hours.
CARE foster caregivers are dedicated to finding the perfect match for each animal. Many pets get multiple applications and we ask that you be patient as we will personally contact each applicant. We strive to find the perfect forever home for each cat and dog, taking into consideration the pet’s personality characteristics, age, energy level, health status, etc., as well as the living situation within the home of a potential adopter. Note that submission of an adoption application does not guarantee that you will be selected as the new guardian for an animal. CARE volunteer foster caregivers know their foster animal’s behavior and temperament and are trained to look for the best fit in placing their foster animals. We consider many factors before finalizing adoptions for our foster animals. Additionally, we check vet references and we conduct home visits. You must be 21 years of age or older to adopt an animal from CARE.
CARE does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, gender, race, sexual orientation, or marital status. CARE’s only concern is finding the right home for each foster animal in our care. Due to the nature of our adoption process, we generally only adopt to homes located within 60 miles of Pittsboro, NC.
Adoption Fees
The adoption fee for cats is $100. This includes:
FIV/FeLV testing
Sterilization surgery
All appropriate vaccinations
Microchip
Deworming
Dental work (if necessary)
Routine and emergency (if needed) veterinary care while in foster care
The adoption fee for dogs ranges from $185-275. This includes:
Testing for heartworm/ehrlichia/lyme disease
Sterilization surgery
All appropriate vaccinations
Microchip
Deworming
Routine and emergency (if needed) veterinary care while in foster care
Dental work (if necessary)
Basic obedience training
Common Adoption Process Questions
I’m interested in an animal on the CARE website, can I visit the animal before submitting an application?
Our animals live in the homes of our volunteer foster caregivers, so unfortunately there is no facility where you can visit our animals. However, we regularly attend adoption events, please check our Events Schedule. If you are interested in a particular animal or multiple animals, please submit an application (Dogs | Cats) so that our foster caregivers can determine if you might be a good match. A volunteer will be in touch within 72 hours. Submission of an adoption application does not obligate you in any way.
I’m interested in an animal on the CARE website, is the animal still available?
Animals that are on a trial adoption or are pending adoption will usually be marked as such on the website. If this is not the case, an animal is likely available but may or may not have one or more applications in process. If you are interested in an animal, please submit an application (Dogs | Cats) and we will let you know their status.
I’m interested in an animal on the CARE website, can you tell me more about them?
Each animal on the website includes a description, and we strive to include as much information that we may have. As most of our animals are taken in from the County shelter, often we do not know the history of a particular animal.