welcome to friends of pac

We are a non profit effort designed to support the needs of the pets in our care.  We are committed to providing every pet that comes into our shelter with the best of health and the opportunity to find a loving home.

We are dedicated to keeping pets and families together.  As a result, Friends of the Pet Adoption Center is able to provide assistance to our community members who are in need of help.  Each program has specific requirements in order to quality for assistance.

The St. Charles County Pet Adoption Center opened in November 1999 as the home to the Division of Humane Services. Since that opening, the division has been dedicated toward improving the lives of animals in our community by:

• Sheltering and adopting animals into loving, forever homes.
• Working with prospective owners to enhance animal welfare.
• Reuniting lost pets with their owners.
• Enforcing St. Charles County's Animal Control Ordinance.

The St. Charles County Pet Adoption Center is an Open Admissions Shelter, which means that we accept authorized stray animals regardless of their adoptability. Owner-relinquished pets are individually assessed based on current shelter resources at the time of surrender. All stray dogs and cats are required by law to be held for a minimum of five business days, and 10 business days if the animal has identification. Once that legal hold time has been satisfied, we make all healthy, behaviorally sound animals available for adoption.

Time Limit

We do not give adoptable animals a time limit. We make them available for as long as we have space, and as long as they remain physically and mentally healthy. We also work with other area shelters and rescue groups, and have a very active foster parent program, which helps us to place more animals - including those with special needs.

Discussion:  Open Admissions vs. No-Kill Shelters

The Pet Adoption Center has a very high adoption rate, but, not all of the animals we take in can or should be adopted to the public. Some dogs and cats come to us with serious health or behavioral problems. For example, dogs that are extremely aggressive to people or that have a history of biting are not made available for adoption.

The difference between No-Kill and Open Admissions shelters can be confusing to many people. The term "No-Kill" often eases the mind and sounds more positive to caring individuals, whereas, "Open Admissions" is something vague and not easily understood. First and foremost, the caring and dedicated staff that works at Open Admissions Shelters never wants to have to put any animals to sleep, often going above and beyond to explore all possible avenues to get an animal adopted. Adopting pets out is one of the most important and rewarding responsibilities we have at the Pet Adoption Center. It is the reason that our staff loves their jobs. We feel that all animals deserve a happy, safe and forever home - regardless of where they came from or how they got to us. However, the reality is that this is often not a choice, but a decision that must be made in order to protect the animal or the public.

Open Admissions Shelters

• Do not turn away authorized stray animals, regardless of their health or behavior.
• Are often the last resort for frustrated owners needing to surrender a pet.
• Often will perform euthanasia at an owner's request.

No-Kill Shelters

• Have the ability to turn animals away when they are at capacity. This option forces pet owners to take animals to another shelter or make other arrangements when they feel they can no longer keep their animal.
• Can be very selective about which animals they accept and deny. No Kill Shelters may choose to take in only those animals they are certain they can adopt to others.
• Will euthanize animals suffering from severe medical or behavioral problems

Both of these organizations serve the public in important ways. Adoptions from either type of shelter ultimately helps animals, as do donations and volunteering. Discounting one type of organization over the other only ends up hurting the animals that need our help. Understanding how both of these facilities work and why they help is good for the entire community - different organizations can work together to help to resolve overpopulation issues in their community. However, it is important that all shelters and rescue groups remain open and honest about their policies and limitations to truly help the region. 

A microchip can help ensure that a lost or missing pet is reunited with its family, even if tags are lost or removed. A microchip is a small transponder, about the size of a grain of rice, that is implanted just under the skin of a dog or cat (usually between the shoulder blades). The chip contains a registration number than can be traced back to a pet’s owner.

For more detailed information on the benefits of microchips, please visit the American Veterinary Medical Association website.

Scanners

Veterinarians, animal shelters, and humane societies all over the world have microchip scanners and can check any animal for a chip. If your pet is lost and found by an individual or agency, the shelter can scan the dog or cat for a microchip and quickly return it to its owner.

Fees

At the Pet Adoption Center, microchipping is offered for a $10 fee during regular business hours (no appointment necessary), and all pets adopted through the Pet Adoption Center are microchipped before they can be taken home. In addition, area veterinarians provide this service to their clients.

Nearly 70,000 puppies and kittens are born each day in the United States, which is way more than can ever be placed in loving homes. By spaying and neutering our pets, responsible owners do their part to control pet overpopulation and to limit the number of unwanted animals. All dogs and cats adopted through the Pet Adoption Center are spayed or neutered, but your veterinarian can perform this process on other unaltered pets if you choose.   Please call 636-485-7784 for more information and to make an appointment.

Benefits

Studies show that surgical sterilization enhances a pet’s health and quality of life. Dogs and cats are shown to:

• be better behaved.
• do not “mark” their territory.
• are less likely to roam the neighborhood.
• live longer.
• have less incidences of cancers.

Potential Implications

While spaying and neutering are major surgeries, these commonly performed procedures to remove reproductive organs have low incidence of complications. Using general anesthesia and medications to minimize pain, the surgery usually heals within a few days. Typically, the only complication is that the owner will need to keep their pet calm for a few days until the incision heals.

Fertile Rate

Male dogs and cats are capable of breeding at approximately 6 months of age, and they are likely to being displaying aggressive behaviors when seeking a mate after reaching maturity - unless they are neutered.

Female dogs experience a "heat" cycle every 6 months (depending upon the dog) that can last up to 3 weeks each time. Female cats come into heat every 2 or 3 weeks during the breeding season (typically March through September in our region).

Feral Cats

In addition to adopted pets, the Division of Humane Services provides spay and neuter services for feral and barn cats. Run by volunteers one day each month, the TNR Program (Trap Neuter Return) through the Pet Adoption Center has treated thousands of feral cats since its introduction in 2003.

Open to St. Charles County residents only, the cats are vaccinated for rabies, treated for parasites and altered so that they can no longer breed. For more information on the TNR Program or to make an appointment to participate, please call 636-229-1220. Please leave a message if there is no answer, and your call will be returned soon.  Please note this is a message service and you will have to state your name to start the phone call.

Call our shelter to see if you may qualify for our low cost heartworm preventative program.  Heartworm disease is very painful to your pet.  A simple monthly preventative helps keep your pet healthy.  
The cost is $60 which include testing and a years sulpoly of Heartworm prevention. 

Pets are an important part of our lives and can boost spirits when times are tough. The Division of Humane Services' Pet Food Pantry helps the dogs and cats in St. Charles County receive the responsible care they deserve.

Qualifying St. Charles County Pet Owners can receive free food for their dog or cat through the monthly program at the Pet Adoption Center. The program distributes dry pet food to registered families on an as-available basis. To register to join or to learn more about the program, please call  (636) 949-7366.

To qualify, pet owners must:

• Register in advance (showing photo identification and proof of St. Charles County residency.
• Show proof of need.
• Show proof of current rabies vaccination for each animal covered or update the animal's shot record at the time of registration.
• Show proof that the animal is spayed or neutered or make arrangements to do so at the time of registration.
• Bring a container large enough to carry at least 3 pounds of food.

Sustaining the Pet Food Pantry

Routine gifts from area businesses or members of the community contribute greatly to the success of this program. If you operate a pet-friendly business or are an individual interested in donating goods or services to this program, please call us at (636) 949-7366