Animal Admitting 

**Our shelter is currently near capacity. We will be accepting surrenders on a case-by-case. Please fill out a surrender form below to be reviewed. (Filling out a form does not guarantee we can accept the surrender)**
Surrendering your pet should be a last resort. Before you consider starting HSWM’s admissions process, please read the information below.

We may be able to help you keep your pet!
Our community Resource and behavior teams have many resources to help you keep your pet, such as behavior advice, assistance with vet care, food support, and referrals. If you are interested in pursuing assistance to help keep your pet in your home, please reach out to [email protected] or visit https://www.hswestmi.org/services-823062.html
Have You Considered Re-Homing Your Pet as an Alternative to Shelter Surrender?
Re-homing is when an owner finds a new home for their pet on their own and that pet goes directly from their current home to their new home. (Surrender is different: that is when a pet is relinquished to a shelter to be placed up for adoption.)

Re-Homing is great for you:
  • You have complete control over the entire process when you choose re-homing.
  • You decide the right fit for your pet and have more flexibility in what you can require of a potential adopter.
  • You can request or require that the new owner stay in touch with you, unlike when you surrender to a shelter.

Re-Homing is great for your pet:
  • Just as a hospital or hotel is, generally speaking, more stressful and less comfortable than our own home, a shelter is a more taxing environment for pets.
  • Pets with health or behavioral challenges, often experience more stress and trauma in a shelter setting. We always recommend that owners of pets who have chronic health issues or who are shy/timid/fearful of new people/situations, utilize re-homing instead of surrendering to a shelter.

Re-Homing is great for our community and local shelters:
  • The unfortunate reality of animal rescue is that there is a finite availability of resources (financial, staff and space) compared to the large volume of pets in need.
  • There are more dogs and cats in our community that need homes than there are homes to house them.
  • Every pet who is able to be placed in a new home without having to come into the shelter, is an opportunity to reserve limited resources for families whose situations do not allow them to re-home their pets.

Recommendations for Rehoming
Re-homing is when an owner finds a new home for their pet on their own and that pet goes directly from their current home to their new home. (Surrender is different: that is when a pet is relinquished to a shelter to be placed up for adoption.) 
  • Re-homing your pet with a friend/family member.
  • https://rehomewithlove.com/: Rehome with Love offers several service options, including a no-cost option that allows pet guardians to list their pets on their platform with basic support and guidance.
  • https://home-home.org/rehome: Home to Home offers the ability for pet owners to post pets they need to rehome.
  • https://rehome.adoptapet.com/: Adopt a Pet offers a simple, reliable program to help you place your pet from your loving home directly to another.

Surrender Process

Returning a Recently Adopted Pet
HSWM understands that not all animals are a good fit for your home and not every home is a good for all animals. If you determine your new pet isn’t a good fit, please reach out to [email protected]. You will receive an adoption credit to use toward adopting another animal that is a better fit. The adoption credit will be equal to the adoption fee of the original pet and must be used within 90 days. If you choose a new pet with a higher fee than the original adoption, you will be required to pay the difference at the time of adoption. HSWM does not issue monetary refunds for any difference in adoption fees or for animal licensing.

Pet Surrender
HSWM is a private, non-profit shelter that does not euthanize for time or space. Because of this, we do admissions by appointment for both stray and owned animals. We are often booked out for appointments, so we will not be an immediate option for surrender. 
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If you would like to start the process of surrendering an animal to us, please read the instructions below for our surrender questionnaires. We will not be able to reply to inquiries about surrender unless you have submitted a questionnaire.

Please remember that we are a shelter that does not euthanize for time or space, so there may be a wait time to schedule your pet for a surrender appointment due to space availability at the shelter. Once the appointment is scheduled and the date arrives, expect your appointment to take approximately 30 minutes. You should bring all medical records for your animal and your photo ID.

Surrender Fees
  • ​Small Animal: $20
  • Reptiles & Birds: $10
  • Kittens/Puppies 6 Months & Younger (Owner Surrender): $50 fee for first animal and $5 additional charge for each littermate
  • Adult Cat & Dog 6 Months & Older (Owner Surrender): $50

​IMPORTANT NOTES: 
Please read the information below very carefully before your appointment
**If an animal is unable to be safely handled by our staff at the time of the appointment, we will not be able to accept them into our facility**

  • It is extremely important to show up on time on the day of your scheduled slot to ensure that each appointment can be given the appropriate time, compassion, and safety to complete the process.
  • If you arrive early to your appointment, for the safety of everyone, wait in your vehicle until your scheduled time. 
  • If you are late to your appointment or your plans have changed, please email us so we can adjust accordingly.  ​
  • HSWM cannot accept checks as payment, and payment is needed at the time of the appointment.
  • If you find a stray dog, please call your local shelter / animal control first
  • Bring your animal properly secured; cats in carriers, dogs on leashes.
  • Bring any veterinary records that you have for the pet you are surrendering. Be prepared to provide information that will assist us in placing your pet in a new home best suited for them. You can bring items they like such as blankets, beds, toys, etc.

HSWM's "No Kill" Policy & Unadoptable Pets
Our shelter has committed to saving all savable pets entering our care. We do not euthanize healthy or treatable pets even at an owner’s request. We only euthanize a pet if:

  • A veterinarian or trained medical staff under guidelines set by a veterinarian has deemed the prognosis to be poor or grave, there is no chance of recovering an acceptable quality of life, or
  • It would be clearly inhumane or unsafe not to do so immediately, or
  • In cases of irremediable aggression, (1) a veterinarian has eliminated medical treatment as a solution; (2) rehabilitation by a specialist in animal behavior has failed; and (3) staff and public safety cannot be reasonably assured, or other management protocols seriously compromise quality of life.

The circumstances outlined above would constitute an animal being deemed "unadoptable", for both their safety/wellbeing and the safety/wellbeing of other animals and humans. 

Stray Animals

Stray Animals
If you have a stray animal that you need picked up or that you cannot hold onto for more than a week, we recommend contacting Kent County Animal Shelter, which is the municipal shelter that is responsible for stray animal pickups and may take strays in sooner.
  • If you find a litter of kittens or puppies and want to bring them in, please email [email protected]
  • Because HSWM is a non-government shelter, we do chare a small fee to intake stray animals. This helps to cover the cost of care while they are at our facility.

Stray Animal Intake Fees
  • Small Animal: $20
  • Reptiles & Birds: $10
  • Kittens/Puppies 6 Months & Younger (Strays): $35 fee for first animal and $5 additional charge for each littermate
  • Adult Cats & Dogs 6 Months & Older (Stray): $35
Please email us at [email protected] or call our admitting department directly if you have any questions at 616-453-0175.
​Our hours of operation are Tuesday through Friday 12-5pm. 

​Admitting Hours (Subject to Change)
Monday | CLOSED

Tuesday-Friday | 12:00pm-5:00pm

Saturday | CLOSED

​Sunday | CLOSED