Since our inception in May 2007, Encore Pets has rescued and re-homed close to 200 dogs and cats, most of which were rescued from shelters, in addition to strays and owner-relinquished pets.  

Volunteers with Encore Pets work closely with our local shelters to find foster homes, saving many pets from euthanasia.  Many of the pets rescued are special needs- undernourished, older, Heartworm-positive, with mange, etc.  Encore Pets provides foster pets with food, supplies and all necessary veterinary care, including: spay/neuter, vaccinations, preventatives, and other medical needs, such as heartworm treatment, dental work, etc.

The average cost of fully vetting our rescued pets is $200 to $250 per pet, and the cost is much higher for the special needs animals.  We have had a high success rate of placing our rescued animals in permanent homes.  However, we are always in need of donations and new foster homes for our life-saving work to continue.

Transport Program:
We recently began a transport program to move local shelter animals facing euthanasia to northern no-kill animal sanctuaries where they have a much greater chance of adoption.  This is a joint effort between Encore Pets, Carteret County Humane Society, and Live Oak Veterinary Hospital, and has been dubbed “DOG-GONE Transport”.  On November 15, 2009, eight Carteret County dogs were transported north via Cloud Nine Rescue Flights to Pets Alive Animal Sanctuary in NY and Animal Care Sanctuary in PA.  In just over a month, six of the eight were adopted.  In the month of December 2009, nine dogs from the Carteret County Humane Society were transported to NY, PA, and NJ via car.  Eight of the nine dogs were adopted in less than a month.  On January 16th, 2010, we sent 12 dogs to NY and PA via Cloud Nine Rescue Flights again.

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Our primary objective in offering spay/neuter clinics is to reduce the number of kittens and puppies that end up homeless or in our local shelters.

We’ve held seven low-cost spay-neuter clinics at the Duke Marine Lab, in collaboration with the Pet Overpopulation Patrol–NC out of Chapel Hill.  We successfully raised funds in 2009 to subsidize the cost of surgeries by $20 per pet.  Encore Pets also covers gas for the mobile unit and lodging for the veterinary staff.  The huge demand from the public for these clinics demonstrates the pressing need for these services in our area.  Encore Pets is the only non-profit animal welfare organization offering low-cost spay/neuter services to our community. We just held a three-day clinic in February 2010, in conjunction with the Humane Society’s Spay Day USA 2010, spay/neutering another 79 dogs and cats.  We hope to offer the Carteret County residents low-cost spay/neuter services via POP-NC four more times in 2010.

Number of Pets Spayed/Neutered/Vaccinated during Encore Pets/POP-NC clinics

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Publication of monthly Encore Pets’ Pet Newsletter:
A number of rescue groups in our area foster or care for animals in need of “forever homes”.  Encore Pets has built a network of five local animal rescue groups and shelters and publishes a monthly Pet Newsletter in the local paper with pictures and descriptions of animals available for adoption from each group.  We offer this exposure to the rescue groups and shelters at no charge to them.  In addition to presenting adoptable pets, the newsletter educates the public on the importance and benefits of spay/neuter, provides information on low-cost spay/neuter options in our area, and features articles on responsible pet ownership and pet health issues.

Initially two volunteers printed the newsletter in their homes and distributed them to local businesses and veterinary offices.  We then solicited business sponsors to help defray the cost of publication.  The Pet Newsletter now has a broad circulation (12,000 monthly) through our local paper, The Carteret News-Times.  We are responsible for the monthly cost of publishing the newsletter, which is only partially defrayed by our sponsors.

Education Program:
In 2009, Encore Pets volunteers provided educational programs for five schools and churches.  As we grow, we plan to expand the education of school children on humane treatment of animals and the importance of spay/neuter.

For more information on our Education Program, email encorepets@yahoo.com or call (252) 247-1747.

For our latest Pet Newsletter, click here.