Animal Shelters & Rescues in Houston

Houston's municipal shelter takes in strays, and private humane societies and volunteer rescues, many of them foster-based with no building, rehome pets too. If you have lost or found a pet, start with the city shelter; use the listings below to find rescues and other shelters near you.

The city animal shelter

BARC Animal Shelter & Adoptions is the City of Houston's municipal animal shelter. Its FAQ describes an adoption center, a wellness clinic and an animal enforcement section, and BARC also handles pet registration under Chapter 6 of the city code.

Harris County Pets is a separate county agency. Its regulations apply to all portions of unincorporated Harris County, and BARC warns that a mailing address that reads "Houston" can still be outside the city limits. Check which jurisdiction your address falls in before you call.

Found a stray or lost your pet

Before bringing a healthy stray to BARC, BARC asks residents to check for tags or identification, have the pet scanned for a microchip, post in local lost-and-found pet groups and hold the pet safely while they look for the owner. Sick or injured strays need no appointment. BARC's summary of the Chapter 6 changes says the stray hold was reduced from 72 to 48 hours for animals without a microchip, so confirm the current hold with BARC if time is short. The summary does not say what applies to animals with a microchip, so ask BARC.

If you have lost a pet, BARC says to report it on a national lost-and-found database, search the area where it went missing, hang lost-pet signs, share a flyer on social media and visit the shelter in person to look for your pet. If you live in unincorporated Harris County, Harris County Pets holds strays for 3 days before placing them for adoption.

Licenses and microchips

BARC says the City of Houston Municipal Code requires anyone who owns or keeps a dog or cat four months of age or older to have the pet registered, vaccinated against rabies every year and microchipped with a registered microchip. Registration must be renewed yearly and updated when you move or the pet is given away, lost, stolen or has died. According to the BARC FAQ, only people who live inside the City of Houston limits are required to register their pets.

Surrendering or rehoming a pet

BARC calls surrender a last resort and asks residents to look at rehoming options first. It accepts surrenders only from residents of the Houston city limits, and most owned-pet surrenders need an appointment, booked separately for each animal unless it is a litter or a mother with her litter. Each household may bring one pet per week. Sick or injured pets are seen without an appointment. If you live outside the city, BARC will try to point you to the right agency.

Adopting a pet

BARC's adoption page says all adoptions are done in person, no appointment is needed, adopters must be 18 or older with a government-issued photo ID, and you should allow at least an hour. Adopted pets go home with spay or neuter surgery, vaccinations including rabies, a microchip and a one year City of Houston registration; a pet that is not yet fixed stays at the shelter until its surgery.

Meet the pet more than once if you can, ask what the shelter knows about its history and have your landlord's pet policy handy before you commit.

About these listings

Many listings here were added from public business data and have not been claimed yet. Ask the shelter or rescue directly about opening hours, adoptable pets and whether it takes surrenders. If you run one of these shelters or rescues, you can claim or correct its listing from its page.