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SERVING PEOPLE. SAVING PETS.

winnebago county animal services is a department of Winnebago County government covering more than 500 square miles and serving the more than 280,000 residents who call Winnebago County home. We provide a number of services including pet licensing and registration, veterinary care to animals in need, animal welfare and cruelty investigations, pet adoptions, and more.  

The Animal Services department cares for an average of 4,000 animals each year, serves all municipalities, and is the only government run animal services/animal sheltering organization in the county.  We work to find homes for pets not reclaimed by their owners. If you are considering adoption we encourage you to view our adoptable pet listings, which are automatically updated every few minutes throughout the day.  If you don’t find the pet you’re looking for at Animal Services, also consider visiting other nonprofit shelters and rescues in the community. 

hours / contact

Shelter/Lobby Hours:
Monday: 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday-Friday: 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday: 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Sunday: CLOSED
*Please note, all adoptions end 30 minutes prior to closing.

Patrol Hours:
Daily: 7:00 AM. – 12:00 AM (midnight)

Phone: (815) 319-4100
Fax: (815) 319-4101

Main Shelter

4517 North Main Street
Rockford, IL 61103

our services

In addition to pet adoption, WCAS offers services to help keep the pets and people of Winnebago County safe and healthy.

Pet Registration

Pet registration is required by law and a great way to help your pet get back home if they become lost. Plus, these fees fund our services.

Animal Welfare & Investigations

Our team investigates animal welfare and safety concerns. We also offer outreach and education about responsible pet ownership.

Vaccinations & Rabies Control

Regular vaccination is required for all cats and dogs and helps keep our pets and community healthy. Our team investigates bite incidents to prevent the spread of the rabies virus.

Spay/Neuter & TNR

Spaying/neutering pets helps prevent pet overpopulation in our community. Learn more about spay/neutering and our trap-neuter-return (TNR) program to control barn and feral cat populations.

featured
animals
for

adoption

Violet

Female | 8 yearsTerrier, Pit Bull
Meet Me

Victoria

Female | 2 yearsTerrier, American Pit Bull
Meet Me

Nikolai

Male | 1 yearTerrier, American Pit Bull
Meet Me

Nico

Male | 2 yearsTerrier, Pit Bull
Meet Me

Kam

Male | 1 yearTerrier, Pit Bull
Meet Me

Duchess

Female | 2 yearsTerrier
Meet Me

Biscuit

Male | 10 yearsTerrier
Meet Me

Babygirl

Female | 2 yearsTerrier, Pit Bull
Meet Me

Alphonse

Male | 4 yearsTerrier, American Pit Bull
Meet Me

Lilo

Female | 2 yearsDomestic Shorthair
Meet Me

Celeste

Female | 2 yearsDomestic Shorthair
Meet Me

Bede

Male | 3 yearsDomestic Shorthair
Meet Me

considering adopting?

add a furry member to your family

Winnebago County Animal Services works to find happy and healthy homes for adoptable dogs, cats, and other animals. We make finding and bringing home your new family member easy and affordable.

animal
fostering

interested in becoming a foster?

Fostering is a wonderful and rewarding way to help animals who require a little extra attention and care before they are able to be adopted into a permanent home.

we’re social animals

join our pack

‼🎉ADOPTION UPDATE!🎉‼

⚡✨TIMES THREE!✨⚡

One of our AMAZING foster families recently reached out with an adoption update on these three precious cats! Each began as a foster in her home and ended up staying for good!
(If you're interested in becoming a ...foster, please visit our website and fill out our Foster Application!)

🐾Here’s a triple Happy Tails!!! All 3 of these happy babies were adopted from WCAS and are living their best life as “brothers and sisters”! Adopted as kittens named KitKat, (2020) Axle, (2023) and Esme(2025) …. Fezzie, Simba and Honey are living their best life. Much loved and part of the family!!!! Thank you WCAS!!🐾

👉Interested in creating your own adoption story? We have lots of amazing dogs & cats available for adoption!

👉Visit our website - www.WinnebagoAnimals.org -to complete an adoption questionnaire!

👉If you've adopted from WCAS and would like to share an update & photos, you can message us OR send us an email at wcas@wcas.wincoil.gov

🌟🐾 Paw-some Pick of the Day! 🐾🌟

We’re shining the spotlight on our pets with something special: each day, one amazing pet will be featured as our Paw-some Pick of the Day — and for that day only, their adoption fee is waived!

👉Tuesday, February 3rd's ...Paw-some Pick is Payton A0060037939!

Payton is a 2-year-old, 47-lb pup who came to WCAS as a stray and was never reclaimed, so his exact background is unknown. What we do know is that Payton has been a social and friendly guy during his time here!
While at WCAS, Payton participated in a dog introduction with another dog, which went very well. The two hit it off right away and maintained positive, friendly behavior throughout their interaction.
Payton is now ready to find a family to get back to and love forever.🐶✨

🖱Click here to submit an Adoption Questionnaire - https://winnebagoanimals.org/adoption-application/

‼🎉ADOPTION UPDATE!🎉‼

❤Remember Coco???❤

Coco came to WCAS in October of last year as an owner surrender due to decline in her owner's health. Coco spent the next few weeks in our care and was soon adopted into what is definitely her forever home!

...Coco's adopters reached out and shared this wonderful update and these great photos!
🐾Just an update on Coco. She adjusted so quickly, and we could not be happier. She is a playful, loving well behaved girl. She gets along famously with her humans and her dog brother Linus. What a great addition to our family. 🐾

👉Interested in creating your own adoption story? We have lots of amazing dogs & cats available for adoption!

👉Visit our website - www.WinnebagoAnimals.org -to complete an adoption questionnaire!

👉If you've adopted from WCAS and would like to share an update & photos, you can message us OR send us an email at wcas@wcas.wincoil.gov

🎉🎉 Last week, Winnebago County Animal Services helped 33 pets find adoptive families! This included 19 cats and 14 dogs!🎉🎉

For more information on adoptable pets, please visit our website at
www.winnebagoanimals.org.

👀🚨Do you know any of these dogs?🚨👀

We would love to reunite these dogs with their families!
Can you help us find their families? Each animal's Intake Date & Location Found is include in their photo's caption.

👉If you believe one of these dogs is ...yours, please call us at 815-319-4100 and one of our call takers can speak with you about next steps OR stop by our facility.

👉We are open today (Monday 2/2) until 7pm.

👉Some of these dogs are available for preselect adoption, which means that although the dog is still on their stray hold period and awaiting reclaim by their owner, an interested adopter is able to complete an adoption application and pay the fee to pre-select the animal for adoption. If the dog is not reclaimed, the adoption is finalized and the dog can go home as soon as they're spayed/neutered.

🌟🐾 Paw-some Pick of the Day! 🐾🌟

We’re shining the spotlight on our pets with something special: each day, one amazing pet will be featured as our Paw-some Pick of the Day — and for that day only, their adoption fee is waived!

👉Monday, February 2nd's ...Paw-some Pick is Nikolai A0060034502!

Nikolai is a 1-year-old, 44-lb pup who came to WCAS as a stray and was never reclaimed, so his exact background is unknown. What we do know is that he’s ready for a fresh start and hoping to find a family to call his own!
Help us get to know Nikolai by stopping in to meet him and seeing if he’s the right fit for your family. He can’t wait to meet you!🐶✨

🖱Click here to submit an Adoption Questionnaire - https://winnebagoanimals.org/adoption-application/

‼🎉ADOPTION UPDATE!🎉‼

❤Remember Mickey (now Marlowe)???❤

Marlowe came to WCAS as a stray in mid-June of last year and was never reclaimed by an owner. Luckily, Marlowe didn't have to wait long for a loving home, after a week in our care Marlowe was adopted!
...
Marlowe's adopters reached out and shared this wonderful update and these great photos!
🐾We adopted Marlowe in June 2025. At first, he was very shy and quiet. But now, he is full of energy and sass! He definitely loves booty scratches, cuddles, treats, and his lamb chop toy! We are so happy we got this sweet boy!🐾

👉Interested in creating your own adoption story? We have lots of amazing dogs & cats available for adoption!

👉Visit our website - www.WinnebagoAnimals.org -to complete an adoption questionnaire!

👉If you've adopted from WCAS and would like to share an update & photos, you can message us OR send us an email at wcas@wcas.wincoil.gov

‼🎉ADOPTION UPDATE!🎉‼

❤Remember Indiana Meows (now Ceviche)???❤

Ceviche came to us in late-October of last year as a stray along with his three other littermates. They were never reclaimed by an owner and after a couple of weeks in our care, all of the kittens were ...adopted - including Ceviche!

Ceviche's adopters reached out and shared this wonderful update and these great photos!
🐾Hi there ! I wanted to share an update on our handsome boy ceviche, previously known as Indiana meows! We adopted him in November and has been the sweetest addition to our family!🐾

👉Interested in creating your own adoption story? We have lots of amazing dogs & cats available for adoption!

👉Visit our website - www.WinnebagoAnimals.org -to complete an adoption questionnaire!

👉If you've adopted from WCAS and would like to share an update & photos, you can message us OR send us an email at wcas@wcas.wincoil.gov

🌟🐾 Paw-some Pick of the Day! 🐾🌟

We’re shining the spotlight on our pets with something special: each day, one amazing pet will be featured as our Paw-some Pick of the Day — and for that day only, their adoption fee is waived!

👉Saturday, January 31st's ...Paw-some Pick is Nico A0057912187!

Nico came to us as a surrender due to a change in their owner's housing situation. His previous owner did share with us that Nico is leash-trained, potty-trained, and is amazing with kids! They noted that he particularly loves young children, and loves to giving them kisses.

Upon his arrival, our team worked with Nico and shared that during his dog intro with another male dog- which went well. They shared that Nico was vocal while playing; however, no signs of aggression was displayed during the introduction. Nico also had a dog intro while here - which went well! Staff note that both dogs hit it off right away, spending their time together playing and wrestling around the yard.

Nico is now looking for a family to get back to and love forever. 🐶✨

🖱Click here to submit an Adoption Questionnaire - https://winnebagoanimals.org/adoption-application/

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