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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 - 5:00 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
lost &
found
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our services
In addition to pet adoption, WCAS offers services to help keep the pets and people of Winnebago County safe and healthy.
featured
animals
for
adoption
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.
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‼🎉ADOPTION UPDATE!🎉‼
❤Remember Circe???❤
Circe came to WCAS in mid-August as a stray and was never reclaimed by an owner. During Circe's stray hold period, while she waited to see if her owner would show up & reclaim her, Circe was preselected by an interested ...adopter. Circe's owner never arrived to reclaim her and, since she was preselected, Circe was able to go home with her adopter right after her spay surgery. Yay for Circe!
Circe's adopter shared these lovely photos and this wonderful update-
🐾I am e-mailing you with an update on Circe whom I adopted last Tuesday! She is doing well! She is a dream in my apartment and is so sweet and loving!
I am getting her used to me having to leave and that has been the only real hiccup we have had. I discovered she can get out of crates, and she doesn't like being alone but we are working on that one. She improves on it every day. She is eating well and loves to sunbathe!
She has become very comfortable with the play yards so much that she feels it her territory so we are working on that as well. She sits and waits for her meals until she is released. She is just wonderful!🐾
👉Interested in creating your own adoption story? We have lots of amazing dogs & cats available for adoption! We are open for adoptions tomorrow from 11am until 4:30pm!
👉Visit our website - www.WinnebagoAnimals.org -to complete an adoption questionnaire!
‼🎉ADOPTION UPDATE!🎉‼
❤Remember Esmerelda???❤
Esmerelda came to WCAS in mid-August as a stray and was never reclaimed by an owner. After a couple of weeks of eagerly awaiting adoption, Esmerelda was adopted and went home with an amazing family!!!
Esmerelda's ...adopter shared these cute photos and this wonderful update-
🐾I just wanted to say thank you for letting us adopt your Cat Model Esmerelda!
She felt completely at home as soon as she arrived ! All of the employees and volunteers were so helpful and friendly! Thank you!🐾
👉Interested in creating your own adoption story? We have lots of amazing dogs & cats available for adoption! We are open for adoptions today until 4:30pm!
👉Visit our website - www.WinnebagoAnimals.org -to complete an adoption questionnaire!
‼️ LET'S CLEAR THE SHELTER - FEE WAIVED ADOPTIONS‼️ 🐾🚨We are still CRITICALLY FULL and need your help to find homes for our lovable pets!!! 🚨🐾
Come out to our biggest adoption event of the year with FEES WAIVED for pets 6 months and older. This includes over 60 ...cats and 40 dogs! 🚨🐾
This now includes all pets available for adoption, not just the one's ready to go home today!
Winnebago Animal Services will be waiving even more adoption fees today 9/6 and tomorrow 9/7!
👉During this special event, adoption fees will be WAIVED for pets 6 months and older available for adoption! Preselection or pets on stray period are the only pets available to be met with that will not have waived adoption fees. Take a look below at just a fraction of the pets available for reduced fees today and tomorrow!
👉Please visit www.winnebagoanimals.org to view pets at Winnebago County Animal Services and complete an adoption questionnaire.
👉Adopters who fill out a questionnaire online and stop in to get their approval card, will be the first to view our adoptable animals.
We will be open today, 11am to 4:00pm and Saturday, 11am to 3:30pm.
During #CleartheShelters, adopters are still required to complete a standard adoption application as if it were a normal day.
The fee-waived adoptions for this event are sponsored by the Winnebago County Animal Services Auxiliary (WCASA).
🐾‼Our Eyewitness News Pet of the Week, Molly, helped us spread the word about our ‼️FEE WAIVED ADOPTIONS‼️ this week due to our CRITICAL CAPACITY - Clear the Shelter Campaign with Meteorologist Joey Marino this morning‼ 🐾
Molly, an outgoing girl who gets along with ...everyone she meets!
Molly initially came to us as a stray back in May of 2021 and was never reclaimed by an owner. After just a couple of weeks in our care, Molly was adopted. However, a little over 3 years later, Molly found herself back at WCAS, due to her owner no longer being able to care for her due to unforeseen health circumstances.
Molly is your typical lab! She loves treats, attention, and spending time with her favorite people! Molly will wiggle in excitement ready to receive pets and affection from anyone she sees. At 6 years old, her muzzle is gray but she still has a lot of playful spunk!
Come and meet this wonderful girl: we know you’ll fall in love!”
‼OUR POPULATION IS AT CRITICAL CAPACITY‼️ - FEES NOW WAIVED ON ADULT DOGS & CATS -ready for same day adoption- Ending Saturday ‼️
👉Please visit www.WinnebagoAnimals.org to view all pets that are available for adoption and complete an adoption questionnaire. Adopters who fill out a questionnaire online and stop in to get their approval card prior to the day of the event, will be the first to view our adoptable animals.
Thursday & Friday- 11am to 4pm and Saturday- 11am to 3:30pm.
🚨Please share, tag friends, family, coworkers, and even strangers!🚨
‼🎉ADOPTION UPDATE!🎉‼
❤Remember Charlie (now Yago)???❤
Yago came to WCAS in late-June as a stray and was never reclaimed by an owner. After a couple of weeks of eagerly awaiting adoption, Yago's day came and he went home with an amazing family!!!
Yago’s ...adopter shared these cute photos and this wonderful update-
🐾Hello WCAS Friends, This is an update on "Charlie" (thought to be) an Anatolian Shepherd mix I adopted July 9th. Well, his name is Yago now. (Yago from Bago 😀). His vet is Dr Elizabeth at New Hope in German Valley. He is healthy, on heartworm and flea and tick prevention and no sign of the limp he was found with.
He is the best boy! He doesn't do well with other dogs neither on walks nor our fenced yard. But he listens to me very well otherwise. He loves his kennel, stays loose in the house all night without any accidents nor destruction. We are going to start obedience classes at K9 Junction on Sept 9th. He currently sits, downs, and waits nicely to leave the kennel or go out the door. He learned to go up and down stairs and plays fetch/keep away like a champ. He knows how what I will allow for play versus what my husband will allow.
Embark results are attached. He is a Great Pyrenees and German Shepherd mix with a bit of American Bull dog. He is 80 lbs estimated to be a year and a half.
He loves his puzzles and toys, and brings them to us for play time. He has active dreams and loves being brushed and bathed. Yago is happy and in his furever home. He and I are super bonded. I love his big handsome facers! Thank you for matching us up and keeping him safe until we came for him.🐾
👉Interested in creating your own adoption story? We have lots of amazing dogs & cats available for adoption! We are open for adoptions tomorrow from 11am until 4:30pm!
👉Visit our website - www.WinnebagoAnimals.org -to complete an adoption questionnaire!
✨🙏It's Wishlist Wednesday! 🙏✨
(Our model is Papi A0056484166, who is currently available for adoption at our facility here in Rockford, IL!)
This week, we're in need of the following items:
✨Canned dog food
✨Wet kitten food
✨Food boats
...✨Puddle pads
Donations can be dropped off at our facility OR ordered & shipped to our address
- 4517 N. Main St. Rockford, IL 61103
🚨🚨URGENT NEED!!!🚨🚨
‼OUR POPULATION IS AT CRITICAL CAPACITY‼️ - FEES NOW WAIVED ON DOGS & CATS -ready for same day adoption ‼️
🐾🚨We are FULL and need your help to find homes for our lovable pets!!! We have decided to start the CLEAR THE SHELTER EVENT ...TODAY! We will be waiving fees all week or pets ready for same day adoption!
The holiday weekend has hit us hard and brought in many pets in need into our care. We currently have over 100 dogs and 80 cats in our building!
This sadly leaves us at capacity and facing difficult decisions in regards to space and lifesaving. We know we have reached out before but this has been the highest we have seen the population all year.
All adopters will still go through our typical adoption process.
All adoptions include a wellness exam, spay or neuter, microchip, vaccinations including a one year rabies shot, flea and tick preventative, and more. Adopters are encouraged to have their application pre-approved prior to coming in.
📢If you're interested in adopting one of these wonderful dogs, please visit www.WinnebagoAnimals.org to view pets at
Winnebago County Animal Services and complete an adoption questionnaire.
PLEASE share, tag friends, family & coworkers !
🚨Help us help the pets of Winnebago County🚨
📣Please be aware📣
Winnebago County Animal Services will be closed today Monday, September 2nd, in observation of the Labor Day holiday.
👉Officers will be on duty, so if you need assistance please call 815-319-4100 and listen for instructions to leave a message for an officer....
👉WCAS will reopen tomorrow, Tuesday, September 3rd, at 11am.
📣Please be aware📣
Winnebago County Animal Services will be closed this upcoming Monday, September 2nd, in observation of the Labor Day holiday.
👉Officers will be on duty, so if you need assistance please call 815-319-4100 and listen for instructions to leave a message for an ...officer.
👉WCAS will reopen on Tuesday, September 3rd, at 11am.
making news
WCAS Returning to Past License Tag Style Due to Global Shipping Disruptions
Winnebago County Animal Services (WCAS) will be returning to the past pet license tag style for 2022 pet registrations. This license tag style, which is a flat, stamped aluminum tag, was last used...
Kitten Season
Kitten season hits every spring and every spring staff prepares for the influx of kittens about to come through our doors. Learn more here!
Working Cat Program
The Working Cat Program finds homes for those cats are better suited to a non-traditional home setting.
PetSmart Adoption Program
WCAS has partnered with six PetSmart locations to help cats and kittens find their new homes.