Craven-Pamlico Animal Services Doing Managed Intake Right

Craven-Pamlico Animal Services practices managed intake in the way I believe it was originally intended. CPAS is a large shelter, close to the coast of North Carolina, that serves multiple municipalities and handles over four thousand animals a year.

I would call them an open-intake shelter that manages their owner-surrender intakes. This does not mean that they refuse to take residents’ dogs or that they wait until there is space for that dog. It simply means that people wishing to surrender a pet must make an appointment to do so. At the time of our visit in March of 2025, the wait for the appointment is about a week.

They’ve discovered that sometimes the simple need to wait a week has resulted in people finding someone else to take their pet or deciding they can keep their pet. The shelter does offer resources and encourages people to try Home-to-Home adoptions. But ultimately, they take every animal that needs a place to go, including owner-surrendered animals.

We can’t save them all, but we can try

The shelter’s motto is ‘We can’t save them all, but we can try.’ They know that a live-outcome is not always possible for every animal. CPAS does euthanize for space, but those decisions are made by the entire team (10 full-time staff and 1 part-time). They talk about capacity for care, the animals’ health (physical and mental), and the reality of the space they have.

Bringing the change that was needed

A few years ago, the euthanasia numbers were much higher, but in 2023, an entirely new staff was brought in, headed by Alyssa, Shelter Operations Manager, Erica, Shelter Administrative Manager, and eventually, Dr. Tanya Osler, Shelter Vet and Director. They have worked cooperatively to develop their shelter protocols and practices.

There is a decidedly positive atmosphere at the shelter, and that’s likely due to these smart, optimistic, resourceful women who lead it.

The other reason for the shelter’s success is the support of the county council and the Health Department (the Health Department oversees the shelter). Scott, the director of the Health Department, was at the shelter to meet us and had only praise for the staff and shelter.

He told us that prior to the changes made in 2023, he and other government officials got a lot of complaints about the shelter, especially from residents who were refused help from the shelter and had nowhere to take their animals.

Since then, the shelter has gone through extensive renovations, with more to come as the county administration continues to invest in its success.

First class care and onsite spay and neuter services

The shelter can handle about 60 dogs (and lots of cats), and the average length of stay is 20 days. Presently, more animals leave the shelter through rescue transfers than adoptions. Alyssa hopes they can develop a foster program, but until they can support a foster program, they only utilize fosters for highly vulnerable animals like kittens.

While Dr. Osler (and on the day we visited, a volunteer vet who was also performing surgeries) can do about 40-50 surgeries each week, they are focused entirely on shelter animals. CPAS does hope to eventually get a facility license that would allow them to offer care to community animals also.

Most animals leave the building already spayed/neutered, but when there isn’t time, animals can leave the building as a foster-to-adopt situation with the adoption being finalized after the animal is brought back for spay/neuter surgery.

CPAS is blessed to have about 15 solid volunteers who come in every week (we met several) and about 20 others who help on occasion. The dogs get out daily with volunteers in the play yards or for walks.

Bringing Experience and Teamwork to the Job

Coming from previous jobs in nonprofit shelters in Arizona and Indiana, Alyssa says moving to North Carolina and taking a job in the shelter was a bit of a culture shock. Municipal shelters are very different from nonprofits, but she seems to have adjusted well.

One thing she brings from that background is a can-do attitude and the ability to recognize the importance of teamwork. She recently invited other shelter and rescue organizations in the area to have regular meetings to talk about how they can work together to serve this community.

It was exciting to see a shelter that is serving its public well. Not long after we arrived, a resident came in carrying her kitten who was very sick. She was in tears and desperate for help, and she knew that this was the kind of shelter that would help her.

Clearly, CPAS is earning a reputation for being a community resource for pet owners and a safe place for animals in need.

And that’s what sheltering is truly all about.

If you’d like to encourage the good work at CPAS, consider shopping their Amazon Wishlist or Chewy Wishlist.

Until each one has a home,

Cara

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Who Will Let the Dogs Out: Stories and Solutions for Shelters and Rescues was published in January of 2025. It is filled with stories and ideas to help everyone be part of the solution. You can buy a hardback or paperback copy for yourself and/or buy a copy for a shelter or rescue through our website. It is also available on Amazon in paperback and ebook. We are looking for opportunities to share a presentation of the ideas in the book and facilitate conversations about how we can work together to find solutions for our shelters. If you have a dog-hearted group that would like to connect, contact Cara@wwldo.org.

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