Services For Pet Owners

While the primary mission at the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast is to care for our community's homeless pet population, we also provide support, resources, and services to Martin County pet owners. 

Please find more information on these services throughout this page:

• Public Spay/Neuter Program
• Licensing for Martin County
• Animal Lost & Found
• Pet Surrender & Rehoming
• Owner Requested Euthanasia & Cremations

You can find additional resources, including behavioral concerns, on our website here.

Public Spay & Neuter

The Humane Society of the Treasure Coast’s Public Spay/Neuter Program is the largest low-cost spay/neuter program on the Treasure Coast. Every year nearly 2,000 dogs, cats, and rabbits are brought to our Shelter Clinic by responsible pet owners

This procedure includes:

*Rabies vaccines are one year vaccines and only available for cats and dogs over the age of 4 months at the time of surgery.

**Bloodwork is only available for patients undergoing spay/neuter surgery at HSTC.

• Pre-surgical bloodwork is necessary for sending medication home with the patient post operatively. Bloodwork also helps evaluate body systems that may be affected by anesthesia and pain medication.
• Bloodwork is highly recommend on patients 5 years and older.
• If blood cannot be obtained from patient pre-anesthesia, the patient will be sedated to collect and run the sample.

Additional fees may apply for patients that are cryptorchid (undescended testicle) or have an umbilical hernia. Dogs and cats must be at least 2 months old and 2 lbs. for surgery. Rabbits must be at least 4 months old and weigh 2 pounds (breed dependent).   

Spay/Neuter Voucher Program

HSTC also offers a Voucher Program that provides low cost spay/neuter vouchers to be used at a private veterinarian’s office.  The voucher, which covers the costs of the surgery, microchip and registration, rabies vaccination, and nail clipping, can be used at a participating veterinarian in the area that have signed up with the HSTC program. Additional fees may apply at the veterinarian's office.

Vouchers can be purchased in-person at our shelter in Palm City during regular business hours. These vouchers cannot be purchased via mail or phone. Click the button below to download the voucher application to be used at private veterinarian clinics. This application will need to be submitted to HSTC with payment in person, before a voucher is issued.

For more information on the spay/neuter program, to schedule an appointment, or to learn more about the spay/neuter voucher system, please contact the shelter at 772-223-8822.

County Pet Licensing

On behalf of Martin County, HSTC offers county pet licensing to all Martin County residents, regardless of whether they adopted from the shelter or not. In accordance with county low, pet owners have 30 days to register their pets with the county. All money from these transactions goes back to the County.

Fees:

Animal Lost & Found

If you have lost your pet, please don’t wait to start your search hoping your animal will return home on its own. You need to get the word out through Facebook, neighborhood apps, social media, veterinarian offices, your local Humane Society and Animal Services.

The Humane Society of the Treasure Coast maintains a Lost and Found Registry in-house to help reunite pets with their owners, and we encourage anyone who has lost their pet to visit our shelter (due to COVID we are operating by appointment only). You are the only one that knows exactly what your pet looks like so to personally identify your pet is the best chance of reunification. If your pet is microchipped, call your microchip company to assure that all personal information is updated and inform them your pet is missing.

For a domestic animal that arrives at our shelter, they are held for 5 days for owners to come forward. After that time frame, they become property of the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast.

If you found your lost pet, please contact us immediately by calling (772) 223-8822 to file a found report and/or schedule a drop off appointment. Animals should remain in the county to which they were found to increase the chances of an owner being able to find their lost pet. Do not rehome a found pet, you need to give the owner an opportunity to reclaim their animal. 

You can find more tips here.

Pet Surrender

We understand it is a difficult decision to have to rehome your pet. When calling to scheduling your appointment you will speak with a pet surrender counselor. It’s our goal to work with you to assure you have exhausted all resources available to keep your pet and resolve any barriers you may have. We will help to remove those barriers and prevent the need for surrendering the pet to a shelter. If it is ultimately decided surrendering ownership of your pet is the only option, we will schedule an appointment at that time. The Humane Society of the Treasure Coast accepts all domestic pets from residents in Martin County, regardless of species, breed, age, and health. Out of county surrenders will be accepted as space dictates and if resources are available to assist that animal.

To speak to a pet surrender counselor or schedule an appointment please call 772-223-8822.

For out-of-county surrenders or to get more tips on rehoming your pet please click here.

Once your appointment is scheduled, please bring the following to your appointment:

• A valid driver’s license or state ID
• Any veterinary paperwork and any medications the animal is currently taking
• A completed intake questionnaire for your pet:
  • Download the Dog Intake Questionnaire here.
  • Download the Cat Intake Questionnaire here.
  • Download the Critter/Small Animal Intake Questionnaire here.

Fees:

Owner Requested Euthanasia & Cremations

Our shelter is committed to saving every animal in our care who can be saved. We do not euthanize healthy or treatable pets, even at an owner’s request.

We only euthanize a pet if:

• A veterinarian has assessed that there is no chance of recovering an acceptable quality of life, or
• It would be clearly inhumane or unsafe not to do so immediately, or
• In cases of irremediable canine aggression when (1) a veterinarian has eliminated medical treatment as a solution; (2) rehabilitation by a specialist in canine behavior has failed; and (3) staff and public safety cannot be reasonably assured, or other management protocols seriously compromise quality of life.

Fees: