As an open-admission animal shelter, Frederick County Animal Control & Pet Adoption Center (FCAC) accepts every animal brought through its doors.

FCAC takes in more than 3,000 animals annually. Of those, the shelter is able to save about 65%, returning them to their homes or placing them with adopters or rescue organizations.

What about the other 35%?

The Frederick County Government funds FCAC sufficiently to allow for a basic level of care for homeless pets. But many of the animals who find themselves at the shelter need more than just basic care. They are sick or injured, very young or very old, or have behavioral challenges due to a lack of prior training or socialization. Essentially, FCAC has charge of animals in our county who have been let down by every human they’ve known. In some cases, the shelter has no choice but to humanely euthanize such animals.

Shelter staff have the expertise and the compassion to save the other 35%—the pets whose needs go beyond basic care.

But FCAC lacks the resources to do this and, as a county agency, the shelter is not allowed to solicit donations on its own behalf. That’s where Frederick Friends of Our County Animal Shelter (FFOCAS) comes in.