We help pets and their people!
Providing compassionate
humane care for homeless pets and services to help individuals keep their four-legged
family members healthy is the goal of Richmond Animal Care & Control! A professionally
trained staff is deeply committed to the well being of all companion animals, those
fortunate enough to have loving homes as well as those who need them.
Richmond Animal Care & Control operates as a department of the City of Richmond.
Our purpose is to provide city residents with pet shelter services and assistance
with animal-related issues involving the safety of residents and the humane care
of animals.
Interested in adopting a pet? We can help with that and so much more.
Richmond Animal Care & Control (RACC) provides a variety of pet-related services including
pet lost and found assistance, pet licensing and care for stray, injured, abandoned and owner
relinquished pets.
Pet Adoption
The question most often asked by visitors to RACC is “why are these animals in
the shelter?” The answer is as diverse as the breeds of cats and dogs that enter
RACC throughout the year. Many of the friendly, gentle, beautiful pets brought to
RACC are surrendered by their owners. People surrender their pets for some of the
following reasons:
- I am moving and can’t take my pet with me
- I can no longer afford to care for my pet
- My child is allergic to the cat
- I have a new baby and can no longer care for my dog
- The pet’s owner died
- My pet has developed behavior problems
- The pet’s owner is too sick or elderly to care for the pet
Staff and volunteers work together through
adoption to re-home as many animals as possible. Visit RACC to adopt a new friend!
Pets are available for adoption
Tuesday – Friday at the shelter at 1600 Chamberlayne Ave., 1:00 p.m. until
5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from noon until 4:00 p.m.
Responsible Pet Care
RACC is proud to serve as an educational resource providing residents throughout
the Richmond community with information about the benefits of spay/neuter and rabies
vaccinations. Staff provides referrals for low-cost surgical and spay/neuter vet
clinics, pet training classes and other pet related services throughout metro Richmond.
Animal Emergencies
RACC animal control officers respond to animal related emergencies including reports
of injured animals, animal bites or animal attacks on individuals or other animals.
An animal control officer is on-call 24 hours, every day of the year to assist residents
who experience animal related emergencies.
Report Animal Cruelty and Neglect!
All animals, including homeless
pets, deserve to live free from neglect and cruelty.
In recent years, tips from residents have assisted Richmond Animal Care & Control
and local law enforcement in bringing to justice perpetrators of animal abuse.
Professionally trained Richmond Animal Care & Control officers work to enforce
laws regarding the humane care of pets including the anti-tethering law, laws that
prohibit abandonment of pets and laws that prohibit dog-fighting.
