About the Richardson Animal Shelter

The Richardson Animal Shelter is an open facility that encourages anyone to visit our shelter as our pets look forward to daily visits and socialization by our volunteers and visitors. Our shelter is passionate about rescuing, protecting, and relocating pets to new homes. We also strive to inform and protect our community through the explanation of local and/or state laws and ordinances. Our shelter has received five Texas Animal Control Association "Humane Educators Awards" for its community involvement and education activities. 

Types of Concerns We Address:

• Lost and Found Animals Microchips

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  • Our shelters chips here at the shelter for only $15.

  • 80% of all stray animals with identity chips will not be returned to their families because of outdated or non-existent contact information associated with the chip.

• Rabies control and other zoonotic diseases

• Vaccination requirements

• Stray and/or abandoned animals

• Unsanitary conditions

• Neglected/abused animals

• Public education

• Enforcement of City, State, and Federal Laws

• Other animal-related issues

Click here to Book An Appointment: Walk-ins are available for adoptions, but appointments are required for owner surrenders, microchipping, and euthanasia.

Volunteer Opportunities: Thank you for your interest in supporting the Richardson Animal Shelter! Volunteers play a vital role in the care and well-being of our animals. We’re proud to partner with Friends of Rescue Animals (FRAs), a volunteer-powered nonprofit that has supported North Texas shelter pets for over 20 years. All volunteer opportunities, including general shelter help and our Doggy Day Out program, are coordinated through FRAs.

Volunteers aged 16 and older can assist with daily tasks like feeding, cleaning, and enrichment. Volunteers aged 16–17 must have a parent or guardian registered and present while volunteering. Doggy Day Out participants must first complete 10 hours of general volunteering. We also welcome small adult volunteer groups (up to 5 people).

Youth under 16 can support the shelter by fundraising, organizing donation drives, fostering with a parent, making enrichment toys, writing pet bios, or promoting adoptable pets.

Court-ordered community service is managed directly by the Richardson Animal Shelter and is available daily starting at 7:00 a.m. Please note we do not accept offenses involving drug paraphernalia, theft, or violence.

Adoptable Animals: The shelter places new animals up for adoption daily and operates on a first-come-first-served basis. If there is a pet who goes up for adoption on a particular day, the first person in our parking lot before we open gets the first claim. Some adoptable pets are not on the website due to health/legal reasons, or they were surrendered and immediately adopted right away. If you are looking for a particular pet, you can consistently check our website to see what we have on stray hold.

Lost and Found Animals: We do our best to help find your animal and return them to you. If you lost your pet, as the owner you are responsible for stopping by the shelter, making a lost report on our site, and calling us to make sure your pet is not at the shelter. We also recommend posting a lost report on social media sites daily so your post is not lost in the feeds. We are NOT able to hold a pet indefinitely so unclaimed pets will go up for adoption.