RICHMOND, Va. — Last week, CBS 6 reported on a surge in pet surrenders at a Richmond shelter that is overwhelming its staff.
Surrender requests have surged to nearly 20 per day, while adoption rates continue to plummet, according to Richmond Animal Care and Control (RACC) Director Christie Chipps-Peters. The surrenders add to the strays animal control officers find on the streets, combined with pets associated with court cases.
“We thought we hit the end of the COVID folks who got dogs dumping them. But this is something like we've never seen before, and we are not unique to what is happening,” Chipps-Peters explained. “It's happening literally every single day here, and it's madness.”
Catherine Gioeli, founder of the Kara and Eden Project, started a nonprofit to help address pet overpopulation and reduce the number of humane euthanasias.
“Older people can no longer take care of their dogs. People had to move and had housing issues,” Gioeli explained. “In a lot of places, it's economic. Do I put food on the table for my family, or do I go to the vet and get my dog fixed?”
Gioeli founded the project, which is part of the RACC Foundation, in 2023 in honor of her two rescues, Kara and Eden.
“I think the prejudices that a lot of people have that rescue dogs are broken and not necessarily worthy,” she explained.
The Kara and Eden Project offers Richmond residents free spay and neuter services for pet owners who cannot afford other low-cost options like the Richmond Animal League’s Loving Spay and Neuter Clinic or the Richmond SPCA’s Smoky’s Spay and Neuter Clinic.
In a July 8 Facebook post, Gioeli wrote that the Kara and Eden Project received a generous donation to continue helping Richmond residents who cannot afford to fix their animals.
She spoke about how a local rescue handled a surge in pet surrenders.
“There is a rescue north of here that does phenomenal work that was asked to take 30 puppies from a rural shelter and said, ‘We already have 40 puppies we're trying to place.’ All 30 of those puppies lost their lives to humane euthanasia, but there was no place to put those 30 puppies,” Gioeli recalled.
RACC volunteers will provide transportation to and from appointments for pet owners who do not have reliable transportation.
You can email savannah.hughes@rva.gov or call (804) 646-5573 to sign up.
Shelter staff will work with that pet owner to provide food, medicine, vet care, a crate, and spay and neuter services. RACC urges pet owners to do their due diligence and find their pet a new home before considering seeking help from the shelter. They also encourage people to consider fostering to lighten the load on shelter staff.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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