The Richardson Animal Shelter continues to see an increase in adoptions and decrease in owner surrenders.

The shelter had a more than 90% adoption rate in June, according to animal shelter manager Noura Jammal. This is about a 20% increase from this time last year, she said.

Jammal credits the rise in adoptions to families spending more time at home.

“Not everybody is going to work and going to school at this point, so they have a lot of time on their hands,” she said. “They want to do something productive.”

The number of animals turned into the shelter has fallen dramatically since last year. In June, the shelter received 218 pet surrenders, which represents an annual decline of 42%.


“Usually in the summer and spring months, we see a lot of people moving out, going to school [or] a new apartment,” Jammal said. “There are not as many of those types of situations going on.”

Residents who are not able to adopt animals but would still like to help can drop off donations of kitten food and cat litter, Jammal said.

“Especially with it being kitten season right now ... we are constantly going through all that kitten food,” she said.

The shelter continues to be by-appointment only, Jammal said. She suggests checking the shelter’s social media to see which animals are available prior to making an appointment.


The shelter will also help residents who are struggling to care for their pet by providing food and other items, Jammal said.