RICHMOND, Va. -- New play yards at the Richmond Animal Care and Control headquarters were officially opened at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday afternoon.
The land was already owned by the city, and the new yards will provide outside off-leash space for shelter dogs to run.
Christie Chipps Peters, RACC director, said that a shelter environment can be stressful for many dogs. The new yards gives them a place to let go and get rid of balled up energy, she said. It also provides a place for potential families to meet.
RACC doesn’t turn down animals and operates as a no-kill shelter that is quite often at full capacity.
“Before this we didn't have any space for the dogs to run off leash, and now you can see they have two huge spaces for them to run,” Peters said.
The fencing was provided by the Richmond Animal Welfare Foundation, at no cost to the city.