RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond Animal Care and Control (RACC) officers made a disturbing discovery when they arrived for work Saturday morning: vandals had damaged two of the shelter’s eight trucks.
"Honestly! I want to say swears but will keep this pc," officials posted on theRACC Facebook page. "We are a small department with a limited fleet of trucks and a tiny budget. Needless destruction like this sets us back and is a waste of time and money for RACC."
One truck has a shattered windshield.
RACC Outreach Coordinator Robing Young said the windshields of two vehicles were smashed and another truck had its driver's side window "completely broken and smashed in.”
Young said the agency normally operates eight trucks, but will now only have six on the road for the time being.
“We use these vehicles, our officers use them to respond to calls out in the field," Young said. "These vehicles are also used to transport spay and neuter appointments and we also use our vehicles for offsite events adoption events.”
RACC Outreach Coordinator Robing Young
While the setback will not affect the amount of animals taken in, it will impact their day-to-day operations.
“We’re truly down to the bare minimum,” Young said.
Shelter staffers are working with Richmond police and are downloading footage from two surveillance cameras that may have captured the suspects.
“We’re hopeful that we will be able to have footage of whoever did this and can bring justice to what happen," Young said.
Police are investigating the crime and ask anyone with information that could help in their investigation to call Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.
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