RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond Animal Care and Control (RACC) is “drowning,” according to RACC Director Christie Chipps Peters. The issue is two fold: a spike in the number — and condition — of animals coming into the facility, plus an aging building set to "expire" soon.
Peters gave CBS 6 a tour of their Chamberlayne Avenue facility on Wednesday. While chatting in their small medical room that also houses several kittens, Dr. Alice Ulrichs, RACC's veterinarian, tried to walk through the door and bumped into our crew.
"Smashing into the door... this is the perfect example! You’re living it in real life," Peters said. " In this room, Dr. Ulrichs works on the counter top; this is it (referencing a small counter where medical care is provided). We have shared space with animals, which is not ideal."
The amount of animals in RACC's care has grown recently. This year, compared to the same time frame last year, the shelter has taken in 260 more animals. Peters said, at the same time, adoption numbers have slowed coming out the pandemic, when many people took in animals for companionship.
“There’s an overwhelming number of people in need with animals in the city, and it’s just been a huge influx," Peters said. “Our goal is to save as many lives as we possibly can, and that only works if we continue moving them out of the shelter alive. So, it’s a hard time right now.”
RACC moved into their current building in the early 2000's, after the Richmond SPCA built a full service humane center. Within two to three years from now, the facility will not pass state health and safety standards anymore, officials said.
During the tour Wednesday, Peters pointed out multiple parts of the building where it is already functionally poor.
Large dogs receive medical treatment on the floor while on a rope leash because the cannot fit a big enough table in the room. The intake room is way too small. They have only two isolation rooms, so quarantining animals with contagious diseases is difficult. The "office" for animal control officers is shared by all nine of them, and currently, they all share the room with a stray ferret that they found.
“We use every inch of this building, and hard," Peters said.
RACC needs to build a new facility. The "pie in the sky" dream for Peters would be stand alone adoption center that would be public facing. The old Chamberlayne location would be renovated for respite boarding and veterinary services.
"Our commitment is to save lives. It would much easier and cheaper if we just said we were going to euthanize everything. But, that’s not what we should be doing, and that’s not what the community wants us to do. We’re all in this together," Peters said.
The estimated price tag for a new building would be around $10 million, a similar price to ones built in Henrico and Chesterfield. At a Richmond City Council committee meeting Tuesday, city leaders said they plan to include funding for the facility in the capital budget next year.
RACC is beloved on their popular social media accounts, so it's easy to think there's a disconnect between how their work is viewed publicly and the condition they do it in. In a city with many needs, Peters said she is hopeful theirs will be met too.
"Any human who has known an animal bond, and has known a pet knows the role they play in their lives, it’s a connectivity," she said. “It isn’t just the animals; we’re providing a space for the community and the city and for those people who love those animals but might not be able to care for them.”
In the immediate, volunteers, foster families, and adoptions would be a big help for RACC. You can learn more about those efforts here.
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