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We accept reports of lost and found pets, and do our best to match incoming strays and found reports to people who’ve reported their pet missing. We also check social media and classifieds when time permits, but isn't a guarantee that we'll have time or check all the pages where lost and found pets are posted. We depend on owners to alert us that their pets are missing.

Make a Lost or Found Report by calling or emailing the RHSPCA at (540) 434-5270. Lost and Found Reports will appear on our website and on our Facebook page within a reasonable amount of time as our pet management software server updates (but it's not quite in real-time). Strays in our custody appear here, but it is also not updated in real-time.

The BEST practice is to make Lost Report AND visit the shelter IN PERSON to look at recent arrivals with your own eyes. NO ONE KNOWS YOUR PET LIKE YOU DO. 

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Adopted pets are sent home with packets of information for owners to help their new pet adjust to their home and lifestyle. We’re also happy to refer owners to positive reinforcement pet trainers in the area, or point them to the training programs that we use with our pets here at the shelter (for dogs AND cats). Our Humane Education program addresses people of all ages to promote compassionate animal ownership as well.

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While we cannot offer boarding for ordinary situations, emergencies can happen to anyone. We sometimes can provide emergency quartering for pets if resources allow. Circumstances we consider emergencies are natural disasters, house fires, floods, automobile accidents, etc. Given the unique nature of each situation, we encourage people to call (540) 434-5270 to make arrangements.

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In the event of a widespread natural disaster, CART (Community Animal Response Team) will be here to help the citizens of Harrisonburg and Rockingham should the area be evacuated. Contact HACC@harrisonburgva.gov to find out more or see how you can help.

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Spaying and neutering pets is essential for decreasing unwanted litters and preventing animal homelessness. Every pet adopted from us must be spayed or neutered as soon as they’re old enough, per VA law. Part of our adoption fee goes towards the pet’s sterilization surgery. Other offers of assistance are granted on a case-by-case basis as resources are available. Many pets are sterilized while they are in our care so their adopters will receive a pet ready to arrive in their home.

We are also happy to partner with local veterinary practices who may wish to offer assistance to pet owners who desire to get their pet spayed or neutered but are struggling financially. Please call (540) 434-5270.

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Occasionally, Animal Control will request our assistance with cruelty cases. We may contribute by lending staff to help in the field, thoroughly documenting animal condition upon intake and tracking progress, or providing testimony should a case be heard in court.

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Part of our mission is to teach the next generation about the humane and responsible treatment of animals. We offer tours of the R-H SPCA as field trips for children and adults of all ages. We also are happy to bring lessons and activities (and pets if we have an appropriate animal at the time) to visit classrooms, day cares, club meetings, and activity centers. Students learn about positive reinforcement training, responsible pet ownership, how animal shelters function and why they’re needed, empathy, animal-related careers, habitats and ecosystems, or a group leader can request a specific topic for our Humane Educator to address. Please arrange a visit in advance by clicking here.

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In an effort to prepare new adopters for a great partnership with their newest family member or to help solve or manage behavioral problems that may prevent a dog from staying in their home, we have relationships with local professional dog trainers. Please see the Referrals section for more information.

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Animals may be housed at the R-H SPCA during ongoing court cases or animal control investigations. Pets will be cared for and monitored by the R-H SPCA personnel until the courts decide to award custody of the animals to an interested party or the R-H SPCA.

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Should a dog or cat bite someone, the R-H SPCA can serve as a holding facility to monitor the animal for symptoms of rabies during a mandated 10-day period after the bite. Bites are reported to the Health Department, and the R-H SPCA follows their instructions from there. The Health Department is in charge of releasing the pet from bite quarantine. If the pet is in the process of being declared dangerous or vicious, animal control will direct proceedings at that time.

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When a pet passes away, we can offer a way to honor beloved family members. Owners may choose to collect their pet’s ashes or have the R-H SPCA keep the remains. We can handle pets up to 150 lbs, pricing is based on weight.

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There may come a time when an owner knows it’s time to say goodbye to their suffering pet. We encourage owners to go to their own veterinarian for euthanasia services, but we also recognize that it isn’t always feasible. Relinquishing your pet for euthanasia at the R-H SPCA involves surrendering your pet to our custody. There is no fee, but donations are always appreciated. After the pet is surrendered, we evaluate them to see if we are in agreement that euthanasia is in the best interest of the pet due to health and/or behavior. We cannot allow owners to be with their pet during the procedure, nor can we return remains to them since that is considered practicing veterinary medicine in the state of Virginia. We do not have a veterinarian on staff to offer those services.

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When an owner can no longer care for their pet, they can relinquish their ownership rights to us. We will do the absolute best we can to find your pet a forever home; however we cannot guarantee that. Relinquished pets will be evaluated for health and temperament shortly after intake. Behaviorally sound, physically healthy pets are placed up for adoption. Some behavioral issues can be managed in the shelter environment and the staff will develop a humane training regimen to modify or manage the behaviors in question.

Some behavioral problems intensify due to the stress of adjusting to a new environment and routine. We work with over 70 limited admission rescue groups, many of which are breed-specific. If a pet would likely thrive in a foster environment, they may be submitted for evaluation to a rescue group; however, a rescue group may reject them if their behavior is deemed too severe or dangerous, or if the pet does not reach their criteria.

We always encourage owners to use us as a last resort. Please see this page to see our check list of resources for owners needing to re-home their pet.

It’s also worth noting that the R-H SPCA is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 animal shelter. Our goal is to find as many responsible owners for as many healthy, friendly pets as possible. We do not make a profit from adoption fees.

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Finders do not have to bring a pet to our facility; however, to protect themselves legally it’s in their best interest to bring the pet to us and adopt it after its stray hold has expired. Owners looking for their pet are encouraged to come see recent arrivals with their own eyes since no one knows their own pet better than they do. Finders and owners are encouraged to provide a photo to better ensure a positive match. Call us at (540) 434-5270 or email us to make a Lost or Found Report.

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The R-H SPCA has a partnership with local Animal Control to serve as a holding facility for stray pets, cruelty and hoarding case victims, along with other seized animals. We are one of 13 animal shelters in the state of VA that functions as both an adoption center and a holding facility for Animal Control (at the time of this writing). Since we work with Animal Control, we encourage people who’ve lost or found pets to make a report to us and visit the R-H SPCA to look at recent admissions.

FAQ > Services > Open Admission

Open Admission
The R-H SPCA is an open admission animal shelter, meaning that we accept every pet from our jurisdiction regardless of temperament, breed, size, age, health, “adoptability,” available resources, or the ability of the owner or finder to pay for their care during their stay. We do not have a waiting list or surrender fee, nor do we require a surrender appointment or pre-surrender behavioral evaluation. Donations are gratefully accepted, but are not required.

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Open admission animal shelters accept all pets that arrive at their doors, regardless of age, health, color, breed, temperament, “adoptability,” available resources, or the ability of the finder or owner to pay for their stay. The R-H SPCA is an open admission animal shelter accessible to all pets found within the boundaries of Rockingham County and Harrisonburg City. Each county in VA is required to have an animal shelter to serve their locality, so pets from out of area are required to go to the appropriate facility.

As a result, not all the animals that arrive here are behaviorally sound or the picture of health. While we use the resources we have available, including very generous local veterinarians, grants, and established medical protocols for common health issues, some pets are beyond our means to humanely and safely rehabilitate and re-home.

For behavior issues, we utilize consultations with Certified Professional Dog Trainers (CPDT) and standardized behavioral evaluations developed by the ASPCA, CPDT Sue Sternberg, and other resources specifically designed for animal shelters. However, not all the animals that arrive here can safely be adopted. Our number one priority is public safety, and placing a potentially dangerous animal up for adoption and allowing it to go into a family home is not what we consider responsible. Furthermore, the number of friendly pets awaiting homes is an ethical consideration as well. Pushing for the adoption of a potentially dangerous pet while a friendly pet continues to wait garners concern.

Pets may be submitted to limited admission or breed-specific rescue groups. These rescue groups might have a knowledgeable trainer, more available foster homes, more demand for adoption, or more financial resources to address medical and behavioral issues. We work with many rescue groups, all of which identify as “no-kill.”

“No-kill” shelters are usually defined by having a “live release rate” of greater than 90%; however, most reserve the right to deny entry to pets they feel they do not have the resources to place in a home or transfer to another humane society. As a result, another accurate way to describe this animal management strategy is limited admission. When a “no-kill” animal shelter fills to capacity, they have the option of refusing entry. Some maintain waiting lists, request behavioral evaluations before accepting a pet, and/or require expensive relinquishment fees. Many require surrender appointments that can last up to several hours while pets are evaluated, and if a behavior is deemed manageable in their current home, they may send the pet back with the person who tried to relinquish them to begin with. Certainly not all of them have these obstacles to relinquishment, but many do.

While those who are able to relinquish their pet have the comfort of knowing that their pet will not likely be euthanized while in the custody of a "no-kill" shelter, they may have to wait longer or pay more than they anticipated or are able to do. In the interim the pet(s) might reproduce, increasing the number of homeless pets in need of a home. Furthermore, if the pet in question has an aggression problem, a person or another animal may be injured during a rehabilitation attempt.

A criticism of this limited admission model is that animal shelters/rescues/humane societies are required to report “dispositions” (the final outcome for an animal) to VDACS but they are not required to report how many pets were denied entry. By refusing admission of pets that may be euthanized due to health, behavior, or both, “no kill” shelters are able to control their disposition percentages with little accountability for what may happen to a pet after its denial. As a result, a shelter may be able to announce that they have a 95% adoption rate, but it may be for only 200 animals that they admitted throughout the year.

Open admission shelters, on the other hand, may take in as many as 2,000 or more animals per year. In 2017, the R-H SPCA admitted 2,479 pets. While thousands continue to arrive, every year fewer pets have been brought to us. In 2004 for example, we accepted 4,691 pets. In the last decade, awareness and education have improved, many more rescue groups have been established, and aggressive efforts to spay and neuter, particularly dogs, have contributed to the steady decline of homeless pets.

While there are definitely viable roles for both strategies, what many jurisdictions have concluded is that there needs to be at least one open admission animal shelter available to citizens whose pets are denied by limited admission shelters or for whom a long waiting list simply isn’t an option in time-sensitive situations such as divorce, military deployment, family upheavals, or sudden change in health or lifestyle.

The R-H SPCA has many limited admission allies, over 60 at the time this was written. Many rescues are breed-specific and we are able to transfer purebred or nearly purebred animals to the people who are most familiar with the needs of a particular breed. Others may want specifically very young pets or special needs pets, and we’re incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work with these rescue groups. Not only are we assured that they will almost guarantee them a home, their generosity also opens up cages here for more incoming pets. 

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“SPCA” is actually a generic term, and doesn’t imply a franchise or corporation in spite of the similarities among different “SPCAs.” Similarly, a “humane society” is completely different from The Humane Society of the United States. Any SPCA or humane society can be public or private, limited or open admission, partnered with local animal control or not. The ASPCA is completely separate from the R-H SPCA; however, we partner with the ASPCA to transport animals to rescue group allies and on to loving homes.

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The R-H SPCA is dedicated to placing friendly, reasonably healthy pets into homes. Given that we are open admission, not every pet that arrives here fits those qualifications. Every incoming animal is treated as an individual, and staff takes the time to get to know each and every one of them to best serve not only the animal but also the community at large.
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Pets with issues we are unable to handle in-house with our resources might be good candidates for a rescue group. Rescue groups are invaluable allies to us for these pets. Some of our pets may have a perfect temperament, but a worrisome tumor or an old injury that healed without proper treatment. We submit these pets for consideration to one of 60+ rescue group allies. Since many of these rescue groups are limited admission or breed-specific, they reserve the right to deny entry. However, we’re proud to say that a significant number of pets are transferred to rescue groups every year. In 2017 we were able to place 332 pets into rescue groups with more resources and foster homes to address health and behavioral issues, or are just in a location with more people looking to adopt.

When it comes to pets that are already in our shelter, we do the best we can. We also focus on pet retention in our own community to keep them from coming through the doors to begin with. We have comprehensive information available for basic training techniques to prevent or address behavioral problems in both dogs AND cats. We are also happy to consult over the phone to help as much as possible with behavior that may cost a pet its home. We can also refer you to more knowledgeable local professionals to help with problematic behaviors. Our Humane Education program teaches children and adults of all ages kind and responsible pet care. If we can improve the relationship between a pet and its family, we will try.

We also have a proactive spay/neuter initiative. In the state of Virginia, all pets adopted from an animal shelter are required by law to be sterilized. Part of our adoption fee functions as a deposit or “down payment” on a pet’s spay or neuter surgery, more info here. We are happy to provide a list of area veterinarians for newcomers to the area or people looking to find the right veterinarian. We're happy to distribute vouchers and special offers by area vet clinics for those who choose to adopt, those who bring us unwanted litters of offspring, those reclaiming a pet, and those who need low-cost options. Since we do not have a veterinarian on staff nor a clinic in which to perform surgery, we help people establish a relationship with a veterinarian.

Ultimately, regardless of how one feels about the limited admission vs. open admission strategies, what we can all agree on is an increase of spaying and neutering, pet retention assistance, and encouraging adoption instead of purchasing from a breeder or pet store is fantastic common ground to start from. Reducing the birth rate is a surefire way to reducing the euthanasia of pets, regardless of locality. Blaming animal shelters for pet homelessness makes as much sense as blaming recycling centers for landfills: neither place is to blame for what someone else has “thrown away.” Hopefully, we can work together to end pet homelessness at its source and refrain from a blame game that does nothing to prevent pet homelessness nor help animals find and stay in homes.

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Every individual animal is assessed by staff for behavior and health. Our behavior assessments are standardized assessments developed by the ASPCA and shelter dog expert CPDT Sue Sternberg, and modified to address the particular needs of shelter dogs.
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Aggressive animals that cannot be safely handled also cannot be safely evaluated for health. Even if we can adequately restrain them for their exam there’s still a possibility of injury to our staff or volunteer vets, not to mention that it's also incredibly stressful for the pet. Using chemical restraints such as a tranquilizer for a simple physical exam sets a dangerous standard for basic care. Not only are tranquilizers expensive, having to render a pet unconscious to have a veterinarian look at it will not encourage an adopter to provide adequate veterinary care. Putting a veterinarian at risk of being bitten, as someone who relies so heavily on their hands for their livelihood, is irresponsible.

Animals that are behaviorally sound will also be assessed for health. Volunteer veterinarians donate their time to examine our pets with health concerns and develop a plan of treatment for the staff to deploy if needed. However, we lack a lot of diagnostic equipment and we can only do so much with the resources available to us. If a pet requires blood work, x-rays, surgery, or some other kind of specialized treatment that requires specific equipment or training, we either have to pay for the treatment at a local vet clinic or rely on grants or donations to cover the cost.

Healthy pets or pets with manageable or rehabilitatable issues can go up for adoption or transferred to one of our rescue group allies. A manageable issue is an issue that needs addressing by a knowledgeable adopter or foster home with modifications to a pet’s day-to-day life. Examples might be mild food/toy guarding or some mild reactivity to other animals. This kind of issue is unlikely to ever be completely resolved, but it's also unlikely to cause harm. A rehabilitable issue is an issue that could, with the right approach, be 100% resolved in the future. Rehabilitatable issues might include recovery time from a trauma or surgery, or an illness that will resolve with proper treatment. Many of these treatable issues can be handled in-house or with the generous support of a donor, foster home, or compassionate adopter.

Healthy, friendly pets can be placed up for adoption. Adoptable pets are monitored daily for stress and health issues. The shelter environment is a lot louder and has much higher traffic of both people and germs than a home environment. If a pet takes a turn for the worse, we need to be able to address that pet’s needs promptly. We can provide enrichment in the form of training programs and time spent playing and cuddling with volunteers. 

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No. The same temperament evaluation is used for every dog, regardless of breed. As a matter of fact, a significant percentage of the staff owns or has owned pit bulls or pit mixes and we know how wonderful any dog has the potential to be.

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No. Adoptable pets stay up for adoption as long as they remain happy and healthy.

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As the law in Virginia is currently interpreted at the time of this writing, TNR is not a lawful disposition for public animal shelters. Capturing a cat and sterilizing it is widely considered taking ownership of it, and so returning it to where it was found is considered pet abandonment, a class 3 misdemeanor. Since it’s technically an unlawful practice, there are very few regulations and even fewer of these regulations are enforced. For example, who is responsible for providing TNR cats their vaccines, flea and worm prevention, or basic day-to-day needs? Who does the responsibility fall to should a colony caretaker become incapacitated or fail to provide adequate care? Who is responsible for prevention of zoonotic diseases associated with free-roaming cats such as toxoplasmosis, rabies, and the transmission of parasites and diseases to owned cats? Considering cats are the cause of more bird and wildlife death than collisions with cars, buildings, and wind turbines combined, how is the environmental impact assessed and addressed, if it is at all? How are property rights protected if a property owner would prefer a cat-free place to live? We feel that these questions must be addressed before TNR becomes a standardized practice. Native birds and wildlife have a right to life too.

Barn Buddies-style programs assign an owner to feral cats, who is then held accountable for the cats’ well being. The idea behind them is that feral cats are not able to easily adjust to life inside a home as a pet, and so are allowed to live in barns as “working cats” addressing rodent populations. Unfortunately, getting these cats their annual vet care is especially challenging since they still perceive humans as threats. Vaccinations are still a vital part of not only ensuring an individual cat’s health, they are also vital in ensuring the health of other cats an individual may encounter. Even if a “barn cat” is thoroughly vaccinated and cared for, it doesn’t mean that their predation is limited to unwanted rodents. The number of small mammals and birds that owners see their cats kill is not representative of their actual volume of kills. These outdoor cats are still contributing to the decline of local wildlife and impacting the local ecosystem unless they are actually contained within a structure. Cats' predation is a concern, and so is exposure to other wildlife as well. While a barn home is not out of the question, it does raise some concerns that are not always considered.

We have hundreds of friendly, healthy, social, adoptable cats available every year. If we get to the point where every friendly, healthy cat we place up for adoption finds a suitable home within a reasonable time, finding homes for fractious cats may become a more viable option in the future. 

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Part of our mission as an open admission shelter is to accept every pet in need that arrives at our doors from our jurisdiction. We consider feral cats (and dogs) to be pets in need. The average lifespan of a feral cat is just 2 years, compared to the 15+ years of an indoor cat. The majority of feral cats we receive are rarely healthy, even if someone is providing them with food, water, and shelter. Many have not been vaccinated, or if they have it hasn’t been properly boostered, and as such may be carrying feline distemper, calicivirus, leukemia, or feline immunodeficiency virus, all of which are chronic and terminal. Should they not have a terminal virus, they are likely to have abscesses and wounds from fighting each other and wild animals and can be in debilitating pain from these preventable injuries and infections.

Some are anemic because of flea, lice, mite, and/or intestinal worm infestations, which means that their parasite infection(s) went untreated for far too long. Many feral cats we receive have a severe upper respiratory infection, which can permanently damage their eyes and sinuses.

It’s not fair to deny feral cats admission and continue to let them suffer and die of disease and/or trauma, nor is it responsible to deny them so they go on to reproduce and increase the number of homeless pets. It’s also not fair to the citizen who wants their property free of sick, fighting, yowling, mating cats when it’s often not their fault that the cats are there in the first place. We can’t find the anonymous person who allowed their cats to mate and then abandoned them to chance to properly lay guilt on the appropriate person, but we can help people who are caught in the middle. Most people don't want to see cats hurt by encounters with wildlife, predators, poisons, disease, vehicles, or cruel people who would do them harm.

Due to their feral temperament, most often we cannot safely administer the medicine feral cats need, especially if it’s a twice daily dose of oral antibiotics. Since we also have limited resources, we feel that we need to prioritize sick friendly cats over sick fractious cats. Since aggressive feral cats are unsuitable to share a home with a human being and present a health hazard to those trying to care for them, we feel that it’s in their best interest to end their suffering and prevent harm to the environment and people who try to care for them. Feral cats are the product of irresponsible humans and it’s not their fault that they were not cared for properly; however, we have a responsibility to keep them, the community, and the environment safe.

For more information about the impact of feral cats on the environment and the impact of re-abandonment on cats, see the following articles and studies: 

• Conservation Biology: Critical Assessment of Claims Regarding Feral Cats by Trap-Neuter-Return
• Nature Communications: The Impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife in the United States
• Parasites & Vectors: High prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii shedding in stray and pet cats (Felis catus) in Virginia, United States
• Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association: Welfare of Feral Cats and Wildlife
• Preventative Veterinary Medicine: Management of feral domestic cats in the urban environment of Rome (Italy) (Abstract only)

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Even though our doors are always open, there may be open cages in adoptable areas for a variety of reasons.

1. A pet has recently been adopted! Our kennel technicians must thoroughly sanitize kennels and cages before we can place another pet in there. That can take some time, especially if there are more pressing needs during the day.
2. Pets are on a stray hold. Stray holds are imposed by Virginia law requiring a waiting period to see if an owner of a stray comes forward to claim them. Virginia law requires 5 days for pets without a form of ID (such as a collar, tattoo, or microchip) and 10 days if they do have a form of ID. We cannot legally adopt an animal before it falls into our custody after the holding period.
3. Pets are on a court hold. Sometimes pets are seized by Animal Control in cases of cruelty, neglect, or animal attacks. The R-H SPCA must wait for the court to make a determination for them before we can evaluate them for adoption.
4. Pets are under medical and/behavioral observation. Pets that are presenting symptoms of illness are monitored in a quarantined area away from the public and healthy pets so we can establish treatment for them and prevent the spread of disease. Pets who are having a difficult time adjusting to the shelter environment may require specialized training from staff away from the general public.
5. Pets awaiting pickup by a limited admission or breed-specific rescue group may also be quarantined. Some rescues request that we not adopt out pets awaiting pickup.
6. We simply are not at capacity at that time. Like any other public service, there are ebbs and flows. Depending on the time of year, the needs of our community, requests from Animal Control or calls for aid from sister shelters; there may be a period of time when there are empty cages. Of course, that’s always subject to change. Walking into the R-H SPCA on any given day isn’t representative of how our census looks throughout the year.
7. Overpopulation is not the only reason a pet might be homeless. Pets, particularly dogs, may be surrendered due to behavioral or temperament problems. While some mild to moderate behaviors may be modified within the shelter environment, we can’t place aggressive dogs up for adoption in good conscience. The possibility of them attacking an adopter, a member of their family, or hurting another animal or someone in the community at large is too great a risk to “warehouse” dogs regardless of their temperament just because a kennel is available.