10/26/2026
Important info from Antioch Animal Services .....
A few questions that came up on our posts this week - lots of curiosity and we welcome it!
Q) 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗲𝗲?
A) Currently in October fees are sponsored i.e. being paid in part, by Antioch Friends of Animal Services and so are reduced to $35. Our normal fees are $135 for all dogs, $100 for all cats. A dog license fee may apply for residents of Antioch.
Q) 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝘅𝗲𝗱 / 𝘃𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱?
A) Yes! We won't let any pet go home unaltered. They are vaccinated (according to age), dewormed, flea treated and microchipped. All pets are considered healthy at the time of adoption. Some may have medical disclosures that will be discussed at the time of adoption.
Q) 𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗰𝗵, 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁?
A) Yes! We have had people drive from far & wide to adopt. Adoptions are all first come, first served. The pets are listed at https://24Petconnect.com/AntiochAdoptablePets and it is updated hourly - every day.
Q) 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗱𝗱 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝘁 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻?
A) The short answer is no. Our current process is as a result of trial and error over the years. We have had pets miss out on rescue opportunities or another adopter due to interested parties not showing up. With a small staff, limited space and the constant influx of animals, it's in the best interest of all of our animals to facilitate the quickest exit, all the time, every time.
Q) 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝘁𝘀?
A) Yes! Many of our rescue partners transfer in a mix of our adoptable pets and stray pets - they too are on a first come, first served basis - no holds. There is often a misconception from the public that this "isn't fair" when it's a cute fluffy puppy, but is celebrated when it's a long time hard to adopt big dog - in the shelter matrix, this doesn't make sense. For us AND the animals it is a win! It's less paperwork to process, a guarantee there won't be an adoption return and most importantly an empty kennel. For the rescue it is (hopefully) a quick turnaround for them and (hopefully) they will return for more. One thing there sadly is a guarantee of, is that more animals will come into our shelter.
A bonus for our rescue partners is that they have access to our facility on days we are closed to the public.
Q) 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘁, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆?
A) This is probably one of the most common questions we get and the answer isn't black and white, which is the same with many of the functions of the shelter.
Depending on how an animal arrives in our care will give a *rough* idea of when it is available to adopt.
A healthy* 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘆 has to be held for a waiting period called a "stray hold" - this can be 4 business days (days we are open) or 10 business days, it depends on if the pet has identification/is confirmed owned. After that stray hold the pet then has to be medically AND behaviorally cleared to be considered adoptable - this isn't an instant switch in status - our Vet doesn't work 7 days a week, our surgery schedule changes depending on emergencies and such, so it can be a a day or a week depending on when that hold ends and our flow in the shelter.
During that end of stray hold period and before adoption status a rescue organization can bring the pet into their care as they are obligated to take on the responsibility of medical, behavioral and spay/neuter surgeries.
*Healthy stray - not every pet that arrives at the shelter is healthy or behaviorally sound - some may be sick, some injured, some unweaned and some aggressive or become that way during their stay. Our staff & Veterinary team have to make decisions on whether the pet is treatable & handleable taking in the considerations of the shelter population, current infectious diseases present and the staff to animal ratio which impacts standards of care. Any pet under 8 weeks of age doesn't have a stray hold as the law recognizes them as vulnerable and at risk in the shelter setting, so they are immediately available to transfer to rescues, go to fosters or be adoptable (if healthy) or to be euthanized.
Q) 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮 𝗡𝗼 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿?
A) For those who see this phrase and don't truly understand it, a "No Kill" shelter does not equal a shelter that is not killing. The "No Kill" movement has adjusted over the years as it has recognized flaws in it's original process, but the verbiage sadly carries significant weight that has hurt most municipal shelters that won't "embrace" the term or practices. The phrase is based on a statistic - a percentage of animals that leave a shelter alive known in the industry as a live release rate currently set at 90% - meaning 9 out of 10 adoptable animals leave a shelter alive. Shelters are awarded recognition and some funding if they achieve this status. This strategy has been proven in some instances to be detrimental to the animals leading to overcrowding of shelters who "won't kill" and have cut down public services such as taking in stray dogs just to earn the title of "No Kill".
So, we are not "No Kill" in the sense our operations are not implementing procedural changes in an attempt to achieve a higher live release rate. There are policies and changes we embrace that have helped change our intake processes to alleviate shelter burden and lower euthanasia rates, but not at a cost to public safety.
At the heart of our shelter structure is public safety and animal welfare. We do make every effort to prevent animals coming to us and if they do we are working towards reunions, adoptions and rescues, but we have principles that we operate by so that we are not contributing to the suffering of the animals we take in. Overcrowding is inevitable and it leads to the decline of animal health in the shelter environment, so we are always monitoring the shelter's overall status and day to day operations.
We do euthanize animals. Our facility does not expand to accommodate the additional animals. Our staffing doesn't increase to accommodate the new arrivals. We are also navigating cruelty cases, mass hoarding situations and bite quarantines / dangerous amimals - and all have to be housed within our shelter. We approach each day with careful consideration of every animal's well-being and when we see signs of deteriorating physical or mental health that we cannot treat we do make decisions to not prolong the suffering.
Are shelter decisions black & white? No. We have many factors to consider and thankfully opportunities do present for some of our animals and they do find a way out, sadly orhers may not. Years of experience, knowledge and continued education contribute to all of the decisions that we make.
We can't do any of what we do without your cooperation and understanding. Only together can we achieve more for the animals, more for our community and more for our little shelter by the Delta. Knowledge is easily shared. So, please always ask us the questions, so that you have the answers. ❤️💪🏻
