The Riverside County Department of Animal Services (RCDAS) has released its 2025 Annual Report highlighting significant improvements in lifesaving, operations, and spay and neuter services.  

“When I joined as Director in 2025, I understood the challenges facing one of the nation’s largest shelter systems, and we continue to grow and learn,” said RCDAS Director Mary Martin. “With targeted investments, passionate staff and impressive partner and community support, we have much to be proud of with even more work ahead of us in 2026. I'm focused on enhancing and adding to our lifesaving programs, strengthening our national and local partnerships, and providing real resources for pet owners when they need our help." 

With funding from the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, RCDAS added new staff positions to support adoption, foster, rescue, pet enrichment and pet support programs, as part of the shared goal to improve the live release rate for dogs and cats. The movement called, “RivCo Rise,” aims to ensure more animals get the second chance they deserve, while balancing safety and humane care.

“We’re making real progress toward a 90% live release rate and a No-Kill County,” said Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez. “With ongoing community support—through adoption, fostering, volunteering, and responsible pet ownership—we can save even more lives together.”

As one of the nation’s highest-intake shelter systems, RCDAS took in over 29,000 dogs and cats, plus over 5,000 small animals, livestock, and wildlife last year. With operational changes, strengthened partnerships and new lifesaving programs, the department is seeing real progress in key areas.

2025 Key Achievements

Increased Spay/Neuter Services – 17,349 spay/neuter surgeries performed, with support from local and national partners and more per diem veterinarians on staff. 

New Lifesaving Programs – Through new programs like Dog Day Out, DIBS for Dogs, Ticket-to-Ride and Most Vulnerable Pets, more animals are leaving the shelter system with an improved dog save rate of 82% and an improved cat save rate of 73%.   

Operational Changes – By extending shelter hours to 6pm and opening Sundays, waiving all adoption and return-to-owner fees, and enhancing community education and outreach, adoptions increased by 13% while 3,208 cats and dogs were returned to their owners.

While RCDAS continues to make improvements, the shelter system faces critical overcrowding with the number of dogs compared to kennel space as more enter than exit on most days. The department stresses the importance of community support through foster, adoption, volunteering and donations to help the thousands of animals waiting for their next chapter to start.   

“RivCo Rise is all about the community supporting animals, and I’ve seen firsthand how our shared dedication and compassion can positively impact RivCo pets,” said Fifth District Supervisor Dr. Yxstian Gutierrez. “We are building on the progress from last year to address the ongoing overcrowding crisis because our pets need us to work together for solutions that save lives.”   

The public can support RivCo Rise and lifesaving today by visiting www.rcdas.org.

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About RCDAS

The Riverside County Department of Animal Services shelters nearly 35,000 animals annually across four locations, making it one of the largest sheltering systems in the country. RCDAS provides adoption, lost pet reunification, pet support services, and public safety programs, all aimed at keeping pets with families and increasing animal lifesaving.