Pet Adoptions

Foster a Pet

Many animals brought to our facility are either too young to be adopted, are a nursing mom with young puppies/kittens, or need specialized medical care due to injury or sickness. In these cases, we rely on community members opening their homes to care for the foster the animal outside the shelter environment until it is adoptable.

A typical foster care placement can last anywhere from 1 week to 2 months depending on age and medical situation. The shelter provides basic animal supplies, as well as provides needed medical care for the animals while they are placed in foster care.

The foster program plays a key role in the success of the shelters operations by allowing more space for adoptable animals to be seen while unadoptable animals are in a calm, home environment.  If you are interested in fostering, please fill out one of our foster applications below or request a paper copy at the shelter front desk.

About TCAS

Service Area

Located in Pasco, Washington, the Tri-Cities Animal Shelter (TCAS) is a publicly funded stray/redemption facility that serves the residents and animals within the city limits of Pasco, Richland and Kennewick. 

Operating Authority

TCAS operates under the Animal Control Authority (ACA) and an interlocal agreement between the three cities it serves. 

Stray Management

Numerous considerations go into managing the large population of stray animals in TCAS’s service area. 

Responsibly managing the public resources that fund the shelter means we may not accept all animals at all times. Every sheltering organization has a maximum capacity for care (C4C), and the population in their care must not exceed that level. This is determined by both the space and staff available to adequately care for our animals. 

Once a shelter is operating within their C4C, human resources (staff, volunteers, others) are often freed up to do any of a number of other important shelter tasks to further serve the shelter animals and/or community outreach programs. This system feeds positively on itself. Meeting C4C allows animals to remain healthy with good welfare during their stay and move through the system quickly without delays from illness. Since animals arrive at their appropriate outcomes more quickly, resources are freed up to further serve the mission and goals of the facility – often with an ability to serve more animals. The organization can thus be an even better resource for the community to improve welfare of animals within and beyond the shelter walls.

In the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, pet abandonments across the Tri-Cities region have surged. As a result, it is not uncommon for all shelters across our region to reach their capacity for care at the same time. The broad consensus is that leaving healthy animals unsheltered is preferable to overcrowding shelters.

This is because when any shelter exceeds its capacity for care, pain and suffering increase for all the animals in its care. That runs counter to the mission shelters, and to the interests of the animals and the surrounding community. 

TCAS has several methods it can employ to stay within its capacity for care::​

• Transfer animals to partners within and beyond our region and state

• Public education on spay/neutering and microchipping pets 

• Pet fostering

• Limit or pause animal intake

• As a last result, euthanize for space

Intake of Healthy Animals

Community members hoping to remove healthy animals from their property should consider the following alternatives when shelters reach their C4C:

• Avoid feeding the animal. Healthy cats will stay on and around any property if they are being fed. Community members are encouraged not to feed animals, they do not want to visit or live on their property.

• Post the animal on social media with photos and the location and date found. Dogs are often reunited with their owners through social media within 48 hours. Area resources include: 

  • Tri-Cities Wa Animal Lost-n-Found

  • Lost and found animals,tri cities wa

  • Missing Pets - Lost & Found Pets Pasco•Kennewick•Richland •Washington•

• Lost/Found/Rehome Pets In Tri-Cities, WA

Intake of Vulnerable and Unhealthy Animals

Although a municipal animal shelter, TCAS is first an animal control facility. Animals that are abused, emaciated, aggressive, and/or dangerous, and animals that are sick and vulnerable, are priority for intake. This includes:

• Animals too young to fend for themselves

• Bottle baby kittens

• Puppies under 3 months

• Sick and/or injured animals in our jurisdiction

• Abandoned animals