Animal shelters in Dallas and Fort Worth are significantly over capacity, prompting city officials to issue urgent calls for residents to adopt or foster pets to prevent further overcrowding and support animal welfare.

Shelter Capacity

Fort Worth Animal Care and Control reported that both of its facilities — the Silcox Animal Campus and Henry’s Animal Campus — are operating well beyond their design limits as of late June 2026. Dallas Animal Services has similarly exceeded capacity targets in recent weeks.

In Fort Worth, cat occupancy at the Silcox Animal Campus reached 253% of capacity, with 165 cats and kittens housed in spaces designed for approximately 65. Many of these are kittens younger than eight weeks old, some placed in temporary accommodations.

Dog occupancy at Silcox is 137%, with 442 dogs in 321 available short- and long-term kennels, resulting in the use of temporary outdoor kennels. Henry’s Animal Campus houses an additional 56 cats and 250 large-breed dogs, bringing the combined total to more than 600 dogs and cats across both sites.

Call to Action

“Across both locations, hundreds of animals are in urgent need of placement to create space for incoming pets,” a City of Fort Worth statement said. “Every adoption or foster, even short-term, directly helps relieve overcrowding and saves lives.”

The city offers support for fosters, including food, treats, collars, and leashes. Residents can view available animals and schedule appointments via the Fort Worth Animal Care & Control website.

Dallas Animal Services reported operating at approximately 160% capacity for dogs (490 dogs in spaces for about 307) and 92% for cats as of recent updates. The shelter aims to operate at near 80% capacity to support optimal animal health and has taken in animals from multiple large-scale cruelty seizures.

Officials encourage adoptions, fostering, and volunteering through the Be Dallas 90 website. Fort Worth and Dallas facilities spay or neuter, vaccinate, and microchip animals prior to adoption.

Potential adopters and fosters are advised to check current availability directly, as numbers change daily with intakes and placements.

Original reporting: The Dallas Express — read the source article.