Stamford Animal Care & Control

About Stamford Animal Care & Control
(The Animal Shelter)

At a little run down cinder block facility (circa 1960), 201 Magee Avenue in Stamford, you'll find a place where every animal is 100% homeless and 100% LOVED!

In 2006, we became Connecticut's first municipal Animal Control shelter to add the word "care" to our title. While in shelter care, it is our intention to make each adoptable animal's life count, and to make his or her stay comfortable until a loving home is found.

We wish we could help every pet, however because we are a Connecticut municipal run facility, by law, we are restricted and can only accept pets owned by Stamford residents.

We shelter a variety of animals, primarily dogs and cats but also rabbits, ferrets, little furries like hamsters and guinea pigs and, on occasion, birds and reptiles. We provide rabies control, impound stray animals, investigate and prevent cruelty to animals, attend to sick or injured animals, and find homes for adoptable animals.

We strive toward no-kill which means every adoptable animal is given a second chance. Dogs are given fair evaluations by a behaviorist. With this ambitious approach, adoption is the most vital aspect for our success, therefore we survive off of your support through adopting one of our pets or referring us to friends.

In an effort to reduce the population of homeless animals, we require that all pets from our shelter are spayed or neutered before release.

Contact Us

(203) 977-4437
201 Magee Avenue, Stamford, CT 06902
Directions
Hours: Every day (including holidays): 8:00am - 4:00pm. Wednesdays: open until 7:30pm.
SACC Homepage

The Shelter's Wish List


There are so many items needed at the Stamford Animal Shelter. Please look at the list below and stop by with any of these items. Your kindness is very much appreciated and please don't forget to ask for a receipt so you can take advantage of your in-kind donation.


For the Dogs:


  • Pedigree canned dog food
  • Pedigree dry and any high quality dry food (No Grain type)
  • 6' standard, heavy duty leashes for dog walking (no retractables please)
  • Heavy Kong toys
  • Frontline and Heart Guard

    • For the Cats:


  • Friskies canned food (not sliced or shredded)
  • High quality dry food - preferably GRAIN FREE
  • FELINE PINE or other similar natural litter, (not clay or scooping litter). This will help us to keep the dust down.
  • Baby food (chicken or turkey flavor) for the sick cats and the kittens
  • Toys, especially for the kittens
  • Small Beds (no larger than 11" wide is best)

    • Behind the Scenes:


  • Gift cards to PetSmart, Choice Pet or Costco
  • Bleach, Dishwashing Liquid, Dishwasher Detergent
  • Paper Towels, Rubber Gloves
  • Hand Sanitizer

    • About Outreach to Pets in Need (OPIN)

    "putting an end to pet homelessness"


    OPIN is an all volunteer, registered 501c3, non-profit organization. Our mission is to put an end to pet homelessness in Connecticut through medical treatment, training, public education and placement programs. OPIN supports pets at the Stamford Animal Shelter and beyond through a suite of welfare services.

    Thanks to our generous donors, OPIN has been the SOLE SUPPORTING NONPROFIT of the Stamford Animal Shelter since 2007 and has worked along side the City of Stamford Animal Shelter and its Manager, Ms. Laurie Hollywood to develop and deploy programs supporting the OPIN mission and tenets in the existing facility. The Stamford shelter provides infrastructure and staff support, and OPIN provides dedicated volunteers, program funding, and access to veterinary and animal behavior professionals.

    Thanks to the generosity of animal lovers from Stamford and surrounding communities, and adopters near and far, OPIN has been able to provide extraordinary care to the shelter's animals since 2007. On average the shelter takes in approximately 550 animals per year and OPIN provides approximately $60,000 per year in medical care alone. Now that's an awful lot of animals to provide care for, but there's not an animal that enters the Stamford Shelter that does not receive the necessary medical care it deserves. OPIN provides the shelter with:

  • medical care
  • diagnostics
  • surgeries
  • medicines
  • microchipping
  • supplies
  • food
  • dog training & evaluations
  • communication services, advertising & web services
  • public awareness
  • foster care
  • education and,
  • promotional events.

    As well, OPIN provides the public with:

  • FREE dog training every Wednesday night
  • a subsidized low-cost spay-neuter program for pits and pit mixes (Stamford Residents Only)
  • emergency medical assistance to qualifying responsible pet guardians who have fallen on hard times
  • low-cost microchipping and quarterly FREE microchip clinics (The Chip'n Project)
  • post adoption private in-home dog training sessions with a professional dog trainer
  • foster care through our SafePet program for animals owned by victims of domestic violence who have entered into the Domestic Violence Crisis Center of Stamford program.

    OPIN Website
    OPIN on Facebook

    Volunteering

    We survive off of the skills and generosity of our fabulous volunteers. Not only is it fun, but each and every hour you give makes a direct positive impact on the wellbeing of our homeless pets. Ways to contribute:

  • Walk and socialize dogs
  • Help train dogs at our free, weekly obedience class
  • Cuddle and play with cats
  • Greet the public and help show them pets
  • Perform office work, data entry, and organization
  • Wash laundry and bowls
  • Help with marketing
  • Educate the community with our Pound Around Town program
  • Organize fundraising events

    • If you're interested in volunteering, fill out a volunteer application. After the Shelter Manager has reviewed your application, shelter staff will contact you with details on volunteer orientation.

    Which Form Do I Use?

    • If the pet has "(OPIN)" next to its name on Petfinder, please fill out the OPIN Adoption Application. OPIN pets are part of our non-profit program and usually in foster homes.
    • If the pet has "(Courtesy)" next to its name, please use the contact info on that profile. Courtesy pets are with other rescues or families, but we're helping spread the word.
    • For all other adoptables, please use the SACC Adoption Application. SACC pets are those legally under the Stamford Animal Care & Control shelter.

    If you'd like to become a foster home, please use the application(s) for the program(s) that interests you. OPIN foster homes take in pets from our shelter, providing them with a more engaging environment than the shelter can offer until they find their forever homes. SafePet Domestic Violence foster homes take in family pets of domestic violence victims on a short-term basis, usually during a transition period.