About Richmond Animal League

The Richmond Animal League, Inc. is Richmond’s oldest non-profit, no-kill humane society. RAL was founded in 1979 by a group of local good Samaritans concerned about the hundreds of stray animals in the area. We are dedicated to providing complete care and shelter to our animals until we can place them in loving permanent homes.

Richmond Animal League is the leader in Chesterfield County in providing homeless animals with temporary housing, medical treatment, sterilization, and quality care until they are adopted to permanent, loving homes. Our commitment to no-kill is promoted through educational programs that teach the importance of spay/neuter, responsible pet ownership, and compassion for companion animals.

Since 1979, Richmond Animal League has been finding homes for homeless dogs and cats in the Richmond area. RAL's animals often arrive injured and emotionally scarred. RAL provides complete medical care including vaccinations, sterilization, microchips, treatment for illnesses and lots of TLC to instill trust and confidence so the animals can become beloved family pets. RAL provides temporary shelter and complete care until permanent, loving homes can be located.

For many years we rented a kennel in Chesterfield County. In 1987 the property was sold to a residential developer and we were asked to leave the facility. In spite of this setback, we continued to care for many needy animals and boarded them at veterinarian offices. Our goal was to raise enough money to build a brand new facility. After 7 years of fundraising activities and the generosity of our members, our dreams became a reality! In May 1994, we opened our new kennel near Chesterfield Towne Center. This facility can house 19 dogs, 30 cats and 20 kittens. Since our facility opened, we have helped hundreds more animals than we had been able to in the past. We found homes for over 500 animals last year. Unfortunately, we still turn many animals away due to our limited financial resources.