Operation Silent Night & Luminary Ceremony

Operation Silent Night 2022

December 6–20

12 years ago during a November staff meeting, someone tossed out the idea to get every animal home for the holidays. "We'll call it 'Operation Silent Night!," someone exclaimed. We told our volunteers and our community what we were doing. We reduced adoption fees, opened our doors for longer hours, and promoted every animal in our care.

And 12 years ago, on December 23rd, our shelter was empty for the first time. Ever.

We invited people to join us. There was an echo in the shelter that made our most experienced veterans cry. We haven't stopped this amazing adoption initiative since that first year, and it has become such a wonderful event that we are able to keep filling our shelter even as we try to empty it.

Keep reading for more details!

2022 OSN Details

From December 6th-20th, all adoption fees for dogs, cats, and kittens are reduced to $10 for the Operation Silent Night event.

Adoption Hours during OSN (Dec.6-Dec. 20)

Tuesday-Friday 12-6pm

Saturday & Sunday 12-5pm

Located at RAL’s Judith Talley Secor Adoption Center 11401 International Drive, Richmond, VA 23236

Not looking to adopt?

Sign up to foster!

Any pets not adopted by Dec. 20th will spend the remainder of the holidays in a foster home. Interested in welcoming a shelter pet to spend the holidays with you and your family? Find out more about becoming an OSN Foster here. Or you can fill out this form and email foster@ral.org with any questions.

Other ways to support OSN

Annual Luminary Ceremony

December 21, 5:30pm at RAL’s Adoption Center

11401 International Drive, Richmond, VA 23236

At the end of Operation Silent Night, and once every pet is in a home for the holidays, we will light up the night and experience the beautiful silence of an empty shelter during our annual Luminary Ceremony.

Let's celebrate the animals who have found a new loving home just in time for the holidays, while remembering & honoring the pets and people who are held near and dear to our hearts.

The 2022 Luminary Ceremony will be held the evening of December 21st. This event is free and open to the public. Beginning at 5:30pm, we invite guests to start gathering outside RAL's Adoption Center for cookies and hot cocoa before we open the doors to the shelter for a spectacular, glowing tribute.

After the ceremony, we will walk through the empty shelter filled with luminaries honoring loved ones in a spectacular glowing tribute.