The Yucca Valley Animal Shelter, at least temporarily, will not be welcoming dogs being given up their owners.
The facility’s kennels are beyond their maximum capacity. Designed to hold 57 dogs, as of 2 p.m. today, they are packed with 97.
“Yucca Valley Animal Shelter is currently operating at 170.1 percent capacity,” the shelter’s website states.
The shelter has animals that are cataloged in three categories, those being ones on its urgent need list, its adoptable pets list, its srescue release only list and its stray & found list.
Currently, there are 71 dogs on the shelter’s adoptable pets list, all of which can be adopted by qualified owners willing to give the dogs a good home. There are now two dogs on the rescue only list, which is not a euthanasia list. Those animals are not currently available for public adoption but are eligible for placement with approved rescue partners who can give the dogs specialized treatment. Animals are continuously evaluated for health and behavior, and may be moved to the adoptable list as appropriate. Pets under eight eeks of age or under two pounds will remain rescue release only until they meet adoptable criteria.
There is a single dog on the stray and found list. There are also 14 stray and lost cats at the shelter.
There is currently a single dog on the in-urgent need of assistance from a 501(c)(3) rescue partner list, as the dog is at risk of humane euthanasia due to medical, behavioral, and/or capacity limits. This dog and others who in the future are placed on the in-urgent need of assistance list may also be available for adoption by the general public.
According to the Town of Yucca Valley, dogs brought in by their owners accounted for over 17 percent of all dogs and 19 percent of all cats housed at the shelter in 2025. Over the year, 133 dogs and 36 cats were left off by their owners.
Strays brought to the shelter by residents comprised 28 percent of the 772 dogs brought into the shelter in 2025. In the same period. Of the 184 cats at the shelter 25 percent, or 41 were strays.
Roughly one fourth of both the dogs and cats at the shelter last year were county and town animal control officers impounds.
For the time being, those pet owners who can no longer care for their pets should see if they can have others who will be kind to them, such as friends, family or individuals who are known to be animal lovers take them off their hands.
The shelter intends to continue to accept stray animals and deal with animals caught in emergency circumstances.
Those thinking of adopting can go to yucca-valley.org, and go to the animal shelter feature or phone 760-365-3111.
Shianne May is Yucca Valley animal care and control manager. Cassandra Blackstone is the city’s senior shelter specialist. Amanda Saliba, Ryan Gordon and Nathan Lopez are the animal caretakers at the shelter.