Updated October 15, 2026
Dallas Animal Services is holding 450 dogs in 307 kennels, according to the shelter's own capacity tracker. That's 147% of its dog space. The fee ordinance the Dallas City Council approved on Sept. 16 also changed what it costs to adopt a dog from the shelter, and what it costs to own a dog the city has declared dangerous or aggressive.
We read the fee ordinance, the city's budget memos and the shelter's published data. Here's what changed, what's driving the crowding, and what it means if you have a dog in Dallas or are thinking about getting one.
The short version
- Adoption is free right now. Dallas Animal Services (DAS) says all pet adoptions are currently free, including microchip, spay/neuter and vaccines (DAS adoptable pets).
- When fees return, a dog costs $20, down from $45. The council's FY 2026-27 fee ordinance, approved Sept. 16, cut the standard dog adoption fee and the cat fee ($10, down from $15) (ordinance text).
- The senior and older-pet discounts are gone. The reduced rate used to apply to pets 6 and older and to adopters 65 and older. Now it applies only when you adopt two or more animals at once.
- Dangerous- and aggressive-dog registration jumps to $500. It was $252 for a dangerous dog and $201 for an aggressive dog. Annual renewals double from $50 to $100.
- Next public meeting: Dallas's Animal Advisory Commission meets Friday, Oct. 23, at 9 a.m. (meeting record).
How full is the shelter?
The DAS homepage carries a live capacity tracker. On Oct. 15 it read 147% total dog kennel capacity, with 450 dogs in 307 kennels. Cats are at 52% (49 cats in 95 kennels). The same page reports an 85.1% live release rate for September 2026 for dogs and cats, meaning the share of animals that left the shelter alive through adoption, rescue transfer or return to an owner (DAS homepage).
The tracker updates over time, so the numbers you see may differ from the ones above.
What's filling the kennels
Stray dogs remain the biggest source of intake, but the number hasn't climbed. Cruelty cases have.
In an Aug. 28 memo answering council budget questions, city staff reported suspected animal cruelty cases involving dogs rising from 269 in fiscal 2024 to 351 in fiscal 2025 and 515 in fiscal 2026, with the 2026 figure covering only October through June. Across all species, including large numbers of roosters and hens, suspected cruelty cases went from 1,999 to 2,562 to 3,365 over the same years (Aug. 28, 2026 budget memo).
The city's open shelter data points the same way. By our count of the intake records Dallas publishes, dog intakes logged as "confiscated" rose from 583 in January through September 2025 to 914 in the same months of 2026. Stray dog intakes went from 9,642 to 9,403 over the same period, and owner surrenders from 2,257 to 2,302 (Dallas Open Data, shelter dataset). These counts are intake records, not unique animals, since one dog can generate more than one record.
The council's adopted budget includes a one-time $175,000 increase for DAS, funded by money returned to the city from a civil penalty judgment (FY 2026-27 adopted budget memo).
The new adoption fees, line by line
Dallas's adoption fee is set in Section 7-2.7 of the city code. In the ordinance, new text is underlined and deleted text is struck through in brackets. Here's how the section reads now (Ordinance 33564, file 26-2932A):
- Standard fee: $20 for a dog (was $45) and $10 for a cat (was $15).
- Reduced fee: $10 for a dog (was $21) and $5 for a cat (was $3).
- Who gets the reduced fee: Only adopters taking home two or more dogs and/or cats on the same day, in the same transaction, who will own all of them. The ordinance deletes the two other ways to qualify: a pet at least six years old, or an adopter 65 or older.
The fee still covers required vaccinations, a microchip, initial national registration and sterilization, according to the code.
Right now none of this applies at the counter, because DAS is waiving fees entirely. The shelter hasn't posted an end date for the waiver. When it ends, the $20 standard fee is what most dog adopters will pay.
What changes for dangerous and aggressive dogs
Dallas has two legal categories for dogs found to be a risk: dangerous dogs (Article V of Chapter 7) and aggressive dogs (Article V-a). The ordinance raises the registration fees for both:
- Dangerous dog: $500 to register (was $252), $100 a year to renew (was $50).
- Aggressive dog: $500 to register (was $201), $100 a year to renew (was $50).
The fee is only part of the cost. Under the code, an owner has 30 days after learning their dog is designated dangerous or aggressive to:
- spay or neuter the dog;
- register it with DAS and pay the fee;
- keep it on a leash under the immediate control of a person, or in a secure enclosure, at all times;
- muzzle it whenever it's outside the enclosure;
- show proof of financial responsibility of at least $100,000, through liability insurance, a surety bond, an escrow account or a certificate of deposit. For aggressive dogs, that coverage must include injuries to another animal as well as to a person;
- keep a collar or harness on the dog with a current registration tag;
- microchip the dog and register the chip with a national registry;
- post a "BEWARE DANGEROUS DOG" or "BEWARE AGGRESSIVE DOG" sign at the enclosure entrance, purchased from DAS.
The ordinance changed the fees, not these requirements. But for an owner facing a designation, the registration fee alone is now two to two-and-a-half times what it was.
What this means for you
If you've been thinking about adopting, this is the cheapest it gets: free, with the dog already spayed or neutered, microchipped and vaccinated. DAS is at 1818 N. Westmoreland Road. Browse dogs on the DAS adoption page or our Dallas Animal Services listing, and see other rescues in our DFW pet adoption directory.
Can't adopt? Foster. A foster home frees a kennel for as long as the dog stays with you. DAS has details on its foster page.
Coming up on the DAS calendar (DAS events):
- Sat., Oct. 17, 10 a.m.–noon: TCAP Low Cost Wellness Clinic at Dallas Animal Services.
- Sat., Oct. 24, 9–11:30 a.m.: Katy Trail Dog Adoption Event at Katy Trail Knox Crossing.
If you already have a dog, the best way to stay out of the shelter numbers is to make sure your dog can get home. Dallas requires dogs and cats over 4 months to be microchipped and rabies-vaccinated, with the rabies tag on the collar. Dogs must be on a leash in public, and pets over 6 months must be spayed or neutered unless exempt. DAS says it offers $10 microchips through Spay Neuter Network (DAS pet laws). If your dog goes missing, check the shelter's stray listings early, through the DAS lost pets page.
If your dog has been in a bite incident, know that the stakes are now higher: $500 to register, plus the $100,000 financial-responsibility requirement. Read Articles V and V-a of Chapter 7 of the city code, or talk to an attorney, before any hearing.
To weigh in, attend the Animal Advisory Commission meeting on Oct. 23 at 9 a.m. in Council Briefing Room 6ES. The agenda hadn't been posted when we checked. It will appear on the meeting page.
Looking for somewhere to burn off energy with a new dog? Start with our DFW dog parks directory or dog trainers.
Elsewhere in DFW: Fort Worth's far-north adoption center
In August, Fort Worth staff listed closing the Alliance PetSmart Charities Adoption Center as a $403,000 budget cut. Staff's own memo said the center handled 895 of 7,522 city adoptions so far in fiscal 2026 (11.9%). It projected that closing it would mean placing more than 1,000 animals a year elsewhere and stretching average stays from 5 days to 14 to 17 (Budget Response 27-011). An Aug. 21 staff document then listed "PetSmart Alliance" among the cuts council could restore (restorations list). The council adopted the budget Sept. 15. As of Oct. 15, the city's page for the center at 2901 Texas Sage Trail still lists regular hours (center page).
We'll update this article when the Animal Advisory Commission posts its agenda or DAS ends the free-adoption period.
Sources
- City of Dallas, FY 2026-27 fee ordinance, file 26-2932A (Ordinance 33564), approved Sept. 16, 2026 · ordinance text, Sections 2–6
- City of Dallas, Responses to Questions Regarding the City Manager's Recommended Biennial Budget (First Set), Aug. 28, 2026
- City of Dallas, FY 2026-27 Adopted Budget memo, Sept. 18, 2026
- City of Dallas, Dallas Animal Shelter Data, Fiscal Year 2023–2026 (Dallas Open Data; our count, accessed Oct. 15, 2026)
- Dallas Animal Services: capacity tracker · adoptable pets · pet laws · events calendar (accessed Oct. 15, 2026)
- City of Dallas, Animal Advisory Commission meeting, Oct. 23, 2026
- City of Fort Worth, Budget Response 27-011 (Aug. 18, 2026) · Tax Rate Equivalent of Restorations (Aug. 21, 2026) · FY2027 Budget · Alliance PetSmart Charities Adoption Center
