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Animal Control Unit

The Cranston Animal Control Division
falls under the direction of the Police
Department and is managed by the day
Uniform Division Commander. The
Shelter is staffed by a Shelter Manager,
two full time Animal Control Officers and
an Adoption Coordinator. The Shelter
Manager was a newly created position
within the Animal Control Unit, the
manager has collateral duties as an
Animal Control Officer as well as
managing the overall operation of the
Shelter. The manager reports to the
Uniform Division Commander. The
mission of the Animal Control division is
to protect the health and safety of our
residents, and to protect animals and promote their humane treatment.

The Cranston Animal Shelter follows the philosophy of a No-kill Shelter. This is
generally defined as saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved. It
means healing the animals who can be healed, treating behaviors that can be
treated, and prioritizing safety and a high quality of life for both pets and people
in our communities. It means reducing the number of animals entering shelters
through spay/neuter education and services and increasing the number of
animals leaving shelters through adoption and other programs that lead to them
finding safe places to call home. While animal shelters and the communities they
serve value those objectives, euthanasia is used only as a last resort, when an
animal is suffering from an irreparable medical or behavioral condition. No-kill
means that an end-of-life decision for a pet is an act of mercy rather than one
done for convenience or lack of space.

The Animal Control Division makes every effort to promote pet adoptions of
healthy, non-aggressive animals by the general public and by approved animal
rescue organizations. To reduce the number of homeless pets, our policy is that
all dogs and cats are spayed or neutered prior to adoption.
Cranston Animal Control Officers responded to 1338 Calls for Service during
2019 that resulted in 407 police reports being filed. Last year the Cranston Animal
Shelter took in 187 dogs and 172 cats. Through the tremendously hard work by

www.cranstonpoliceri.gov