About

Founded in 1938, the SPCA of Texas is the leading animal welfare organization in North Texas with two shelters, one spay/neuter and wellness clinic, two mobile spay/neuter and wellness clinics, one mobile adoptions unit, and an animal rescue center located in Dallas and Ellis counties. We serve as an active resource center providing an array of programs and services that bring people and animals together to enrich each other's lives. 


The SPCA of Texas operates two animal shelters in Dallas and Ellis Counties—the Dallas Animal Care Center in Dallas and the Ellis County Animal Rescue Center in Waxahachie —and finds homes for thousands of animals each year. The animals up for adoption at the shelters are either rescued from cruelty and abuse, brought in through owner surrender, or are transferred from our partner shelters. In addition to cats and dogs, the SPCA of Texas finds homes for small animals, including rabbits, hamsters, ferrets, and birds. We also house and adopt horses, sheep, goats, donkeys, pigs, and fowl. The SPCA of Texas is a managed intake, reservation-required shelter and does not euthanize animals for time or space, and maintains a more than 96% live release rate. There are no limits on how long animals can stay in the shelters. Dogs and cats adopted from the SPCA of Texas are spayed or neutered, current on age-appropriate vaccinations, have a microchip, and come with a fourteen-day health check-up.


The SPCA of Texas features two spay/neuter and animal wellness clinics in Dallas: the Myron K. Martin Clinic in West Dallas. The focus is low-cost spay/neuter surgeries, annual exams, vaccines, heartworm preventative and preventative care for pets whose owners are indigent and/or do not have the resources to provide for their pets' basic veterinary care. Clients are able to care for their pets using low-cost co-pays. Additionally, the SPCA of Texas has a mobile spay/neuter clinic that moves through Southern Dallas, providing free spay/neuter to residents in need as part of the Community Pet Program.


The Animal Cruelty Investigations Unit (ACI) investigates complaints of animal cruelty and neglect from both the public and law enforcement. The ACI Unit consists of a chief investigator, humane investigators, a case manager, and a veterinarian. Each of the humane investigators comes from extensive law enforcement backgrounds. Each year, the ACI Unit answers nearly 4,000 calls resulting in over 3,000 investigations, the seizure of over 2,000 animals, and several criminal convictions. The ACI Unit has signed Memorandums of Understanding with several law enforcement agencies in North Texas, which allow investigators to independently obtain warrants, make arrests, and file cases directly. The ACI Unit directly serves multiple counties in North Texas and will assist in large-scale seizures across the state of Texas. All animals that are rescued by the ACI Unit are transported to the Russell E. Dealey Animal Rescue Center, where veterinary teams, behaviorists, and animal care staff can provide specialized attention to rehabilitate these animals.