Apple Valley, CA — September 18, 2025 – Town of Apple Valley Animal Services is announcing a managed admission system of non-emergency owner surrenders and stray intake, effective September 19, 2025. This difficult but necessary step will allow our staff to provide the best possible care for the animals already in our facility, allowing us to increase placement of adoptable animals into permanent loving homes.
What this means:
- Emergency cases only: AVAS will continue to accept sick, injured, or dangerous animals that require immediate admission.
- Non-emergencies by appointment: All other admissions, such as owner surrenders and found pets that are healthy and safe, will be handled through a managed, appointment-based system.
- Temporary Kennel hours (Admission/Viewing) 10:00 AM – 3:30 PM
- Found pets: If you have found a healthy stray, we urge you to help by holding onto the pet temporarily, posting on social media, and taking the animal to a vet or shelter to be scanned for a microchip.
- Owner surrenders: We understand that life changes may result in having to rehome a family pet. Owners needing to rehome their pet can visit our pet rehoming services, Home to Home, by clicking the link https://home-home.org/shelters/avanimals and contacting AVAS for resources or appointments.
Why it’s important:
It allows AVAS to better manage their capacity for care, ensuring we can provide adequate resources for all animals while also supporting pet owners and reducing the number of animals entering our facility.
How the community can help:
- Citizen Holding/Foster: AVAS encourages residents to foster or to consider our temporary citizen hold program by housing a dog or cat.
- Adopt: Adopting a pet opens up space for another animal in need. Visit our website to view all adoptable pets at http://www.applevalley.org/services/animal-services.
AVAS only accepts animals from residents within the Town limits of Apple Valley. Proof of residency will be required. For animals from outside our service area please contact your local animal services department. City of Victorville 760-955-5089, City of Hesperia 760-947-1700, City of Adelanto 760-246-2300, County Animal Care and Control 1-800-472-5609.
We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and support.
Together, we can continue to provide “A Better Way of Life” for the animals in our care – Four Paws at a Time!
Apple Valley Animal Services
Adriana Atteberry
760-240-7555
AVanimals.org
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