At-Risk Animals

Thank you for your interest in adopting from Animal Care Centers of NYC. Our At-Risk List is posted three times a week, on the evenings of Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 6:00PM and remains viewable for 42 hours.

Schedule overview:
Animals posted at 6:00PM on Sunday evening will be viewable until Tuesday at 12:00PM noon.
Animals posted at 6:00PM on Tuesday evening will be viewable until Thursday at 12:00PM noon.
Animals posted at 6:00PM on Thursday evening will be viewable until Saturday at 12:00PM noon.

To find out the status of at-risk animals, please visit the At-Risk Outcomes page.

If this is your first time visiting this site, please read the below information carefully.

For anyone who wishes to adopt, there is a mandatory deposit fee of $200 plus a transaction fee per animal to place an adoption reservation. The $200 covers $50 toward the adoption fee and $150 for the spay/neuter deposit. If the animal has already been spayed or neutered or is permanently waived by one of our veterinarians, the $150 deposit will be refunded at the time of the adoption. If the animal does need to leave without being spayed or neutered due to his/her medical condition, the $150 deposit will be refunded at the time they are brought back for the spay/neuter surgery or when proof of sterilization being done elsewhere is provided to ACC. If you do not follow through with the adoption, the entire $200 deposit will be considered a charitable donation to ACC's Special Treatment and Recovery Fund (STAR). Also, if the adoption fee for an animal is less than $50, the difference will be considered a charitable donation to the STAR Fund. Similarly, in-shelter pricing promotions do not apply to at-risk animals.

To complete an adoption, please click reserve on the animal of your choice. That animal will be loaded in your cart and you will have 15 minutes to complete the adoption process. In order to complete your reservation, you need to check out (top right corner). At this point, you will enter in your credit card information and a receipt will be emailed to you as confirmation of your reservation. If you have any issues, please email adopt@nycacc.org for help navigating the website.

If you are interested in fostering/adopting through one of our New Hope partners, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/ozHex3uqvNkQt2dq9

At-Risk Animals

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Slips
Slips is on the at-risk list due to behavior. He is not thriving in the care center and continues to display distance-increasing behavior when approached for interactions. He has not warmed up despite staff using treats to build a positive association. Due to his stress levels, it is in his best interest to move out of the kennel environment and into a stable home as quickly as possible. He would do best in a home with adopters who are willing to give him plenty of time and space to adjust, and who have experience with helping a fearful cat adjust to strangers.
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Yosemite
Yosemite is on the at-risk list due to behavior. She is not thriving in the care center and continues to display distance-increasing behavior when approached for interactions. She has not warmed up despite staff using treats to build a positive association. Due to her stress levels, it is in her best interest to move out of the kennel environment and into a stable home as quickly as possible. She would do best in a home with adopters who are willing to give her plenty of time and space to adjust, and who have experience with helping a fearful cat adjust to strangers.
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Squirrel
Squirrel is on the at-risk list due to behavior. He is not thriving in the care center and continues to display distance-increasing behavior when approached for interactions. He has not warmed up despite staff using treats to build a positive association. Due to his stress levels, it is in his best interest to move out of the kennel environment and into a stable home as quickly as possible. He would do best in a home with adopters who are willing to give him plenty of time and space to adjust, and who have experience with helping a fearful cat adjust to strangers.
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Rocko
Rocko is at risk due to behavioral concerns. Rocko is a social dog but presents as highly anxious. He has been observed licking the walls of his kennel, and when placed in a crate, he will bite at the crate bars and pull at his bedding. More recently, Rocko has been grabbing staff leashes and mouthing their clothing when they attempt to remove him. Medically, Rocko has dental disease.
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Merlot
Merlot is on the at-risk list due to behavior concerns in the care center and in his previous home. In the prior home, Merlot was reported to display resource guarding and attempted to bite by lunging and snapping during one incident, though no contact with skin was made. In the care center, Merlot displays high arousal, including hard pulling, frantic movement in new environments, and significant reluctance to return to his kennel, often pancaking and requiring multiple handlers, treat trails, or coaxing to complete kennel re-entry. Merlot is social with handlers, enjoys training, learns new cues readily, and engages well with toys and food reinforcement. Medically, Merlot is apparently healthy.
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Astrid
Astrid is on the At Risk list due to behavior. She is not thriving in the care center and continues to display challenging behavior during interactions. She is extremely intelligent, highly social, and needs to expend energy constructively with interactive play sessions 3-4X/day. She displays a very short threshold for touch, although soliciting the attention and can escalate to high levels of overstimulation and reactivity. It is in her best interest to move out of the kennel environment and into a stable home as quickly as possible. She would do best in a home with adopters who are willing to give her plenty of time and space to adjust, and who have experience with feline body language, overstimulation, rough play, and who have the time to invest in managing these behaviors on a consistent basis to avoid (further) bite/scratch incidents.
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Pucci
Pucci needs at risk placement for medical reasons. He is a sweet cat with severe inflammation of his eyelids and conjunctiva that is not responding to supportive care in shelter. He needs placement in a veterinary clinic and then a peaceful home to recover.
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Miu Miu
Miu Miu is on the At Risk list due to behavior. She is not thriving in the care center and continues to display challenging behavior during interactions. She is extremely intelligent and high energy, and needs to expend energy constructively with interactive play sessions 3-4X/day. In addition to playtime, this cat would also benefit from mental exercise from activities such as puzzle toys/games, lick mats, or clicker training. Without providing activity for her mind and body, the cat may react with rough play, potentially resulting in bite/scratch incidents. It is in his/her best interest to move out of the kennel environment and into a stable home as quickly as possible. She would do best in a home with adopters who are willing to give her plenty of time and space to adjust, and who have experience with feline body language, overstimulation, rough play, and who have the time to invest in managing these behaviors on a consistent basis to avoid further bite/scratch incidents.
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Kibou
Kibou needs at risk placement for medical reasons. She is a young, sweet dog with a severe anemia. She is eating and receiving treatment for possible intestinal parasite and tick-borne disease exposure. Kibou also had a syncopal episode with no clear cause. She needs placement in a veterinary clinic for further testing to determine the reason for her condition.
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Mama Coco
Mama Coco is at risk due to behavioral reasons. Mama Coco was recently returned to the care center due to fearful behavior being observed while in foster. It was reported that Mama Coco would struggle settling around strangers, would bark and growl. While in the care center, Mama Coco has been observed to be highly kennel reactive. Noted to pull hard towards the other dogs in the kennel room. After being put into kennel, Mama Coco has attempted to push out in order to continue behavior. While out on walks with handlers Mama Coco will walk on a loose leash, will accept pets, and warms up with slow approach. Medically, Mama Coco has small wound on ear that is healing but otherwise healthy.
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Thor
Thor is on the At Risk list due to behavior. While social with certain handlers, he continues to display challenging behavior during interactions. He is extremely intelligent and high energy, and needs to expend energy constructively with interactive play sessions 3-4X/day. In addition to playtime, this cat would also benefit from mental exercise from activities such as puzzle toys/games, lick mats, or clicker training. Without providing activity for his mind and body, the cat may react with rough play, potentially resulting in bite/scratch incidents. It is in his best interest to move out of the kennel environment and into a stable home as quickly as possible. He would do best in a home with adopters who are willing to give him plenty of time and space to adjust, and who have experience with feline body language, overstimulation, rough play, and who have the time to invest in managing these behaviors on a consistent basis to avoid further bite/scratch incidents.
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Button Blue
Button Blue is on the at-risk list due to behavior concerns. In the care center, Button Blue displays fearful behavior during handling, including growling, hard barking, retreating from the leash, startling at sudden noises, and balking during walks. He also displays on-leash reactivity toward other dogs, particularly small dogs, barking and pulling toward them while moving through the building. Button Blue is able to be leashed with patient handling and food or toy reinforcement, and is slowly acclimating but is still struggling. Medically, Button Blue is recieving treatment for CIRDC.
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Valor
Valor is on the at-risk list due to behavior concerns. In the care center, Valor displays high arousal behaviors including leash biting, hard pulling, jumping, hypersalivation, and lunging or fixating on other dogs while on leash. During one handling interaction, Valor approached an assessor with a stiff body and cornered them until redirected by the handler. Valor is highly food motivated, responds well to reinforcement-based training, engages appropriately with enrichment, and has learned cues such as sit, focus, and breath work. Medically, Valor is apparently healthy.
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Angel
Angel is on the At Risk list due to behavior. He is not thriving in the care center and is deteriorating in the Adoptions room and no longer tolerates petting or handling, escalating very quickly when approached for socialization and during kennel cleaning. Due to his stress levels, it is in his best interest to move out of the kennel environment and into a stable home as quickly as possible. He would do best in a home with adopters who are willing to give him plenty of time and space and who have experience with helping a fearful cat adjust to strangers.
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Ocho
Ocho is on the at-risk list due to behavior. She is not thriving in the care center and continues to display distance-increasing behavior when approached for interactions. She has not warmed up despite staff using treats to build a positive association. Due to her stress levels, it is in her best interest to move out of the kennel environment and into a stable home as quickly as possible. She would do best in a home with adopters who are willing to give her plenty of time and space to adjust, and who have experience with helping a fearful cat adjust to strangers.
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Green Bin
Green Bin is on the at-risk list due to behavior. He is not thriving in the care center and continues to display distance-increasing behavior when approached for interactions. He has not warmed up despite staff using treats to build a positive association. Due to his stress levels, it is in his best interest to move out of the kennel environment and into a stable home as quickly as possible. He would do best in a home with adopters who are willing to give his plenty of time and space to adjust, and who have experience with helping a fearful cat adjust to strangers.
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Mika
Mika is at risk due to behavioral concerns. In Mika's previous home, it was reported that Mika has a multiple bite history due to her stranger danger and resource guarding behavior. Her owner reported Mika can be very affectionate when given the time to get comfortable with new people and environment. Overall she prefers contact on her own terms and will growl, snap, and bite if not followed. She is crate trained and when new people would visit owner would place in crate. While in care, Mika allows limited handling. She has lunged, hard barked, and attempts to bite staff. Medically, Mika is apparently healthy.
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Sam
Sam is on the at-risk list due to behavior. He is not thriving in the care center and continues to display distance-increasing behavior when approached for interactions. He has not warmed up despite staff using treats to build a positive association. Due to his stress levels, it is in his best interest to move out of the kennel environment and into a stable home as quickly as possible. He would do best in a home with adopters who are willing to give him plenty of time and space to adjust, and who have experience with helping a fearful cat adjust to strangers.
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Sarah
Sarah is on the at-risk list due to behavior. She is not thriving in the care center and continues to display distance-increasing behavior when approached for interactions. She has not warmed up despite staff using treats to build a positive association. Due to her stress levels, it is in her best interest to move out of the kennel environment and into a stable home as quickly as possible. She would do best in a home with adopters who are willing to give her plenty of time and space to adjust, and who have experience with helping a fearful cat adjust to strangers.
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Soccerball

Soccerball needs at risk placement for medical reasons. He is a sweet, young cat with a poor appetite due to a severe upper respiratory tract infection. He needs supportive care in a veterinary clinic in order to recover.
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Ash
Ash is on the at-risk list due to behavior. He is not thriving in the care center and continues to display distance-increasing behavior when approached for interactions. He has not warmed up despite staff using treats to build a positive association. Due to his stress levels, it is in his best interest to move out of the kennel environment and into a stable home as quickly as possible. He would do best in a home with adopters who are willing to give him plenty of time and space to adjust, and who have experience with helping a fearful cat adjust to strangers.
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Loki
Loki is on the at-risk list due to behavioral concerns. He has not acclimated well to the shelter environment and is allowing only minimal handling. Loki displays a high level of fearfulness and is highly sensitive to touch and handling. He has also exhibited significant anxiety and, at times, appears to panic during interactions while actively seeking an escape route. Medically, Loki has a corneal scar and pododermatitis.
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Go Fish
Go Fish is on the at risk list for medical reasons. Go Fish is one of 5 kittens in a litter that has been diagnosed with ringworm. Ringworm is difficult to effectively treat and manage in the current shelter population due to overpopulation, staffing, resources. Placement would include topical and oral treatment as well as veterinary follow-up.
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Spades
Spades is on the at-risk list for medical concerns. Spades is one of 5 kittens in a litter that has been diagnosed with ringworm. Ringworm is difficult to effectively treat and manage in the current shelter population due to overpopulation, staffing, resources. Placement would include topical and oral treatment as well as veterinary follow-up.
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Koka Kola
Koka Kola is at risk due to behavioral reasons. His previous owner describes him as a social and active dog who lives with dogs, cats, and children. While in care, Koka has been observed to jump up and bite the leash while in kennel. In one instance, when a handler attempted to distract him with spray cheese, he lunged and bit their hand. This bite did not break skin. Koka has also been observed to attempt to bite handlers through the kennel door. Medically, Koka Kola has undetermined allergies, alopecia, and otitis externa.
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