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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Ace
Ace is at risk due to behavioral reasons. Despite our best efforts at making him comfortable, Ace has been observed to show signs of stress while in care. Noted to vocalize loudly while in kennel when the room is active and when it's more quiet. Ace's previous owner states that he will hard bark and growl at other dogs. While in care, Ace has been observed to pull hard towards the other dogs in the kennel and on the street. He is also observed to jump up and bite the leash while in kennel. During one instance, he bit the handler on the hand when they were attempting to leash him (no broken skin). Ace's previous owner describes him as very active and playful. When outside of the shelter environment, Ace is social with staff, allows all contact, understands basic commands, and is treat receptive. Medically, Ace has cherry eye.
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Taquito Chiquito

Taquito Chiquito 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 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 bite/scratch incidents.
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Spaghetti
Spaghetti 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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Santi
Santi is at risk due to medical concerns. Santi is a senior dog with multiple comorbidities, including a right forelimb lameness possibly due to osteoarthritis; suspected neurologic signs in all four legs with an unknown cause; and multiple suspected benign skin masses. Behaviorally, she has allows social handling and does well with training, but becomes tense and has growled and snapped with more extensive medical handling and neuro/orthopedic exam. Santi needs regular vet care, a quiet, low stress environment to help her move comfortably and enjoy her senior years.
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Mystique
Mystique 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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Lil Baby
Lil Baby is on the at-risk list due to behavior concerns. In the care center, Lil Baby displays persistent jumping on handlers, leash biting, and pulling, along with kennel fighting behaviors when entering and exiting the kennel. He requires frequent refocusing and can become overly aroused during handling. Lil Baby is highly social, engages easily with handlers, and responds well to treats intermittently, but is struggling in the care center. Medically, Lil Baby has Otitis externa.
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Winter
Winter 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. Winter is now beginning to accept treats and she has responded positively to gabapentin.
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Hot Coco
Hot Coco is on the at-risk list due to behavior concerns. In the care center and prior home, Hot Coco displays fear-based behavior including growling and snapping at handlers, particularly around the crate, along with leash biting and reactivity toward other dogs on walks. She shows difficulty coping with stress at times and may escalate when overwhelmed. Hot Coco in the care center is highly social with staff, and exuberant during interactions Medically, Hot Coco is apparently healthy.
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Isabella
Isabella 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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Tweety
Tweety is at risk due to ongoing behavior reasons. When she first arrived at the Care Center, she was growling, hissing, lunging and swatting out of the kennel at staff. These behaviors caused the neighboring cats in the room to become highly stressed. She was started on medication to help with shelter stress and her behaviors subsided. Recently, she has stopped taking her medication and her behaviors have begun to slowly escalate. Tweety continuously growls as staff are in the room and attempts to swat them when they are cleaning neighboring kennels. She was surrendered due to behavior in the home, having a multiple-bite history. It is recommended that she be placed into a stable home environment with experienced adopters who are willing to work slowly with her. Medically, she appears healthy.
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Mustang
Mustang is on the at-risk list due to behavior concerns. In the care center, Mustang displays high arousal and poor impulse control, including intense leash biting, jumping, and mouthy behavior that has resulted in accidental contact with a handler’s finger, breaking skin. Mustang is highly social, seeks out interaction with staff, and engages with enrichment and activity when given appropriate outlets but is struggling to acclimate in the care center environment. Medically, Mustang is apparently healthy.
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Snowman
Snowman is on the at-risk list due to behavior concerns in his previous home and in the care center. In the home, Snowman lunged at a child and has growled at the children in the home when they entered his space and he also shows reactivity including lunging, hard barking, and growling toward strangers, dogs, and other animals. These behaviors appear to escalate quickly when he is exposed to these triggers. Snowman in the care center is social, friendly, and playful with staff. Medically, Snowman is apparently healthy.
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Rusty
Rusty 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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Pedro
Pedro is at risk due to behavioral reasons, Pedro has a bite history toward humans and has displayed high levels of reactivity on leash and a low threshold for arousal leading to mouthiness. Upon arriving at the care centers Pedro was described as anxious and reactive on leash partially when being brought to kennel. Pedro is typically high energy and mouthy with handlers and is hypervigilant while on the street or when seeing dogs. Pedro is otherwise receptive to treats and accepts treats when tossed by handlers. Medically he is apparently healthy.
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Poe
Poe is on the at-risk list due to behavior. He is an under socialized adult cat and 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 and under socialized adult cat adjust to strangers.
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Gumball
Gumball is at risk due to behavioral concerns. Gumball has not acclimated to the shelter and remains highly fearful and avoidant during most interactions. He is inconsistent with the process of being leashed by handlers. He has escalated to growling, snapping at leads, vocalizing at times when leashing, and snapping, thrashing, and alligator rolling during his intake. He has briefly engaged with a lick mat with spray cheese, but then returns to maintaining his distance from handlers. Medically, Gumball is being treated for CIRDC.
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Loki-Li
Loki-Li is on the at-risk list due to medical concerns. Loki-Li is a senior cat that has allowed very limited handling while in our care. Loki-Li has had a decreased appetite and lethargy while in shelter and has not tolerated attempts at providing supportive care. Loki-Li would benefit from a quiet low stress environment so their medical concerns can be addressed appropriately.
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Pepper
Pepper is on the at-risk list due to behavior concerns. In the care center, Pepper has displayed high arousal in the care center, including jumping on staff, mouthing with moderate pressure, leash biting, and difficulty being removed from kennel at times. Pepper has also been struggling to settle in his kennel, smearing feces on the floor due to persistent jumping and knocking his water bowls over. Pepper is social, engages readily in play and training, and can be redirected with toys and structured activities. Medically, Pepper is apparently healthy.
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Darwin
Darwin is at risk due to behavioral concerns. Darwin has not acclimated well during his stay in care despite the best efforts to keep him comfortable. He remains highly fearful and avoidant of interaction. Darwin is intermittently reluctant to walk and has had to be picked up when he pancakes on occasion. With handlers, he avoids most forms of interaction and will persistently seek an exit. Medically, Darwin is apparently healthy.
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Surge

Surge is on the at-risk list due to behavior concerns. In the care center, Surge displays handling concerns including mouthing during leashing and reliance on high value treats to be safely removed from the kennel. Surge is noted in the care nceter to kennel fighting when exiting his kennel room. Surge is social, engages well with handlers and loves seeking out contact and participating in training. Medically, Surge is apparently healthy.
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Thin Mints
Thin Mints is at risk due to behavioral concerns. Upon arrival Thin Mints was observed to be social with staff, allow handling, but also highly reactive to dogs. While in care, Thin Mints has remained reactive to dogs on walks and recently has been noted to be consistently pulling hard toward occupied kennels and pop-crates. With staff, Thin Mints remains social, solicits contact, and is treat motivated. Medically, Thin Mints has dermatitis (unspecified) and is on treatment for Giardia.
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Acadia
Acadia 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. Medically Acadia is currently being treated for a moderate upper respiratory infection.
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Tater
Tater is on the at-risk list due to distance -increasing behaviors. She is an under-socialized cat who may not have had many interactions with humans from an early age. Upon arriving at the Care Center, Tater tolerated minimal handling. As she remains at the Care Center, she has become less tolerant of touch. As staff approaches her kennel, she is lunging, hissing, and swatting with nails extended. When attempting to pet her with a scratcher tool, she is entirely avoidant. Given her fearful behavior, it is in her best interest to transition from the kennel environment into a stable home setting. She would do best in a low-traffic home with experienced adopters. Medically, upon intake, she had alopecia but otherwise appears healthy.
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Augie
Augie is at risk for behavior reasons. Augie was surrendered due to multiple bite history in his previous home. Augie has been tolerant of being taken out on walks while in care. Medically, we suspect accumulation of tartar and dental disease due to age, otherwise appears healthy.
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Torwen
Torwen is at risk due to behavioral reasons. He has been observed to have a low threshold for arousal noted to leash bite when being removed and returned to kennel. He has also been observed to lunge at handlers. During his re-assessment, Torwen began to jump up and lunge towards the handler persistently during the jog portion of the assessment. Torwen has remained very social with handlers, enjoys petting, and is very responsive to play. He is also receptive to treats. Medically, Torwen is apparently healthy.
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