Carrollton animal shelter Operation Kindness has received an increase in surrendered pets due to detention of immigrants by government enforcement operations, alongside a decline in attendance at their community events outreach programs.

In addition to pet adoptions, the shelter provides resources for pet owners, foster care, veterinary services and a Pet Food Pantry. Last summer, family members of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees began surrendering pets to the shelter. 

“[Separation] affects animals and people emotionally and physically,” Chief of Staff Meredith Jones said. “If you have animals that are very used to one person or several people, but also their environment, there’s the emotional and behavioral turmoil of being around strangers. We have dogs and cats that may not want to eat, kind of like with humans.”

Jones said community members were concerned about attending community events such as their pet food pantry and vaccine clinics after political changes in January of last year. 

“We would do door-to-door outreach,” Jones said. “We noticed a lot of people weren’t comfortable opening their doors to us, [and] I think, to anyone. We’ve had to pivot a lot to really ensure the community [of] pet owners we’re serving [know] we’re providing a safe environment for them and their pets.”

Operation Kindness’ Pet Food Pantry used to allow clients to get out of their cars, stand in line and receive pet food. Senior Manager of Community Resources Maggie Mendoza said tensions rose as clients made threats to others waiting to receive resources. The shelter received clients who threatened to call ICE on Operation Kindness last year. 

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Avery Boyle

Lady Pirate is 3 years old. She’s a Domestic Shorthair mixed breed and is spayed, microchipped and up to date on her vaccinations and preventions. She is eligible for a three-day trial adoption through their Foster First program.

The shelter has since changed their model to be drive-through oriented to mitigate clients from interacting with each other.“We’re here to provide help and support,” Mendoza said. “We’re not going to stand for any discrimination or verbal abuse.” 

They host their pet pantry twice a week. In 2025, their Pet Food Pantry, which offers temporary pet food assistance, served 41,541 pets in Dallas. 

“Regardless if someone gets detained and deported or even just has a surrender, it’s a very difficult situation,” Mendoza said. “I know that animals get affected by it a lot. [The pets are] surrounded by weird smells, noises and other animals that are barking or meowing. [They] constantly have strangers coming up to [them, trying] to give them love, and [the animals] don’t understand it.”

Operation Kindness offers situational fostering for families not wanting to officially surrender pets. Situational fostering allows families to be in contact with foster families.

“[Situational fostering] makes families [not] feel forced to have to make a really permanent decision of what could be a temporary circumstance,” Jones said. “For the family member who’s detained, thinking about being reunited with their pet could be something that gives them hope in their situation. If we can foster an animal for a couple of months versus forcing someone to surrender their pet, [we will].”

After hesitation from community members to give out personal information, the shelter has changed the way they gather data, adjusting guidelines and processes. They collect data on the amount of pets clients have, as well as what animals they are. 

“We wanted to make sure people felt comfortable coming to receive support,” Mendoza said. “And not feel like they were at risk of something happening just because they were coming to get food for their animal.”

As well as the shelter in Carrollton, Operation Kindness has a facility in southern Dallas, and partners with shelters across North Texas. Operation Kindness is not government funded and relies on donations. 

“My experience with Operation Kindness has been nothing but positive,” junior Gabby Tinsley said. I adopted my dog from there.”