How Does Joybound’s Admissions Process Work? 

Partnering to Change Lives

Did you know Joybound People & Pets partners with animal shelters across California and beyond to help ease overcrowding and give more pets a second chance? Our Admissions team regularly visits these “partner shelters,” bringing dogs and cats to our Walnut Creek campus where they can be seen, loved, and adopted into their new homes. 

We Love our Partner Shelters

The staff at our partner shelters work with us to select which animals are most in need of Joybound’s assistance, which could depend on a variety of factors ranging from an individual animal’s medical/behavior needs, to shelter crowding, to a seasonal influx of puppies and kittens. They even keep us in the loop on which dogs would be suitable candidates to enter our Shelter to Service psychiatric service dog training program!

We’re in regular communication with our partner shelter organizations, and build out a robust schedule of admissions runs – usually embarking on multiple transfer runs every week. 

(Statistics from FY24-25)

What is an Open Admission Shelter? 

Many of Joybound’s partner shelters are classified as “Open Admission Shelters.” That means that they are contracted with their respective counties to take in every dog, cat, puppy, or kitten that needs to be surrendered by their guardians. It’s not uncommon to see pigs or horses at some of these as well! 

Due to the very nature of being “Open Admission,” however, space can fill up quickly. That’s where organizations like Joybound step in, relieving much-needed space where it’s needed most. These partner shelters also rely on our team to handle more complex medical cases, training needs, or animals that need extra care like infant puppies and kittens. 

Joybound, on the other hand, is not an open admission shelter. We are unable to accept surrenders of pets directly from the public, instead focusing our efforts on relieving space within the aforementioned partner shelters. If you find a lost or injured animal and don’t know what to do, visit this blog post for out advice: What to Do if You Find a Lost or Injured Animal.

Teaming Up in Other Ways

These relationships go further than taking in adoptable animals – Joybound collaborates further with these partner organizations for a variety of programs and events. 

Joybound’s monthly free pet vaccine clinics are often held in partnership with Contra Costa Animal Services and Antioch Animal Services, among other organizations, with funding from Contra Costa County’s Measure X. Our clinic team holds a regularly scheduled mobile spay/neuter clinic outside Antioch Animal Services. And our Community Solutions team also attends events held by our partners, providing our services to their clients in the community as well. 

Our adoption teams work together at various adoption festivals like Joybound’s Unleash the Love and Joybound’s Around Town on Broadway events, as well as other events such as Bark and Meow Around the Block or Pet Food Express’ annual Virtual Pet Fair. With strength in numbers, we find that events like these become a destination for potential adopters, allowing us to work together. 

And when disaster strikes, we’re all working shoulder-to-shoulder as we mobilize for crucial disaster relief responses. This has included a wide range of emergency situations ranging from 2025’s Palisades Fire and 2023’s Hawaii wildfires, to 2017’s Hurricane Irma in Florida and 2011’s Joplin tornado in Missouri. In addition to providing resources and care, one of our first steps is to clear out all adoptable animals from shelters impacted by natural disasters, giving them the space needed to focus on housing displaced animals who need to be reunited with their families. 

Note: This article was featured in our monthly eNewsletter. You can receive stories like this, along with other exciting updates about Joybound’s programs for pets and people, by signing up to be added to our email lists.