Raytown Animal Services sees rise in pet reunifications and expanded community engagement at new building

RAYTOWN, MO. — KSHB 41 reporter Claire Bradshaw covers eastern Jackson County, including Blue Springs and Grain Valley. Share your story idea with Claire.

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It has been almost a year since Raytown Animal Services moved into a new, larger space and one employee said they're able to make a bigger community impact.

The city of Raytown purchased the former Midwest ResQ building last year, giving animal services a bigger space that allows staff to keep more strays in-house rather than contracting that work out to other shelters. The move also added two new jobs.

Watch: Raytown Animal Services sees pet reunification rate jump

Since the move, Raytown Animal Services has seen its pet reunification rate climb from approximately 40% to 54%, and the department's pet pantry has distributed more than 200 bags of food to the community.

For employees, the larger space has made day-to-day work less stressful and hectic — but the impact goes beyond square footage alone.

Tabitha Spence, a Raytown Animal Control Officer, said having animals in-house gives staff firsthand knowledge of each animal's personality, helping staff know what type of home each animal needs.

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"We can say, 'Oh yes, that that dog's personality would fit with your family, and the dogs that you do have, or the cats that you have. This dog is great with cats. We have that firsthand knowledge since we are working with them every single day,'" Spence said.

One of those animals is Molly, one of 13 dogs rescued from a cruelty case in February. Molly is the only dog left available for adoption from that group, and staff have determined she needs a home without other pets.

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Raytown Animal Services has responded to other serious cruelty cases this year, most recently involving a boarded horse living in its own feces and urine with no fresh hay. Unfortunately, Spence said the horse did not survive after being rescued and receiving medical care. She wants the public to know they can call in cruelty cases and trust that officers will respond with care.

"With this building, we have used it as a way to expand our presence in the community. We not only want to be animal ordinance enforcement, but we want to have that community engagement," Spence said.

Raytown Animal Services is located at 10312 E. 63rd St., Raytown, MO 64133.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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