More animals in Amarillo, primarily dogs and cats, are returning home to their owners or finding new homes thanks to efforts led by the City of Amarillo Animal Management and Welfare Department (AAMW.)
AAMW Director Victoria Medley had good news not only for the members of city council Tuesday during their regular meeting, but also for the entire Amarillo community. Medley detailed improved animal welfare numbers in several key categories, including the number of lost animals returned to their owners over the past three years and the number of animal adoptions.
The numbers:
- An increase of 7.2 percent in the number of animals returned to their owners from 2023-2025. A total of 90 additional pets were returned to their owners in 2025 compared to 2023.
- More animals were returned to their owners in the field by AAMW officers, lessening the impact on the AAMW shelter. From 2023-2025, there was a 47.4 increase in these numbers, with 127 more in-field returns in 2025 compared to 2023.
- Animal adoptions increased 34.1 percent from 2023 to 2025, with 678 additional adoptions in 2025 compared to 2023.
- The number of dogs and cats entering the shelter (intake numbers) decreased from 8,818 in 2023 to 8,453 in 2025. Expanded microchipping efforts, scheduled owner surrender appointments and a reduction in calls through expanded online reporting and 311 integrations helped manage shelter demand and allowed field officers to focus on higher-priority community needs.
- Thanks to the cooperation of the Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine, the number of animal surgeries at the AAMW shelter increased from 1,891 in 2023 to 3,352 in 2025.
“These numbers represent progress in AAMW’s efforts to care for the animals in our community and help the owners of these animals – our residents,” Medley said. “Our vaccination and microchip programs have been outstanding in the past three years. We have worked with local and national partners to help make these programs successful, and these program have definitely had a positive impact.”
AAMW provided 914 microchips in 2025 during microchip/vaccination clinics.
Medley also emphasized the importance of the Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine.
“I cannot say enough about what the Texas Tech vet school has brought to our community,” Medley said. “Their participation in surgeries at AAMW has meant so much, both in terms of medical capacity to helping relieve the cost of these surgeries to taxpayers.”
Councilmember Les Simpson applauded the efforts on behalf of public safety.
“Animal welfare is an important issue. Obviously, we want to take care of animals the best way we can in our community,” said Simpson, who also serves on the AAMW Advisory Board. “This is also an important public safety issue. These numbers represent wins for the Amarillo community, not only in terms of taking care of animals and getting them back to their owners but also in terms of saving taxpayers an immense amount of money.”