A ‘glimpse into the madness’: Richmond Animal Care and Control shows how they serve the community behind the scenes

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Richmond Animal Care and Control (RACC) gave 8News a glimpse into the madness their team experiences every day as they fight for our city's animals.

"I love the madness," RACC's Director Christie Chipps Peters told 8News. "I love the chaos. And I think if you didn't, you would literally cry every day and run out screaming."

8News has frequently spotlighted the wagging tails and sweet faces behind the doors at "our city's shelter," but a large portion of the community does not know about all the work that goes on behind the scenes.

"You go from doing a search warrant and a seizure and horrible people doing horrible things to animals to 20 minutes later, some wonderful human coming in and making a donation so that we can save those animals lives," Chipps Peters said.

According to the shelter, on Wednesday, May 21, their team seized a dangerous dog, impounded 13 other animals, saw the end of an animal cruelty case and handled a domestic violence incident right in their lobby.

However, those are just a few of the responsibilities and events that occurred that day. In a post that has taken off online -- with thousands of community members sharing their support -- RACC posted a list recapping the notably busy day.

"I think it just gives people a glimpse into the madness that we live in every single day," Chipps Peters said. "We get to see the worst and the best of people, sometimes all in the same day."

Chipps Peters added -- many don't know -- her team is in court every week fighting for justice for Richmond's pets.

"We run the gamut from like 1 to 20 convictions every single Wednesday," Chipps Peters explained. "That is a portion of the work that we do that we don't really talk about very much, but I want the community to understand that literally every single day we are working to solve crimes and hold people responsible for the ugly things they do to animals. And so that is definitely something we will build on."

The shelter has to have daily armed security every day for when things get heated. But sometimes things are a little fuzzier -- on Wednesday, RACC was left with a "Hello Kitty" laundry basket full of kittens, so it's always a rollercoaster.

"Nobody likes to hear the ugly things," Chipps Peters said. "They just want to talk about cute puppies and snuggling kittens, but our reality is we have to do both.

However, despite all the hard work, long hours and grueling emotional -- and physical efforts -- Chipps Peters praised her team, adding it's all worth it.

"This is the best job I've ever had," the director smiled. "I love it so much."

This holiday weekend, in partnership with "Patient First," RACC is having sponsored adoptions! Click here to read more.