Overcrowded Conditions at Shelters
RIVERSIDE – An urgent request went out Tuesday seeking help from anyone willing to temporarily or permanently provide homes to dogs and cats impounded at Riverside County animal shelters, where conditions are worsening.
Department of Animal Services Director Mary Martin said the county’s shelters have been impacted by a surge in impounds, including some connected to wildfires in the Banning Pass and Mead Valley. She said there’s growing concern about being able to accommodate additional intakes that will be inevitable going into the Fourth of July weekend, when canines are especially prone to bolt during fireworks, ending up on the streets.
“We desperately need action from the community to prepare for even more pets coming into our shelter seeking safety and care,” Martin said. “We are at our limit, and we need support from anyone who can help to immediately make space in our overcrowded shelters.”
There are currently about 1,400 cats and dogs — mostly the latter — in the county’s four shelters.
“The cat population is now over 300, exceeding capacity for cats for the first time this year at 125%, most notably at the (Thousand Palms Animal Campus) near Coachella,” according to an agency statement. “As the holiday weekend approaches, we are calling on the community’s support … to safely and humanely house the expected influx of pets.”
In May, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution declaring the county’s goal of becoming a “no-kill” jurisdiction for pets, seeking to ensure that 90% of animals impounded at county-run facilities leave alive.
The measure, among other things, contains a pledge that the county will “work collaboratively with public and private partners, animal welfare organizations, veterinary professionals, contract cities and residents … to reduce euthanasia.”
The 90% no-kill goal entails greater emphasis on free or low-cost spay and neuter clinics, enhanced “return-to-owner” programs that unite lost pets with their loved ones, adoption campaigns, pet fostering programs that temporarily ease space constraints at shelters and expedited “trap-neuter- return-to-field” programs for “community cats.”
One nonprofit organization has alleged the county has the highest pet “kill rate” in the nation.
Fostering programs that involve taking in canines and felines from a few days to a few months are available at most of the shelters. More information about fosters and adoptions at the Blythe Animal Shelter, San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus, Thousand Palms Animal Campus and the Western Riverside County Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley is available https://rcdas.org.
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