Lodi Animal Friends Connection to move

A Lodi animal shelter that has connected thousands of cats and dogs to county residents over the course of three decades is being forced to move.

Patricia Sherman, president of Animal Friends Connection, posted on Facebook last Friday that her non-profit shelter was being evicted.

“The people we’ve been renting from for the last 21 years... the owner died and left it to their children,” Sherman said Monday. “And they sold the property. I think they did try to get the new owners to let us stay, and it was implied he’d let us. He hasn’t had it two weeks, and a Realtor came out last Friday and said we had to move.”

While she was not exactly sure how much time she had been given to find a new location, Sherman said the Realtor who visited on Friday mentioned six months.

Animal Friends Connection has rehomed more than 20,000 cats and dogs over 31 years, the last 21 at its current 933 S. Cherokee Lane location.

Sherman said that since Friday, she’s received leads on places located in Tuolumne and Merced counties, as well as in Modesto and Tracy.

However, she said she would like to remain in Lodi or the surrounding area. She would like to find something that is at least one-third of an acre in size, because she believes that’s the size of the current location, which houses outdoor kennels, a tuff shed and other features she has purchased for the property over the years.

Sherman has three full-time employees and two part-timers, as well as various volunteers who she does not want to have to commute out of the county.

In addition, she currently has 11 dogs and 40 cats on site that need to be moved to a new site as well.

A GoFundMe has been set up to raise $250,000 in moving expenses. As of Monday, $4,201 had been raised.

“We’ve provided a lot of support to the city of Lodi and San Joaquin County,” Sherman said. “And the number of dogs and cats we’ve adopted out in 31 years has been tremendous. We hope we can find a place in the area.”

To donate to Animal Friends, visit tinyurl.com/AFCmoving.

If you have a space for Animal Friends Connection, or know somebody who does, contact Sherman at office@annimalfriendsconnect.org.

NEWS-SENTINEL FILE PHOTOS BY BEA AHBECK Above: Animal Friends Connection manager Randi Smith holds Sleepy, a 6-monthold kitten, at the Lodi shelter on April 4, 2019. Right: Patricia Sherman, president of the Animals Friends Connection, gets some love from Jack, one of two sibling dogs dumped at the Lodi non-profit, on Oct. 6, 2015.