BUSY: Trends and ways to help out
time of year, said Leslie Carbah, spokesperson for the Yuba County Sheriff’s Office.
“Our largest population of species are dogs and cats, but we handle everything from birds and rabbits, to livestock and horses,” Carbah said.
And with kennel space limited as it is, local animal control services have gotten creative in finding ways to help the animals get adopted and into forever homes.
“We work closely with several rescue groups as well as other jurisdictions to move animals out of the shelter into foster and adoption situations,” Carbah said. “ACS Supervisor Deneen Barnhill and her staff work tirelessly to partner with rescues and other community resources to get animals adopted and we’ve had great success in dramatically lowering our euthanasia rates.”
There are a few ways an animal can end up at a shelter. It could be a stray that was picked up by a member of the public or an animal control officer.
“The majority of these animals are not reunited with their owners and go up for adoption at the end of their hold period. Less often, we take in owner surrenders, which are animals that have owners but who must be given up by their owner for various reasons,” Anderson said.
Trends Some of the most common breeds to be found in local shelters are pit bulls and chihuahuas, but they aren’t alone.
“We’ve seen more Doberman Pinschers and an even higher number of German Shepherds and Poodle mixes,” Anderson said.
Carbah said Yuba County is experiencing a “feral cat problem.” But just because the feral cats might not be as cuddly as their domesticated counterparts, Yuba County Animal Care Services has recently implemented a special adoption program for “barn cats.” They aren’t as tame as most cats that are adopted as “pets,” she said, but they are perfect for people that need something like rodent control in a barn.
The program allows people to adopt the barn cats for only $8. Animal Care Services takes One of the cats up for adoption at the Yuba County Animal Care Services building enjoys some play time outside of his cage.
care of everything from vaccinating and deworming, to flea treatment and spay or neutering. Carbah said the county is partnering with Fieldhaven and Country Corners Veterinary Hospital for the program.
The Barn Cat program and other special adoption events help dramatically reduce the number of animals that occupy shelter space.
“The shelter has a fairly high turnover rate,” Anderson said. “Smaller dogs, younger dogs, or purebred dogs tend to be adopted before larger adult dogs are. Kittens tend to be adopted before adult cats. Very large dogs tend to have extended stays, as most people are not equipped to handle a 70 pound plus dog.”
Local shelters only euthanize the animals when absolutely
necessary.
Ways to help For Yuba County, which has an overpopulation problem, Carbah said the best thing owners can do is spay and neuter their pets.
“We’ve been able to bring low cost vaccination programs and some low cost spay/neuter programs in the past, but there is still a large need for low cost spay/neuter programs locally,” she said.
She said those that cannot adopt can also help in other ways, either by volunteering at the shelter, purchasing products for the animals like food, litter or blankets, or by donating to the shelter itself, either for items needed or to offset adoption fees for special promotions.
They also partner with
other local organizations to put together clinics focused on getting pets vaccinated and microchipped. The best way to stay up to date is by following its Facebook page (@Yubacountyacs).
As for the Sutter Animal Services Authority, Anderson said there are far too many animals that are still unlicensed, unaltered, under socialized and unvaccinated.
“Spay and neuter your animals. Socialize your pets from an early age. Vaccinate your animals. License your dogs,” she said.
To stay up to date on SASA, visit https://goo.gl/gexhgn.
To see what animals are currently at the Yuba County Animal Shelter and Sutter Animal Services Authority, visit www. petharbor.com.