Animal shelters faring well Biggest impact of pandemic has been a decrease in animals impounded
Animal shelters in the YubaSutter area have continued to provide the community with important services throughout the ongoing pandemic, and while they have experienced impacts, representatives say the situation looks promising moving forward.
Crystal Cole, supervisor of Sutter Animal Services
Authority, said the biggest impact of the pandemic has been a noticeable decrease in stray animal impounds overall. Fewer animals coming in means fewer animals that become adoptable.
“The shelter is currently surprisingly vacant,” Cole said. “…We have two large dogs available for adoption and a handful of adult cats. We typically have at least
5-10 dogs and 5-10 cats available for adoption at any given time, so we have much less adoptable animals than we usually do.”
Sutter Animal Services Authority serves Yuba City, Sutter County and Live Oak. As a municipal facility, the shelter takes in all animals regardless of medical or temperament issues and works to get all healthy and friendly animals adopted or placed with rescue organizations. In a typical year, the facility shelters more than 3,600 dogs, cats and other animals.
Because of the lack of animals available for adoption, Cole said those that are available are adopted quickly.
“I think people who have been working from home feel it is a good time to adopt an animal because they are available and spend more time with their animals,” she said.
Yuba County
Animal Care Services provides services for the unincorporated areas of Yuba County, providing services such as rescuing animals, transporting stray injured animals to veterinarians; impounding loose and stray animals; administering a rabies control program; and co-sponsoring low cost vaccination clinics, among other things.
The shelter has been operating by appointment only due to COVID-19, though plans are in the works to expand its offerings to the public as the area begins to transition into a less restrictive tier in the state’s reopening framework.
“We are an extremely busy county for calls for service, so we can go from empty to full in less than 24 hours. Our techs work really hard to get our animals transferred out as quickly as possible,” said Yuba County Animal Care Services Manager Heather Nall. “We are doing pretty good at the moment. We have a good success rate of transferring animals out of here.”
Like their counterparts, the Yuba County facility has seen a noticeable impact to the number of animals coming in and being adopted. Since last March, 494 animals were adopted from the facility (compared to 935 animals the 12 months prior). At times when they haven’t had space to take in stray animals, they’ve worked with the public, other rescues and fosters to house the animals until they could be transferred or returned to their owner.
“One of the biggest impacts we’ve experienced is not being able to have people come in. Not everyone has access to the internet, and connections are not always there. If someone can walk through the
There are still animals available for adoption in both counties. Nall said a full list of available animals up for adoption at the Yuba County facility can be found by visiting Petharbor.com – the site is updated every 30 minutes.
“If they find something they are interested in, just call and make an appointment to see the animal,” Nall said. “We usually have same-day appointments available.”
Sutter Animal Services Authority also utilizes Petharbor.com for adoptable animals. Cole said there are multiple nonprofit rescue groups throughout the YubaSutter area that can help in addition to the municipal facility.
“People who are looking for a specific type of animal are encouraged to use the internet to find rescues that may specialize in those animals,” she said.
The Sutter Animal Services Authority facility is currently in need of non-clumping cat litter for kittens and a variety of cat toys.
Kong-type toys that can be stuffed with treats for dogs are also appreciated, along with small dog beds.
Yuba County Animal Care Services always take donations of unopened bags of pet food, preferably for puppies and kittens.
“We really appreciate the public’s patience through all of this and look forward to being able to open the doors to get back to normal,” Nall said.