Final hearing set for K9 rescue home permit

Yuma City Hall will host session on Nov. 6

Following a combative hearing at the Yuma County Planning and Zoning Commission late last month, Old Souls K9 Rescue and Retirement Home’s application for a special use permit will have its final hearing by the Board of Supervisors Nov. 6.

The single-topic session will be held at 6 p.m., and moved from the Board of Supervisors’ tiny “auditorium” to the Council Chambers at Yuma City Hall, 1 City Plaza, to accommodate what’s expected to be a large crowd.

On Sept. 25, attendance at the planning commission meeting at its height was at 200 or more supporters and opponents of the nonprofit, which takes in and finds foster and adoptive homes, when possible, for geriatric and sick dogs.

Backers of Old Souls appeared to be in the majority, and praised the mission of allowing elderly and sick dogs to live out their lives until euthanasia is the only humane option, the quality of care given to the animals on their property, and compared the quality of the grounds favorably to other homes with far fewer pets to take care of.

Opponents said the operation had disrupted the surrounding neighborhood and created a health hazard by attracting flies and creating odors from piles of manure on their land, increasing traffic on the subdivision’s gravel roads and not keeping their cats and other animals confined to their property. Their nextdoor neighbors also said supporters of the rescue were cyberbullying them via threats on Facebook.

Paula and Issac Rivadeneira have built a large following for their cause locally, from animal owners and advocates as well as volunteers, including school, workplace and community groups. Social media has drawn support from across the nation and internationally.

But most of the neighborhood around their home at 11262 S. Holland Avenue has come out against the nonprofit, including far more than 20 percent of landowners within 300 feet, triggering a requirement of at least four out of the five supervisors voting for the permit before it’s approved.

County planning officials said that as of the commission meeting, they had received 73 letters in support of Old Souls, the majority from local donors, volunteers and other Yuma County supporters. Two were from residents of the same subdivision, Buntin Estates, of which one lived within 300 feet. Five did not disclose their “place of residency.”

They’d also gotten 67 letters and comments in opposition, including four from neighbors within 300 feet and 22 letters from elsewhere in Buntin Estates. Fifty-five others came from people who did not disclose their place of residency.

Paula Rivadeneira denied her neighbors’ allegations at the meeting, saying maps from a vector control official show there are no more flies in their area than anywhere else, and comments posted on the Old Souls Facebook page were not actual threats against the family.

She said in an email Thursday that since that meeting, she has found foster homes for most of the 18 dogs who’d been staying at the “Old Souls Hacienda” because she has to care for the animals by herself, since her husband has been working out of town to pay for legal bills from a separate civil court case brought by her next-door neighbors.

“I knew I couldn’t take care of all of the animals by myself and still go to work every day, even with the help of volunteers, so we decided to foster out as many dogs as possible. The sickest, most critical dogs are still with me,” she said.

Alexis Liggett, who circulated a petition in the neighborhood against Old Souls operating next to her parents’ house, declined to comment for this article.

The couple had been operating Old Souls out of their home without a permit for two and a half years, until complaints from relatives of the couple next door alerted the county to the issue.

The proposed permit focuses on the dog rescue, allowing the Rivadeneiras up to 18 dogs on the property, when their zoning caps the number of dogs at five. Other restrictions include no parking by visitors in the street and limited hours of operation.

The planning commission voted 5-2 to recommend the board approve a permit for one year, rather than the standard five, so the case could be reviewed more quickly. Some members advised the Rivadeneiras to relocate Old Souls, with one saying it should be expanded, though Rivadeneira said they don’t want to grow any bigger.

Blake Herzog can be reached at (928) 539-6856 or bherzog@yumasun.com