15 Jan Bay Area Shelters Take in Pets From L.A. County to Help Overwhelmed Shelters

Peace of Mind Dog Rescue co-founder and advisory board member Monica Rua holds a dog at a Los Angeles County animal shelter this month. The Los Angeles County Shelter Coordinator contacted POMDR letting the know of the impact on pets from the fires. POMDR brought four dogs back to Pacific Grove. (POMDR via Bay City News)

By Kathleen Kirkwood
Bay City News

Shelters from around the greater Bay Area are taking in cats and dogs that were previously housed in Los Angeles-area shelters in an effort to free up space for pets displaced or rescued from wildfires.

A team from the East Bay SPCA traveled early Sunday morning to the Los Angeles County Animal Care Center in Lancaster and returned with 10 dogs — nine large and one small — to help out overwhelmed shelters in Los Angeles County.

“Every kennel counts in a crisis like this,” said Karalyn Aronow, vice president of operations for the East Bay SPCA. “We’re glad this transport could create space for more animals and relieve some of the pressure on neighboring shelters.”

The dogs from Los Angeles will be ready for adoption starting Wednesday at the East Bay SPCA’s Oakland facility. Officials said they are prepared to take in more pets from Southern California as needed.

Pets from the Los Angeles area have also been transported in recent days by the SPCA Monterey County. A team from the shelter went to Southern California on Saturday and has thus far taken in 11 pets, including one cat, one kitten, five dogs and four puppies.

“We know all too well how disasters can impact pet owners given our recent experiences here, and we are here to do anything we can to help the shelters who are working so hard to rescue and care for animals,” said Scott Delucchi, president of SPCA Monterey County.

The pets taken in by the Monterey County facility include Lyle, a 1-year-old terrier mix; Ben Jr., a 14-week-old tabby kitten; Winter, a 1-year-old pug; and Gemma, a 4-month-old pit bull-mix puppy.

The pets were expected to be available for adoption starting on Tuesday.

SPCA Monterey County also has a skilled animal rescue team ready to assist in the fire areas once it is requested.

Another organization, Peace of Mind Dog Rescue of Pacific Grove, traveled to Los Angeles early Saturday morning after receiving a call from the Los Angeles County shelter coordinator.

The nonprofit’s co-founder and advisory board member, Monica Rua, and Adoption Coordinator, Emily Termotto, visited four shelters and brought back four dogs.

Fortunately, many of the shelters they visited had already sent many dogs to foster or to other shelters or rescues.

“Several times they were ready to load dogs in the POMDR van and someone adopted them right out from their arms!” according to a release from the organization.

“It was heartwarming to see so many organizations and individuals step up to help,” Rua said.

The group’s van arrived back at their clinic Saturday night at 11 p.m. “The pups were walked, fed, and tucked in for the night.

They’ll all be going to foster homes this week and will be put up for adoption.”

More information about adoptable pets is available at https://eastbayspca.org/, https://www.spcamc.org/ and https://www.peaceofminddogrescue.org/.

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