If you haven’t been in to see the brand new San Luis Obispo County Animal Services adoption facility yet, then you don’t realize what you’re missing out on! Not only is the new facility itself amazing, but so are all the different animals who use it as their temporary home, and of course just as amazing are their human caretakers who are the committed staff and team of volunteers.
Spring is right around the corner, and in these post-COVID days the animal count is way up at the shelter. It’s not just dogs and cats that are available to be adopted. If you keep an eye on the Animal Services website somewhat often you are likely to find everything from reptiles like bearded dragon lizards, to chickens or ducks, rabbits and guinea pigs, birds, you name it! If it’s considered “domesticated” then Animal Services is likely to have it at some point. By adopting from the shelter, not only are you helping give a homeless animal a great home, the adoption prices are a huge savings compared to going anywhere else!
Of course, the average adopter comes to see dogs and cats the shelter has to offer. It almost always seems to be dog and puppy season with an ever-changing supply available, and major kitten season is right around the corner when the numbers can really spike. This is where the team of staff, volunteers and fosters kicks into high gear to help care for all these animals. You can help too by signing up online to become a kitten foster, or by calling the office at 805-781-4400. If you want to do even more you can become a regular volunteer and have a wide range of hands on tasks working directly with the animals of your choice, all while making your own schedule for shifts. It’s so much fun and the ultimate reward is watching an animal go home with its new family! You can sign up for being a foster or volunteer by visiting the Animal Services website online at http://bit.ly/3XQMrUz.
A common question the shelter is asked is, “How long do the animals have to be adopted?” Fortunately, the shelter NEVER has a time limit on the length of stay for any animal. Some animals are at the shelter for months until they find the right match. This is where the team of staff and volunteers working hard together plays such an important role by keeping all of the animals happy, trained, and cared for. As a result the shelter is proud of their very high “live outcome” rate year after year, which in 2022 was 94%, (90% is generally considered no kill status for a shelter).
So if you haven’t seen the new shelter yet, or you have been holding off on adopting your next dog or cat or other little critter, or maybe you’d like to check out the facility because you’re interested in volunteering, then stop on by SLO County Animal Services at 865 Oklahoma Avenue, which is right off of Highway 1 at the traffic light for the Sheriff’s Department. The shelter kennels are open to the public Monday thru Saturday from 1-5 p.m. and until 7 p.m. Wednesdays. Available cats can be visited during regular office hours which are posted on the website. Of course you can always do an internet search on the shelter to see and view available animals in the facility, including all strays who have come in at https://24petconnect.com/SLOCAdopt. You can also check out more info and available animals with bios on the shelter’s Twitter or Facebook page, and another FB page called SLO Lucky, which is operated by volunteers. It’s all one big team effort in the name of the animals, finding homes for them all! Come say “hi.” The animals will love to see you!
John Zweemer
Los Osos