The Santa Monica Animal Shelter has seen "a steady and marked increase" in the number of owners surrendering their pets — which frankly beggars belief — and that’s in addition to the number of animals arriving as strays. And as if that wasn’t enough, the number of actual adoptions is "significantly" down as well.
"This increase in the number of pets arriving at the shelter paired with fewer adoptions has brought us where we are today, with the shelter being over capacity without any open kennels or space for the next animal that arrives at the shelter," said Elizabeth Noble, Chair, Santa Monica Animal Shelter Foundation.
According to Noble, many of the animals wait months and sometimes over a year to be adopted. "The shelter can be a very stressful environment for many animals, they arrive at the shelter and are surrounded by new people, sights and sounds and of course other animals," Noble said.
In an effort to alleviate a far from perfect situation, all animal adoption fees are reduced to just $20 for the entire month of August.
"Despite doing all we can to support the animal shelter and ensuring that every animal has all they need while they are waiting at the shelter, they need to be in a proper home, not at the shelter for months and months," Noble says.
If you're thinking of adopting a pet please visit the Santa Monica Animal Shelter and let the super helpful staff guide you to find the pet that’s right for you. For example, Noble says that if you have an active lifestyle and want a dog to take on runs and hikes then maybe Roger is the dog for you. If you want to play fetch and have a chill dog that will go on walks and be your buddy then Simba could be for you.
"Both Roger and Simba have each been waiting at the shelter since last August, so sadly they have now been there a year," she said.
The shelter also has so many super sweet cats like Cleo and Og, many kittens and other small animals like Geoffrey the rabbit and guinea pigs like Lucky who is super friendly.
"As much as we love all the pets at the shelter and seeing their happy faces every day is a joy, the goal is always to make sure that we are doing all we can to help find each pet the wonderful forever home they deserve," Noble said.
Even if you can’t adopt a pet, or just don’t have room in your apartment that’s already filled with countless cute cats and kittens, you can still help the animals by making a donation or shopping on the Chewy wishlist. Go to smasf.org for more information. Some of the rescued animals at the Shelter need costly veterinary care, so until some super-wealthy philanthropist donates a million or two, they still desperately need the help of everyone in the community.
To adopt a cat, kitten or any of the adorable available animals, you can call the Santa Monica Animal Shelter on (310) 458-8595 to schedule an appointment. The Shelter is open Tuesday-Saturday from 8am-5pm (closed from 12-1pm for lunch). To view many of the available animals, go to santamonica.gov/categories/services/animal-services.
scott.snowden@smdp.com
