By Blake DeVine, Jessica Brest

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – Local animal welfare organization C.A.R.E.4Paws held a pet food and donations drive over the past month to help support pet-owning families who are struggling because of the pandemic.

C.A.R.E.4Paws said a record-number of Santa Barbara County pet owners are struggling to provide for their animals during COVID-19.

So the organization decided to step in and help by encouraging community members to contribute pet food, cat litter or any amount of money at one of their many drop-off locations starting Sept. 1.

C.A.R.E.4Paws said they will be matching every dollar donated to them up to $10,000 through Sept. 30.

Monetary gifts will be used for the organization’s most pressing needs which could range from pet food to critical health services for animals as well as domestic violence survivors.

“Pets play a crucial role in people’s lives, especially during hard times, and the pandemic has created extremely challenging circumstances for a growing number of people,” said Isabelle Gullo, C.A.R.E.4Paws’ Executive Director and Cofounder. “When people struggle and cannot provide properly for their animals, everyone in the family suffers. Pets are at higher risk of ending up homeless. C.A.R.E.4Paws provides a range of different intervention services to prevent this kind of heartache and keep animals homebound.”

Plaza Deli in Santa Barbara stepped up to help the organization with its drive.

“The financial need and the struggle is going to be there and whatever I can do to be part of that, to keep that going, that’s why I decided to keep it going because I know the need is still going to be there and I’ll keep it going as long as it takes,” said Plaza Deli owner Larry Balducci.

In response to the pandemic, C.A.R.E.4Paws’ Companion Pet Assistance program distributes an average of four tons of pet food and cat litter per week to assist low-income, senior disabled and homeless pet owners throughout Santa Barbara County.

“It’s incredibly helpful because we have to buy a lot of our foods, so we’re spending roughly you know, $10,000 to $12,000 a month on pet food right now and if we didn’t have the donations that number could easily double,” said Chris Harris, C.A.R.E.4Paws Board President.

To participate in C.A.R.E.4Paws’ drive and support its unparalleled efforts, community members can go to care4paws.org/drive to give monetary gifts and find a list of locations for where to drop off donations of pet food and cat litter. This includes Lemos Feed & Supply’s six storefronts in Santa Barbara County, Dioji K-9 Resort & Athletic Club in Santa Barbara and Goleta, Advanced Veterinary Specialists (AVS), Montecito Pet Shop, La Cumbre Feed, PetSmart off Milpas Street in Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Valley Humane Society/Dog Adoption Welfare Group (DAWG), and Santa Barbara County Animal Services’ shelter off Foster Road in Santa Maria.

For details about how to support the Pet Food & Matching Donation Drive, go to care4paws.org/drive.

For more information about C.A.R.E.4Paws and its services, visit care4paws.org or contact the organization at info@care4paws.org or 805-968-2273.

COURTESY PHOTOS
Animal Services is collaborating with C.A.R.E.4Paws and Companion Animal Placement Assistance to offer Lompoc residents mobile veterinary clinics, offsite events for pet food distribution such as a free pet food bank, vaccines, pop up licensing, free microchipping and more.

by Grayce McCormick

Santa Barbara County Animal Services decided to temporarily close the Lompoc animal shelter in the wake of operational challenges across three shelter locations. 

Staffing and animal care are now concentrated at the two shelters in Santa Maria and Goleta, and the Lompoc facility will be closed through Jan. 31.

Animal Services will explore new ways of delivering services to the Lompoc area, and is attempting to break free from the traditional brick-and-mortar shelter model. 

“We were experiencing some operational challenges with coverage and safe coverage across three shelters,” Angela Yates, director of Animal Services, told the News-Press. “We have staff openings we needed to fill, and we have experienced some tremendous changes in how we’re operating due to COVID.”

Animal Services is collaborating with C.A.R.E.4Paws and Companion Animal Placement Assistance to offer Lompoc residents mobile veterinary clinics, offsite events for pet food distribution such as a free pet food bank, vaccines, pop up licensing, free microchipping and more. 

Starting in December, C.A.R.E.4Paws will add Sundays at Ryon Park to its weekly schedule of distributing emergency pet food and supplies every Tuesday at the Half Century Club. 

Field services are still continuing in Lompoc per usual and an animal control officer is assigned there daily. The full range of services are also being provided by the Santa Maria Animal Center.

Ms. Yates said that while Animal Services faces staffing issues like many other businesses during COVID-19, she believes the animal sheltering industry has been stuck for the last hundred years in a model that “disempowers the community” from being a part of it.

“That’s the bigger conversation happening in the animal welfare industry,” she said. “There’s pressure in keeping the Lompoc shelter fully staffed during this short period of time, but we will look at and explore and see how this works.

“We still have all our animal control operations in Lompoc, so if we did have a lost dog, when the owner is identified, could we make the match over the phone and could one of our animal control officers deliver that dog straight to the owner?” the director asked. “It’s way better for the animals, and it’s way better for the people because they get their animals back quicker.”

These are the types of ideas and solutions Animal Services staff will be considering, and the staff members are seeking community input on how they can better serve Lompoc residents.

“The animal welfare industry has been meeting via Zoom and collaborating and really talking about how we can serve our community members better,” Ms. Yates said. “What does Lompoc need in terms of animal sheltering? More access to services? More convenient licensing? Low-cost vaccines and neutering?” 

She added that the conversation surrounding how to better integrate the services into the community can be compared to conversation about law enforcement. 

“It’s not so different from the conversation that has occurred over the past few months around police forces and community-based policing instead of enforcement policing,” the director said. “There’s a lot of conversation in the animal welfare industry in serving communities instead of focusing solely on that enforcement side of it.”

Now, Animal Services will be holding a series of stakeholder and community meetings over the next few months to gather input and brainstorm on how to best deliver services to the Lompoc community. 

Ms. Yates said the first one will likely be in January.

“It’s so hard for people to remember the temporary part of it, but it’s really important because we have not made a long-term decision about that shelter,” the director said. “We really want to have a conversation with the Lompoc community before we make any long-term decisions.”

For the remainder of the year, Animal Services will be offering mobile clinic services, emergency pet food and supplies to Lompoc residents on certain days from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Mobile Clinic Services will be offered at the Half Century Club on Nov. 24, Dec. 8 and Dec. 15. They’ll also be offered at Ryon Park on Dec. 6.

Emergency pet food and supplies only will be offered at the Half Century Club on Dec. 1. They’ll be offered at Ryon Park on Dec. 13, Dec. 20 and Dec. 27.

The walk-up services available at the mobile clinics include: $10 vaccines (rabies, distemper/parvo [DHPP for dogs and FVRCP for cats]); $15 bordetella vaccine for dogs; $10 flea and deworming treatment; free microchipping; $15 nail trimming; free emergency pet food distribution; and dog licensing.

Services available by prior appointment include affordable medical exams, treatment of infections, dental and mass removals and spay/neuter surgeries for a donation for qualifying pet owners. 

Pet food is also available Monday through Saturday by calling 805-737-7755 to schedule an appointment at the Lompoc shelter, and there are no clinics scheduled for the week of Dec. 21.

To make an appointment, visit care4paws.org or call 805-968-2273.