Monthly Newsletter
Events & Clinics
We received a pawsome note from little Felix’s parents. “Thank you C.A.R.E.4Paws team for vaccinating Felix. Very professional, affordable and friendly service. We will be returning in a few weeks for his next puppy vaccine.”
Kink the Cat has a beautiful face and now just as pretty teeth! “Hi, my name is Kink. I am enjoying a relaxing nap after having dental work done by the awesome staff at C.A.R.E.4Paws. Everybody is so caring and capable. I highly recommend them. Thank you so much!” ❤️
When Michael’s puppy, Ollie, came down with parvo, it was a scary and emotional time. Thanks to Michael’s dedication and quick action, Ollie was able to pull through and make a full recovery. Wanting to protect his furry friend from facing anything like that again, Michael found out about our low-cost vaccine clinic. He brought Ollie in to get his vaccinations, ensuring he’s now protected against parvo and other preventable diseases. Now, Ollie is happy, healthy, and ready for a long life of tail wags and adventures.
We received a pawsome note from Judy and her adorable Halloween kitten, Wally. “I got my kitten neutered with C.A.R.E.4Paws for a fantastic price. The mobile clinic staff is so wonderful, and everyone is courteous and caring towards the pets. Thank you!”
Our C.A.R.E.4Paws & Pours event at Bien Nacido Estate in Santa Maria was such a success and heartwarming friendraiser! Big thanks to everyone who joined us to sip, snack and support local pet families and our Pet Refuge project. We are truly grateful for the generous donations received—including a $5,000 gift from CoastHills Credit Union.
A special shoutout to Bien Nacido for hosting our event and for donating 10% of weekend proceeds to C.A.R.E.4Paws. Another heartfelt thanks to Klondike Pizza for the gourmet veggie pizza spread provided at an incredible discount. We are in awe of our community’s support for C.A.R.E.4Paws’ programs, all aimed at keeping pets healthy, safe and with the families who love them. 💕
If you could not make it but would like to learn more about, and contribute to, our Pet Refuge, please visit care4paws.org/petrefuge/. We are only $60,000 away from our fundraising goal for the refuge facility and adjoining play yard!
“Thank you for this vital community service! I brought Nellie down to your Grover Beach mobile pet wellness clinic on Thursday and the crew was so helpful! She received a flea treatment plus her rabies and distemper/parvo vaccines. It went so quickly!”
“I told a friend, and he brought Rocky. He loved you guys, too!”
By: Bella Cox | News Time SLO | October 23, 2025 |
About a year ago, C.A.R.E.4Paws was offering its services to a shelter for the unhoused, when a woman staying at the shelter asked for help to take care of her dog who had become pregnant and would eventually have 10 puppies.
The woman wasn’t in a state to be able to care for the incoming litter, so C.A.R.E.4Paws took them in to ensure the puppies had proper treatment and went to good homes and the mom was eventually reunited with her owner. This was when Isabelle Gullo, C.A.R.E.4Paws executive director and co-founder, and her team came up with the idea of the Pet Refuge.
The goal: to provide temporary shelter for pets and reunite them with their owners once they are settled in a comfortable living situation.
“We just have seen a huge need for somewhere that we can instantaneously provide safe, confidential boarding for pets right away and not have that lag time or scramble trying to find available fosters,” Julia Black, C.A.R.E.4Paws marketing and Safe Haven manager, said.
Pet Refuge aims to offer immediate boarding opportunities for pet families so individuals in tough situations don’t have to put their pets in the shelter. The dog portion of the facility will contain 10 dog kennels and a large covered play yard for the dogs.
As of Oct. 10, the nonprofit had raised $105,000 out of the $175,000 needed for the kennel structure. And it recently received a $20,000 donation that will go toward building the play yard, according to Gullo.
C.A.R.E.4Paws launched its Safe Haven program in 2020 in partnership with Domestic Violence Solutions in Santa Barbara County to provide support and resources to victims and their pets. The Pet Refuge aims to be an extension of that program and a temporary boarding facility for pets of victims of domestic violence.
Advocates for Domestic Violence Solutions reach out to C.A.R.E.4Paws when they’re in need of fostering, pet supplies, vet care, or dog training, according to Black.
C.A.R.E.4Paws recently had its first collaboration with Lumina Alliance, which provides support for victims of domestic violence and intimate partner assault in San Luis Obispo County, and will continue offering support, according to Black.
The refuge should be open early 2026, according to Black. As for the location of the facility, it will remain confidential to protect the pets and their families.
Whether families are struggling financially or experiencing domestic violence, possible deportations, temporary homelessness, loss due to a wildfire, etc., C.A.R.E.4Paws employees want to relieve pet owners of any stress when deciding what to do with their animal.
Once the pets are back in the care of their family, C.A.R.E.4Paws offers dog training services to help the animal reacclimate to the home.
For more than 15 years, C.A.R.E.4Paws has served pet owners in Santa Barbara County with the intention of providing resources for pet owners during significant life crises. C.A.R.E.4Paws started offering its mobile clinic services around SLO County in 2022. The clinic travels directly to low-income communities to offer affordable veterinary care like spays-neuters, medical exams, dental care, blood work, and more.
“We keep evolving, year to year, to always do our best to meet the community needs,” Gullo said.
C.A.R.E.4Paws often gets requests from surrounding counties, like Bakersfield and the Los Angeles area, inquiring if the nonprofit would ever be able to provide services in their area.
“If we get a request from someone who’s out of our area, if we’re not able to help them, we’ll try to provide them [with] all the resources we can in their area,” Black said.
Spicy senior cat, Saphyre, was adopted at 12 years old in Colorado. She’s now a frequent visitor to C.A.R.E.4Paws’ clinic for immunizations and care. “We’re grateful for these low-cost services!” says her mom Autumn.
The location is not public to protect pets and their owners, but will include 10 new indoor/outdoor kennels for dogs and a 40,000-square-foot-outdoor space for active pups, as well as a separate facility for cats with homelike rooms to “promote normalcy and peace.” Pets will have access to vet services, grooming, enrichment, and training during their stay, Gullö said. She hopes to open the refuge by the end of the year or early next.
She emphasized that it’s not meant to be a permanent solution: The ultimate goal is reunification once the family is safe.
“We want to make sure it’s as much of a home environment as we can create,” Gullö said. “We ultimately want to keep pets with their families but provide a safe, warm experience for animals while they’re in our care until the family is safe and back on their feet.”
Little Miss Whisper stopped by our pet wellness clinic. She told us what her mom, Dianne, had to say: “Thank you, C.A.R.E.4Paws, for providing these clinics. We love the new online registration forms. They make it much easier compared to the paper registration forms. Miss Whisper enjoyed her visit.”