Santa Barbara County Animal Services Receives Outpouring of Community Support as Animal Intakes Surge

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(SANTA MARIA, Calif.) – November was a busy month for County Animal Services, taking in 117 more pets in need than the same time last year, 334 pets total. This past week alone, the SBCAS shelters took in 87 pets, and on Friday, December 2 there were no vacant kennels to house new strays. SBCAS leadership alerted the community, and over the weekend, 33 pets went into homes.  

SBCAS Director Sarah Aguilar states, “The high volume of pets in need that we are seeing right now is something that we haven’t seen in years. The outpouring of support indicates just how much Santa Barbara County cares about our pets. Over 100 pets are currently housed in foster homes, on their way to adoption.”

Along with foster caregivers and adopters who provide support, the volunteer program at SBCAS has bloomed significantly over the past few months. Between the two SBCAS shelters, volunteers donated over 1300 hours of their time in November, assisting with basics like cleaning, but also ensuring that each pet has the best experience they can while in a shelter.  

“Volunteers enable us to do so much for the pets in our care. Our volunteers give the equivalent time of ten additional staff members,”  Aguilar stated.

To learn more about pet adoption, fostering, or to become a volunteer, visit
https://linktr.ee/sbcanimalservices

Santa Barbara County Animal Services takes in about 5,000 pets annually across two shelter locations:
South County:  5473 Overpass Rd, Goleta, CA 93111
North County: 548 W Foster Rd, Santa Maria, CA 93455