Amid stay-at-home orders, a Southern California shelter runs out of pets

Amid stay-at-home orders, a Southern California shelter runs out of pets

by Brian Rokos

Kelli Kourkos Miller’s 8-year-old daughter, Koral Jade Miller, had been asking for a kitten. Kelli Miller, a teacher, said maybe they’d adopt in the summer when they would be home more often. When schools closed in mid-March because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, that time suddenly arrived.

“Those days after that were filled with some worry and stress of the unknown as I read about other countries affected by this horrible virus,” Kelli Miller said. “I wanted to give my daughter a friend and some hope in these times of uncertainty.”

So they drove to the Riverside County Animal Services shelter in Jurupa Valley and picked out an apricot-colored tabby named Bagal. Koral puts clothes on Bagal and tucks him in each night at their Perris home.

“We love our Bagal. We both needed each other right now,” Miller said.

Families seeking emotional comfort amid the stress of stay-at-home orders have contributed to what in some cases are historic low numbers of animals available for adoption at county and city-operated shelters in Southern California.

 

In the 30 years that Animal Services Director Julie Bank has been caring for animals, she had never seen anything like the astonishing sight she witnessed this week: Not a cat, kitty, dog or pup remained in the Jurupa Valley shelter on Wednesday. Even a bunny and a lizard were spoken for.

“This is the first time I have seen a response like this to a crisis. It’s really heartwarming,” Bank said.

Kimberly Roll took a temperamental stray German shepherd off Bank’s hands to add him to her Riverside family, which includes her husband, 11-year-old daughter and sons ages 3 and 2. Roll planned to be a foster “parent” to the dog, but the family now plans to adopt him after having a real home calmed him down and she saw him interact with their 2-year-old, who has Down Syndrome.

“The way I knew this dog was awesome was he came upstairs and he went right up to Cooper and licked him. He kind of connected with him. I was like ‘Wow, he’s a very smart dog and wants to protect us,’ ” Roll said.

Riverside County has three other shelters that still have pets for adoption, but not many, Bank said, and more animals still could trickle in at the Jurupa Valley facility.

The situation is much the same in the two shelters run by San Bernardino County. The Devore shelter had 23 animals — including a black-and-white pig — most of which were strays that can be adopted if their owners don’t retrieve them. Big Bear had three animals, all strays.

“Not only are more people considering adopting, they’re home and they can care for (pets) and we are seeing a reduced number coming. Fewer individuals are turning in their pets,” said Brian Cronin, chief of animal care and control for the county.

OC Animal Care still has about 150 animals available for adoption, but that is about half the number that was in its care this time last year, spokeswoman Jessica J. Novillo said.

“This interest is likely being emphasized not just because community members want to help the animal shelter avoid potential overcrowding, but also because the bond with pets can help alleviate stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness, a win-win for everyone, especially in such challenging times,” she said.

In Long Beach, only six dogs and eight cats were in the city shelter on April 3 after more than 170 dogs and cats found homes during the pandemic since March 13.

“Things are going great, we still have animals coming in every now and again,” Staycee Dains, manager of Long Beach Animal Care Services said Friday. “But we also have them leave right away for adoption or foster, or back to their owners.”

Dogs and cats waiting for homes also can be adopted from many rescue groups and shelters that are not operated by the government. For instance, there are 17 public and private shelters, and 500 rescue groups that work with San Bernardino County, Cronin said. Other shelters include Animal Friends of the Valleys in Wildomar; the Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center in Riverside; and in Huntington Beach, the Orange County Humane Society.

Los Angeles County, because of its high population, has plenty of dogs and cats available. But fueled by demand from people forced to stay at home because of the crisis, Animal Care and Control began a fostering program March 26, spokeswoman Don Belton said.

“It’s a great time for people to adopt or foster. If it can be a healthy home, even for a short time it’s always a nice thing to do,” said Belton, who reminded people who come to adopt to wear a face covering.

Fostering allows families to discover whether the animal is the right fit for the home. Riverside County provides a crate, food and counseling to foster families. The length of the fostering — which officials hope turns into an adoption — can depend on the age, size, type of animal and other factors. Bank said that after Animal Services announced that it was seeking foster families that its roster tripled to 800 almost overnight.

“The truth is, we didn’t have enough animals for everyone,” she said.

In Orange County, of the 64 dogs that went to foster homes since March, 25 have been adopted at those homes so far, Novillo said.

Shelter officials say that unlike the Great Recession of 2007-09, they are not being overrun by abandoned animals or those turned in by owners even though more than 2 million Californians have lost their jobs. Some pet owners apparently are following officials’ advice to use networking or social media to “re-home” animals they cannot care for because of financial hardship or illness.

On that note, Novillo urged pet owners to prepare for such circumstances by establishing an emergency contact to care for their animals.

Staff Writer Emily Rasmussen contributed to this report.

All credit goes to Brian Rokos Originally published on https://www.dailynews.com