Santa Barbara county animal shelter capacity needs to be lowered to work on new construction | News Channel 3-12 – KEYT

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – An upcoming construction project at the Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter in Santa Maria will mean an urgent need to relocate dogs.
The goal is to reduce the number at the facility in half.
Jill Anderson with Santa Barbara County Animal Service says, “we’ve got to move 30-40 dogs out of those kennels before next Monday  when the project begins.”
She encourages the public to try to foster a dog if they’ve been considering owning one. “Fostering is a great way for animals to get out of the shelters spend some time in a home, decompress, relax. It also helps us to learn a lot about the dog  while they are in a home .”
Even though the need for the shelter space is in Santa Maria, if you adopt at the facility in Goleta, it will also make a significant difference.
“If you take a dog that is the right match for you in Santa Barbara it just opens up space for a Santa Maria dog to come down here,” said Anderson.       
A foster home is provided food, supplies, and vet support to all foster families. “All of the vet care, the food  the medical needs you have,  any questions   the supplies that is all provided.  you’re literally providing a space on your couch or bed and love and we provide the rest,” said Anderson.
The population of dogs has gone up, in part because of the pandemic and the housing crisis. Those who are relocating are not always able to take their pets. “You can walk into a shelter and almost find any dog that you are looking for,” said Anderson. “We’ve got big, we’ve got small, we’ve got furry, we’ve got short coated, we’ve got athletes, we have couch potatoes, we’ve got lap dogs,  we’ve got giant great Danes!”
For those interested in adoptions, the shelter is waiving fees through the end of October.  That applies to both the Santa Maria and the Santa Barbara animal shelter.
The construction work at the Santa Maria facility will last through mid-November.

Pets can be viewed in person or online.  Adoptions take place between 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
For more information go to:  www.sbcanimalservices.org

John Palminteri is senior reporter for KEYT News Channel 3. To learn more about John, click here.
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