The Riverside County Department of Animal Services (RCDAS) today announced that the system was currently at 220% capacity across all shelters with more than 1,000 dogs housed in facilities designed for half that number as peak intake season begins.
“Right now, we have zero empty kennels for incoming dogs and there are three, four, or more dogs in nearly every kennel that is designed to safely house just one to two dogs,” RCDAS Director Mary Martin said in the release. “Euthanasia is a last resort strategy that we are desperate to avoid, but it is the reality we are facing right now in order to ensure we are able to provide safe, humane care for every person and pet across our shelter system.”
According to RCDAS Public Information Officer Veronica Perez, operating in overcapacity is not uncommon for the system, which is one of the largest in the nation. However, with peak intake season getting underway, she said a drastic change was needed.
“Despite steady adoptions, reclaims and transfers, the number of dogs entering our shelters continues to outpace the number leaving,” she said in an email to The Riverside Record. “This time of year is our busiest season and we are seeing that trend as we head into summer.”
The announcement came a little over a week after the Riverside County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a resolution committing to creating a no-kill community where 90% of the animals entering the facility leave alive.
“This is not something that we are prepared to plant a flag and say by X date it will be done, because we have good days, bad days,” County Executive Officer Jeff Van Wagenen said at the May 20 meeting. “We have good seasons. We have tougher seasons, and this is something that will be a constant effort, all day, every day.”
In an effort to address the current capacity crisis, Perez said RCDAS has added Sunday hours to expand access and is currently waiving all adoption fees.
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“I am hopeful we can rally and overcome this overcrowding crisis, and I have seen firsthand all of the amazing dogs waiting at our shelter for a second chance,” Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez said in the release. “We need to rise to the occasion for our pets and work together to get them out of their kennels and into loving homes.”
Additionally, RCDAS has scheduled a special late-night adoption and foster event at the most impacted facility, the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus, which Perez said was currently operating at 270% of its designed dog capacity. The event will run from 10 a.m. to midnight on Saturday, May 31.
“When possible, we transfer dogs between campuses to redistribute pressure, but unfortunately, all locations are at or beyond safe occupancy levels,” she said. “Moving animals between overcrowded shelters is only a temporary solution. We need animals leaving the system entirely through foster, adoption and reunification.”
While Perez said there was no set timeline for when decisions about euthanasia would begin, she reiterated the immediate need for a reduction in the animal population at the shelters.
“The need to get animals out of the shelter cannot wait,” she said. “This is a community problem that needs a community solution.”
For those who cannot adopt or foster an animal, Perez said they can help by spreading the word that the department is waiving all adoption and reclaim fees and that every pet will be vaccinated, microchipped and provided with ID tags at no cost. She also encouraged people who find lost pets to temporarily house them if safe to do so and use Petco Love Lost to reunite them with their owners.
“What’s happening now is a system at its limit, but not beyond hope,” Perez said, noting that RCDAS took in more than 35,000 animals last year. “The public has the power to change the outcome, and even one act — fostering a single dog, reclaiming a lost pet or simply spreading the word — can save lives.”
People looking to foster or adopt a pet can visit the Coachella Valley Animal Campus, 72-050 Pet Land Place in Thousand Palms; San Jacinto Animal Campus, 581 S. Grand Ave. in San Jacinto; or Riverside West County/City Animal Shelter, 6851 Van Buren Blvd. in Jurupa Valley on Tuesdays and Thursdays-Sundays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and Wednesdays between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. The Blythe Animal Shelter, 245 S. Carlton in Blythe is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
More information can be found here on the RCDAS website.
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