RivCo transports 18 dogs to San Diego area amid overcrowding crisis in local shelters
Haleemon Anderson
RIVERSIDE, Calif (KESQ) – Riverside County Department of Animal Services rescued 18 dogs from a property in the city of Coachella on Wednesday.
Members of the RCDAS Field Services team removed the dogs from the property and transported them to an affiliate shelter after the owner claimed she had been feeding the dogs for over a month and could no longer continue to care for them.
Amazing Dogs Rescue accepted the 18 Coachella dogs into their care facility, plus an additional 12 dogs on the same day. The rescue shelter, located in the San Diego/San Ysidro area, offers services to local animal care facilities.
Riverside agencies have been experiencing critical overcapacity of animals in recent months. More dogs are entering the shelter system than are leaving through adoption, return-to-owner or rescue.
In August of this year, 1,620 dogs entered the shelter system while 1,021 left. In September, the system reached 230% capacity for dogs.
Agencies have sought to drum up public interest and facilitate ease of adoption by offering no-fee adoptions. There are no appointments required to adopt or foster, and agencies may offer free additional services like spay and neutering surgery, microchips, vaccinations and engraved ID tags.
There are no appointments required to adopt or foster, and the public is encouraged to show up at the shelters so staff can answer any questions and assist in person.
“On any given day our field service teams are responding to dozens of calls in the community where they can intake a large number of pets in need of care and placement,” said RCDAS Assistant Director Dr. Kimberly Youngberg. “We serve as the safety net for people and pets in crisis, and we lean on our rescue partners to help us make space in overcrowded kennels.”