The Santa Monica animal shelter is currently at full capacity with dogs, which means that they do not have any open dog kennels. In an effort to find these adorable animals their forever homes, the Santa Monica Animal Shelter Foundation is going to be sponsoring all dog adoptions.
“We hope that by taking care of the adoption fee, we can encourage anyone who has been thinking about adopting a dog to visit the Santa Monica Animal Shelter and meet the dogs that are there waiting to be adopted, hopefully they’ll meet their new best friend,” Elizabeth Noble, Chair, Santa Monica Animal Shelter Foundation, says.
The Animal Shelter has seen a significant increase in the number of canines arriving at the shelter and they have more dogs in their care than ever before. “It’s very hard to see so many great dogs arrive at the shelter and then be overlooked for many months,” says Noble.
Many of the animals become stressed in the shelter environment and struggle with their situation and their surroundings, having been waiting there for so long. And tragically of course, the longer they have to wait, the more exacerbated this predicament becomes. “Hopefully, we can make a difference by covering the adoption fees and help to get these wonderful dogs into their forever homes,” says Noble.
Through extensive hard work and considerable fundraising, the shelter, located at 1640 9th Street, was recently able to add a new turfed play space for the animals. However, they are hoping to also add five additional kennels in that new space. “Once we have a cost estimate we plan on fundraising to make this happen,” Noble says.
Most of the dogs at the shelter have been patiently waiting months to be adopted, Noble says. The dogs that have been waiting the longest are Quinn since March, Baby Bruce and Dexter since April and Ms. Judy since June, of last year.
“As much as seeing each of their adorable faces brightens my day, and they really always do — from Quinn who comes bounding over when he hears his name ready to play, to Baby Bruce looking up at me with those big eyes to say ‘hello’, to Dexter rolling over for belly rubs, to Ms. Judy smiling away wagging her tail happily because she knows it’s time for pets — they each need to be in the loving forever home they deserve,” says Noble.
“I’ve met most of the dogs waiting to be adopted and they would make great, loving additions to any household. If you are thinking about adopting a dog, now is the perfect time to give a shelter dog a fur-ever home,” said Councilmember Gleam Davis, herself an advocate for the Santa Monica Animal Shelter and during her tenure as Mayor, she was able to get Santa Monica certified a “Better City For Pets.”
The Santa Monica Animal Shelter still has so many wonderful animals looking for their forever homes and some have been there for far longer than they should have to be. To meet any of the available dogs please call the Santa Monica Animal Shelter at (310) 458-8595 and set up a time to stop by. Opening times are Tuesday—Saturday 8 a.m.—5 p.m. You can view the dogs that are available for adoption at: santamonica.gov/categories/services/animal-services
You can also visit the pet sponsor page to see photos of the available dogs and a short bios on each of them at smasf.org/sponsor
But, even if you can’t adopt any more, or just don’t have room in your apartment that’s already filled with countless cute canines, cats and kittens, you can still help the animals by making a donation or shopping on the Chewy wishlist. Some of the rescued animals at the Shelter need costly veterinary care, so until some super-wealthy philanthropist donates a $million or two, they still need our help.
scott.snowden@smdp.com