Riverside County promises more funding and staff for animal shelters
Riverside County leaders boldly pledged to hire more staff and add more funding to animal shelters to help them become "no-kill" facilities.
Currently, over a thousand dogs lack the space to comfortably live while waiting to find loving homes.
"When there's overcrowding like that, there's high stress. The barking levels go up," said Daylin Valenica, a programs manager at the Riverside County Department of Animals. "It limits the staff's ability to maintain a safe, enriching, caring environment for the animals."
Valencia said the county's shelters are 220% over capacity, meaning four or more dogs are forced to be housed in kennels meant for just one or two.
"We really need the community to help us with volunteering, with fostering, with adopting," he said.
Without the help, some of the dogs would be euthanized. The county said it's a last resort they're desperately trying to avoid by temporarily waiving adoption fees and extending shelter hours.
"Save more lives," Valencia said. "That's the goal. That's the ultimate goal."
To alleviate the situation, the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution committing to the goal of becoming a no-kill community for shelter animals. The department is expected to ask the county for $5 million for more staff, space and programs.
The main issue is the disparity between adoptions and abandoned pets admitted into shelters. Valencia said it's critical for people to give shelter dogs, who have already been through a lot, time to acclimate to their new environment and relax into their personality.
"They have the ability to love again and trust again," he said.
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