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Starting Sunday, Riverside County Animal Shelter will be open every Sunday in the hopes of attracting more future recruits and bringing home new four-legged friends.
“Opening Sundays will be a game-changer for our shelterpets and those who care about them,” said Animal Services Director Mary Martin. “We look forward to providing community members with the opportunity to fall in love with the many amazing animals that deserve a fresh start.”
As an incentive to raise interest, this Sunday, the department is waived from all general adoption fees, but the required base license fee will continue to be required. License ranges from $12 to $25 for pet changes.
More than 1,000 dogs and more than 100 cats are awaiting adoption at Blythe Animal Shelter, the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus, the Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms, and the West Riverside County Animal Shelter in Julpa Valley.
Obvious staffing difficulties have left Blythe Shelter alone out of adoption on Sunday.
“In the process of improving animal services, we listen, spend more convenient time and follow examples of other animal shelters that we may potentially employ,” said Manuel Perez, chairman of the Board of Supervisors. “We are grateful to the Board of Ad Hoc Committee for Animal Services for making this change.
From now on, weekend hours will be from 10am to 4pm.
In addition to adoption, some sheltered animals can be raised. That includes taking pets home and raising them in an environment where they can thrive outside their cages, officials said.
The Department of Animal Services remains in the early stages of reforms launched by the board of directors last year.
The lawsuit filed in August by Rancho Mirage-based Walter Klarklaugh Group seeks a permanent injunction against the department’s euthanasia program. Clark called it a “groundbreaking case” based on the 1998 Hayden Act. The law, written by then-state Sen. Tom Hayden, by Sen. D. Santa Monica, states that “adoptable animals should not be euthanized if they can be adopted in the right home.” One organization claims the county has the highest pet “murder rate” in the country.
In September, the board hired the outcome of Christen Hassen, principal advisor at Pets LLC, based in Austin, Texas, to fix issues within the agency.
In February, the board approved Martin’s choice of executive office, following a national executive recruitment drive, and approved the division to lead. Martin, who recently served as assistant director of Dallas Animal Services in Texas, officially launched at the end of March.
Information about shelter opening hours and pets ready to adopt can be found at www.rcdas.org.
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