I was disappointed by part of a recent story about crowding at the Santa Maria Animal Center (“More adoption needed with overcrowding concerns at Animal Services,” Dec. 15).
The end of the pandemic and inflation have resulted in animal shelters flooded with homeless animals. We are seeing our share here, although not nearly as badly as places like Kern County. A recent call for community support resulted in over 30 animals going home, making space for more.
Your reporter cited an unnamed employee who claims the shelter is overcrowded, has too much disease, etc. Since the employee was unnamed, we have no way of verifying the claims made. How long has this person worked for Animal Services? How much experience do they actually have?
The shelters are not overcrowded—they are not doubling and tripling dogs in kennels, which we used to see regularly. Proactive community outreach has prevented this. The employee claimed that an unusually large number of animals have parasites due to crowding: But what is that number? Is it unusual relative to the number of animals, or just to the experience of an employee used to the empty shelter of 2020? Someone with limited experience, judging matters from just before the pandemic into 2021, would not know what “normal” is.
I have been volunteering for Animal Services since 1998. I have seen massively overcrowded shelters. As for parasites: I foster dogs and cats for many municipalities, and it is standard for parasites to spread in shelters. Fortunately, giardia and coccidia are easily treated and not a risk for most animals, other than very young puppies and kittens—who are placed in foster care.
If we are to trust the information in a story, we need to know if the source is truly qualified to provide it.
Lee Heller
Santa Barbara
This article appears in Jan 5-12, 2023.