Tucker, a 3-year-old pup, was sitting still like a good boy with his foster, Julia Jones, at the main entrance of the Castaic Animal Care Center.
He wore a yellow jacket that read “Adopt me.”
Jones decided to take Tucker out of the shelter and foster him because he was having a hard time adapting to the stressful environment. His time frame was also coming to a close and he was facing euthanasia.
After a month of spending time in her home while Jones recovers from a leg surgery, she was able to witness the large pup come out of his shell and show off his sweet personality.
“He’s been really good, he loves car rides … he’s been hanging out with my niece who’s 10 [years old],” she said. “Since I was going to be home I was like, ‘Might as well see if I can help a dog out’ and he’s been helping me recover so it’s been really nice,” she said.
Tucker was surrendered by his owners after they had too many dogs on their property, said Jones. Now he is looking for his ‘fur’ever home.
Like Tucker, numerous dogs and cats at Castaic Animal Care Center were hoping to catch the attention of guests. Some made puppy dog eyes, while others barked, and some had a quiet and shy demeanor.
The Castaic Animal Care Center in partnership with Pets Global Inc. participated in the “Clear the Shelters” campaign, a nationwide initiative encouraging people to adopt an animal from a shelter and alleviate the high numbers of dogs and cats that lead to overcrowded facilities.
The campaign runs from Aug. 10 to Sept. 10, and in order to encourage local residents to adopt, adoption fees were now only $10 with the hope of “getting some doggies out and saving some lives,” said Paul Maradiaga, the center’s manager. “The whole goal is to clear the shelter.”
Maradiaga added that the Castaic Animal Care Center has a total of 50 kennels and is often over capacity, especially during spring and summer, which are peak seasons, and many strays and surrendered dogs are brought in.
When the shelter has a few kennels open, dogs from the Antelope Valley area shelters are transported to alleviate the overcrowding in the Lancaster and Palmdale facilities.
“This is why it’s so important for us. We do have a good turnaround and adoptions, and the goal is to also help the other shelter centers,” he said. “We have an army of volunteers helping us out.”
Ellie Mosser, community engagement specialist for Pets Global Inc., was handing out a month’s worth of free food and goodies for those who went home with a new pet during the day.
“There’s been quite a few adoptions. I think we’re actually having an impact,” she said. “They’re not paying adoption fees today, so they can go and spend that extra money on toys and all the fun stuff.”
Ben Wobrock and his son Malachi Wobrock and their family were searching for a new furry addition and a companion for their 12-year-old Australian shepherd. They came across a 11-week-old female pup and renamed her, “Nugget.”
“We came out here [to the shelter] once a week for the last month. We saw that Nugget was surrendered about a week ago and [we] were just kind of waiting for everything to clear … we were lucky enough to be able to pick her up,” Ben said. They were looking forward to playing with their new canine companion who was still a bit shy.
Nugget was one of the happy endings on Saturday during the Castaic Animal Care Center’s adoption event, while other dogs and cats are still waiting to find their forever homes.
For more information on animals available for adoption, visit animalcare.lacounty.gov.
