There’s a reason Castaic’s county-run animal shelter hosts pet adoption events outside the dog house, so to speak.
Events like Castaic Animal Care Center’s Valentine-themed “Paws for Love” adoption meet Saturday at the Canyon Country Jo Anne Darcy Library, where seven shelter dogs took over the library’s back patio until the early afternoon, give Santa Clarita residents the chance to meet animals up for adoption without the pressure of going directly to the shelter.
“A lot of people feel too overwhelmed to come into a shelter environment,” said Kelsey Tarleton, the shelter’s volunteer coordinator. “Us being able to bring animals outside of that environment, off site … (means) people have less to choose from. Because it can be overwhelming when you walk through a building full of animals to choose one.”
By noon, four dogs had been placed in new homes as Santa Clarita families filtered in through the side gate throughout the morning. That included some visitors who didn’t know Castaic had an animal shelter.
“We come to stuff like this, and we’re like, ‘Where are you from?’ And I tell them where we’re from, and they’re like, ‘Oh, I had no idea there was a shelter over there,’” Tarleton said. “So it’s a good way to teach people about us as well.”
One dog given away Saturday – a classic-dog-looking mutt with calico coloring and an excitable, loving personality – went to Santa Clarita resident Bridget Boder, 24, who’s working on her master’s degree in library and information science.
Boder said her mom, a librarian at the Jo Anne Darcy Library, had fallen in love with the dog earlier that morning.
“My mom has been pestering me since 10 a.m.,” Boder said. “She’s like, ‘You guys have to come, there’s a dog that I really love, and I don’t know, he’s just so sweet.’ … We (also) have a calico cat, and so our cat matches the coat color of the dog.”
Boder said they’d be renaming the dog Lando after a popular Formula One driver. It seemed like a fitting name for a seemingly fearless dog, who made a lunge for a tin of enchiladas, just barely interrupted in time.
The event was also an opportunity for at least one pet service provider to let community members know what’s out there for prospective dog owners. Local dog trainer Melvin Jones, owner of God First Dog Training, brought his fluffy lap dog Bishop, along with a larger dog with Dobermann features from the Castaic shelter he’ll be training for three more weeks until she goes to a new home.
“It’s hard for people to see the potential (in a dog) if they don’t know how to work with her,” Jones said. “So that’s what I wanted to show.”
For dogs whose potential shines at events like the library’s, they’re in luck: Tarleton said the city of Santa Clarita has the shelter slated for four to five more events this year.
“The city of Santa Clarita does a lot of events with us … they reached out and said that the library really wanted to have an event with us,” Tarleton said. “We also do events at the care center as well, that are put on by us. But really, (we do them) as often as we get invited.”
As successful as these events often are for placing shelter pets in new homes, the moments when they leave can come with mixed emotions for volunteers, Tarleton said.
“I do fall in love. And I do get sad to say bye, but it’s one of those (situations), I do hope I don’t see them again,” Tarleton said. “It’s up and down.”
