Update to our Shelter Services
As the COVID-19 crisis continues, San Diego Humane Society is committed to fulfilling our mission as the safety net for animals and their families throughout our community. The pandemic does not diminish this commitment, but it does require us to do our lifesaving work in a different way.
Our campuses are still open by appointment for adoptions, fostering, strays and relinquishments, as well as for any wild animal that is ill or injured. We’re also here for anyone who needs pet food or supplies during this crisis. No appointment needed for this service — just drive up to one of our campuses between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
In order to keep our guests and our on-site staff and volunteers safe, we are working to decrease traffic and the volume of animals in our shelters. Fewer animals allows us to have fewer staff and volunteers on-site to take care of them. To help us achieve this goal, we are asking for the community’s support.
Found a lost pet?
- San Diego Humane Society is admitting stray animals at all three locations between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
- If you find a stray animal outside of these hours and are able to keep the animal overnight, please do so, and call us in the morning. If you are unable to safely care for the animal overnight, call us during the hours of 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., or call your local law enforcement agency outside those hours, and they will contact our on-call Humane Officers.
- However, if you are in a position to keep the animal in your home while searching for its family, please consider doing so. Visit ourlost and found page for tips on searching for an owner, and notify us by email at [email protected] to file a report so we can assist you with reuniting the pet with their family.
What about a healthy adult cat or kittens who lives outside?
- We will not be accepting cats who live outside unless they are sick or injured. This decision has been made due to our temporary suspension of elective surgeries, including spay/neuter procedures, at the guidance of public health and shelter medicine specialists. You can learn more here.
- If you’ve found kittens who are being cared for by their mother and seem healthy, please leave them with their mother. If the kittens are sick, injured or in danger, please call us at 619-299-7012 to make an appointment to bring them to one of our locations. For more information about whether kittens should be brought to the shelter, please visit this web page for instructions.
- If you think kittens are abandoned, you can help us by raising them in your home! Follow our orphan kitten care guidelines.
Need to relinquish your pet?
- We understand the need for some owners to relinquish their pets.At this time, we strongly encourage owners to hold onto their pets. Please consider keeping your pet until the state-wide stay-at-home order is lifted.
- Our website also has resources that will help you find a new home for your pet. The full toolkit to re-home your pet yourself can be found here.
- Additionally, you may visit our website to learn about resources that may help you keep your pet by addressing medical, behavioral and other concerns.
- If you must relinquish your pet at this time, call 619-299-7012 to schedule an appointment.
Found injured or orphaned wildlife?
- Our Project Wildlife program rehabilitates injured, orphaned and ill wildlife, and is currently accepting these animals at the Pilar & Chuck Bahde Wildlife Center, located at 5433 Gaines St., San Diego, CA 92110. If you absolutely can’t make it to this location, animals may also be dropped off at our Oceanside and Escondido campuses.
- Before capturing a wild animal, please review this information to ensure intervention is needed.
San Diego Humane Society will always be here for the community and our animals, and we will never turn away an animal in need. Your support — whether you’re an adopter, volunteer, donor or advocate — is what makes that commitment possible.
As we all continue to adjust to the circumstances around us, I hope you find joy in the unconditional love of your pets and the beauty of the wildlife that surrounds us. San Diego Humane Society has weathered many storms in our 140-year history, and we will continue to weather this one with strength, compassion and our community’s support.
Stay well,
Gary Weitzman, DVM, MPH, CAWA
President and CEO
San Diego Humane Society
Published: March 26, 2020
