San Diego Animal Welfare Coalition
What is the San Diego Animal Welfare Coalition?
The San Diego Animal Welfare Coalition (SDAWC) is comprised of nine collaborative local animal shelters that consistently exceed standards of care to save more lives — making us one of the strongest animal coalitions in the nation and a leader in the humane treatment of animals.
The coalition was founded in 2004 after the Asilomar Accords were published and continues to meet quarterly to strengthen lifesaving efforts for animals entering San Diego County’s sheltering system. The San Diego Animal Welfare Coalition shares a common purpose in saving animals’ lives, preventing animal suffering and eliminating animal abandonment. The coalition follows the Asilomar Accords and compiles statistics each quarter resulting in an annual report to the community.
With the Asilomar Accords as its guiding methodology, the San Diego Animal Welfare Coalition created a Conditions List that outlines medical and behavior conditions to categorize healthy, treatable/manageable and unhealthy/untreatable in a uniform way to meet the standards of typical care provided in the community. This Conditions List is evaluated and updated only through consensus of the nine participating coalition shelters. The last update was made in November 2020.
The collaborative work of the SDAWC was integral to helping San Diego achieve zero euthanasia of healthy or treatable shelter animals in 2015. This means that all healthy or treatable animals entering the San Diego County animal sheltering system are safe from being euthanized due to the collaboration of area shelters, foster families, rescue groups and other lifesaving partners. San Diego was the largest city in the nation to have accomplished this feat — and together, we’re committed to Staying at Zero year after year.
Contact SDAWC
The San Diego Animal Welfare Coalition shares a common purpose in saving animals’ lives, preventing animal suffering and eliminating animal abandonment.
It includes the following organizations:
Chula Vista Animal Care Facility
PAWS of Coronado
Friends of Cats
Frosted Faces Foundation
Humane Society of Imperial County
Rancho Coastal Humane Society
San Diego County Department of Animal Services
San Diego House Rabbit Society
San Diego Humane Society
