San Bernardino News Daily Local news for San Bernardino, about San Bernardino.
Looking for that perfect four-legged companion? San Bernardino Animal Services Department has your new best friend waiting and it won’t cost anything.
For the next 100 cat and dog adoptions all fees associated will be waived thanks to a partnership with Best Friends Animal Society. The free adoptions include microchip, vaccines, as well as spay/neuter.
“With the San Bernardino shelter at a critical capacity, we wanted to offer residents a way to open up their hearts and homes without having to open their wallets,” said Kaylee Hawkins, Pacific Regional Director at Best Friends Animal Society. “We are excited to help our partners at San Bernardino City Animal Services continue to find homes for the animals in their care.”
The shelter has been exceeding its housing capacity for dogs for six months. Despite having 130 dog kennels, they have regularly housed over 150 dogs. In addition to the high number of dogs, a recent cat hoarding case in May increased the number of cats at the shelter to over 120 cats and kittens in their care.
“We are asking for help from our community members to come out and adopt some of our pets,” said San Bernardino Animal Services Director Kris Watson. “We are extremely grateful to our partners at Best Friends for helping to make this possible. We have so many friendly dogs and cats right now looking for families to give them a home.”
For residents that can’t adopt a pet right now, the shelter is encouraging community members to consider temporarily fostering shelter pets, which doesn’t require the permanent commitment to pet ownership.
“Getting out of the shelter, even for a short period of time helps to decrease an animal’s stress and gives us more information about how the dog or cat is out of the kennel,” said Watson. “Plus, if you can’t commit to a full-time pet, you get the amazing experience of pet ownership for a short period of time – a “win-win” for both the pet and the foster caretaker.“
The City of San Bernardino Animal Shelter is located at 333 Chandler Place, San Bernardino, CA 92408 and is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. For more information, call (909) 384-7272.
