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THE FIFTH OF JULY: A busy day — but not as chaotic in our shelters as years past

July 5, 2017

This morning we saw a fair amount of frantic pet owners attempting to reunite with their wandering pets during the Fourth-of-July holiday weekend. It was certainly busy, but not as frenzied as we have witnessed in past years.

Some numbers to ponder:

We impounded 37 stray animals on Sunday, July 2 (25 dogs, 9 cats and three “others,” which can include birds, reptiles, livestock, etc.).

We impounded 117 stray animals on Monday, July 3 (63 dogs, 47 cats, seven others).

We impounded 33 strays on Tuesday, July 4 (30 dogs and three cats).

These numbers are only for Riverside County Animal Services’ service areas, including the city of Riverside.

Today’s happy statistic: 43 dogs have already been reunited with their owners today from our shelters in Blythe, Jurupa Valley, San Jacinto and Thousand Palms. (This number is reflective of our countywide shelter system as of 3:40 p.m.)

A very interesting, but sad statistic: There has yet to be a cat owner who has shown up and redeemed their pet.

Some trivia: The first dog reunited this morning at our Western Riverside County/City Animal Shelter was a St. Bernard. (It was reunited with the owner prior to our opening because the dog was microchipped and the pet owner was current with all required, local ordinances and dog license.)

Something you may not have realized: employees worked at our largest shelter (the Western Riverside County/City Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley) until 8 p.m. on the key days during the Fourth-of-July (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday) to assist Good Samaritans bringing in pets owned by others; these employees also monitored our “night-drop” compartments to keep them as empty as possible during these hours, ensuring space was available as the night progressed. And these employees were also reuniting chipped pets with owners, even though we were officially closed to the public. This helped alleviate the stress for a handful of pet owners whose chipped pets were current with rabies vaccinations, dog license, etc.

VIDEO FOOTAGE we shot earlier this morning on Facebook Live is below.

Good Samaritan brings in a stray dog that has a microchip:

https://www.facebook.com/162246003836827/videos/vb.162246003836827/1483022221759192/?type=2&theater

Happy pet reunion video links are below.

Owner (Erik Arteaga) of Louie the Golden Retriever gets emotional when he discovers his dog is in the shelter safe:

https://www.facebook.com/162246003836827/videos/vb.162246003836827/1482982458429835/?type=2&theater

Louie the Golden Retriever goes home:

https://www.facebook.com/162246003836827/videos/vb.162246003836827/1483016848426396/?type=2&theater