Animal Rescue Shakeup
updated: Aug 03, 2011, 6:57 PM

By Edhat Subscriber

Read that K-9 Pals is disassociating itself from the County Animal Shelter volunteer group.

Their letter to the community:

Dear Volunteers and Friends,

K-9 PALS has made the decision to withdraw from the Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter, effective August 31, 2011. Given the events of the past 18 months, we believe this is the best option for both the organization and the Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter. We shared this information with our volunteers in a general meeting on Sunday, July 31, 2011. Those volunteers unable to attend this meeting will receive this e-mail to announce the decision and explain the future.

Moving forward, K-9 PALS will take a new approach towards its mission of providing support and care for homeless and abandoned dogs in Santa Barbara County. The K-9 PALS organization will become a resource for all rescue and animal welfare groups and shelters in the county. K-9 PALS will continue to provide support for the Animal Shelter dogs in several ways such as veterinary care assistance, prescription dog foods, spay / neuter programs, promotion, and the like. K-9 PALS will no longer be an organization supervising and managing volunteer activities at an animal shelter.

We are encouraging all our K-9 PALS volunteers to continue their volunteer services at the Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter, as our withdrawal is not meant to hinder the volunteer program at the shelter in any way. Janelle Ward will remain President of the organization and will work with a board towards fulfilling K-9 PALS' mission in this new manner.

Over the years, we have had amazing achievements as well as challenges. We will choose to remember the enormous benefits K-9 PALS brought to the homeless and abandoned dogs at the Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter. Our contributions include: renovation and building additions, hundreds of thousands of dollars spent in veterinary care and prescription dog foods, increased adoptions, free behavior training classes for adopters, a wonderful Visitors' Garden where dogs meet potential adopters, additional play yards for the dogs including agility equipment, on site veterinary care, volunteer recruitment to provide more than 14,000 hours of annual volunteer service, professional behavior trainers for volunteer and dog training, establishment of formal adoption counseling policies and procedures, an elevated status for the Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter, and most of all, new homes and a better life for thousands of homeless and abandoned dogs.

We are very proud of the accomplishments we achieved over the past 11 years and we look forward to equally great achievements in the future.

Sincerely,

Janelle Ward, President
Devon Bell, Secretary
David Caffo, Treasurer
Thom Zimerle, Board Member at Large

What impact will this have on the dogs? What has gone on the past year and a half? Does this mean the shelter is no longer a "no-kill" shelter?

The nonprofit volunteer organization K-9 PALS announced plans to withdraw from the shelter at the end of August. (08/05/11)

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