Edhat Staff
Source: SPARC
Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center (SPARC) Evacuates Animals, Seeks Donated Funds and Pet Supplies for Shelter Animals Displaced by Raging “Thomas Fire”
The Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center (SPARC) evacuated most of its shelter animals on Tuesday, with 59 dogs taken to a boarding facility locally and 77 cats evacuated to the Santa Paula Airport.
SPARC is seeking the community’s help with donations of large and small dog crates, cat crates, pet food and cash donations to help cover expenses. Anyone wishing to donate funds may do so at www.santapaulaarc.org.
SPARC was on standby all night, Monday Dec. 4, waiting to learn if an evacuation of the shelter would be necessary due to the “Thomas fire” in Santa Paula and Ventura. Many SPARC supporters have reached out to offer assistance as the fire grew, and it’s anticipated more assistance will be needed this week as SPARC expects to receive an influx of stray animals on Tuesday as a result of the fire and home evacuations.
SPARC is also seeking adopters to come forward as soon as possible to help adopt animals and reduce overcrowding.
Late Monday night, SPARC staff and volunteers loaded and transported 24 big shelter dogs into a horse trailer and took them to a boarding facility near Santa Paula Airport around midnight to save time in case a full evacuation was required later. By Tuesday morning, the city of Santa Paula advised SPARC staff to evacuate the animals and all but medical animals were evacuated. Medical animals will be evacuated at the last minute if needed, to avoid stressing them.
The week after Thanksgiving saw many more strays than usual arriving at SPARC and the shelter was already full, so fostering and adopting as many animals as possible is the only way to make space for new animals coming in, said SPARC Executive Director Nicky Gore-Jones. “This has been a challenging time for SPARC and all help is greatly appreciated,” she said.
SPARC is a No Kill, No Excuses, 501(C3) city pound in Santa Paula where every single animal arriving gets a second chance at life.
