Last week, the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter held two adoption events across town in its effort to get pets out of the shelter and into homes. The first was held at Ivar’s River Pub on Nov. 14, where two dogs, one from foster and another from the shelter, were adopted and the second, held at the assisted-living community. Brookdale North on Nov. 19, saw the adoption of six cats. From the 301 animals in their care, 166 of those are currently in foster homes.
For the past month and until further notice, all ready-to-go pets are available for adoption for $10, including spay/neuter, vet exams, vaccinations, a microchip and 30 days of pet health insurance. This comes on the tail of ongoing renovations at the shelter which puts its dog kennel capacity down about a third, as they redo epoxy paint from building to building and install sound baffling in the adoption facility. Since the beginning of the month, they’ve facilitated 170 adoptions.
Since last November, SMRAS has been without an official shelter manager, so the shelter supervisor, Christie Banduch, has been acting as interim. In her office is a small shih tzu kept by a baby-gate, one of several pets around their workspace, playfully referred to as office fosters. She said that the intake of pets fluctuates day to day.
