By Janet McAfee
The countdown is on for the lives and well-being of the remaining 35 cats and 71 dogs at the Indio animal shelter. OUR HOPE IS FOR 160 EMPTY KENNELS AT THE INDIO ANIMAL SHELTER BY AUGUST 31. The animals hope to leave those kennels and get a second chance in a loving home where they will never be abandoned again.
This August 31 deadline comes after the Indio City Council voted to discontinue city oversight of the Animal Care Center of Indio and turn over animal control and sheltering operations to Riverside County Department of Animal Services. On July 1, the shelter stopped intakes of stray and relinquished animals. The shelter will remain open during July and August for the purpose of adopting the remaining animals. The staff and volunteers are determined to get homes for every animal in their care. Stray Indio animals are now transported by animal control to the large county shelter in Thousand Palms www.rcdas.org.
Local animal lovers and organizations are stepping up to help the remaining shelter dogs and cats.
Bianca Rae, news reporter for KESQ news Channel 3 and CBS local 2, became involved with this shelter two years ago when she did a news story on the facility. Bianca became a volunteer, adopted one of their dogs, and recently teamed up with Loving All Animals to implement “Operation Indio Animals”. Bianca is pictured here with her beloved dog Jack, a Spaniel mix she adopted from the Indio shelter. Working with shelter staff, they developed a three pronged approach to get the animals out of the shelter before the deadline.
Operation Indio Animals includes, (1) A series of off-site Saturday adoption events, beginning July 20 at the old Palm Desert Athletic Club, (2) Transport of animals to private no-kill shelters to areas that have a shortage, and (3) Transfer to local no-kill rescue groups.
Loving All Animals’ is providing the location, publicity and support for the Saturday adoption events. LAA President Lindi Biggi reports, “The volunteers at Loving All Animals are honored to be able to help the companion animals currently being housed at the Indio shelter find loving homes. We strongly believe that ‘if people knew better, they would do better’. Our overcrowded shelters are a community problem and the solution must come from the community. If people knew how many beautiful, healthy, adoptable animals are killed simply because they don’t have a home, people would make great efforts to spay or neuter more pets. People would adopt from shelters rather than purchase pets from puppy mills, and they would support the shelter and rescue organizations working so hard to become a ‘No Kill’ community.”
The Saturday Palm Desert adoption events take place every Saturday from 10am to 2pm, beginning July 20, through the end of August. These events will showcase the Indio animals at the former Palm Desert Athletic Club which is located at 73-600 Alessandro Drive, Palm Desert, one block north of Highway 111.
Cold Nose Warm Heart pet boutique offered to host Indio animals in their new location in the shopping center at Washington & Country Club in Palm Desert. Those events take place on July 13, and again during the shop’s July 18 Grand Opening event from 10am to 2pm. PetCo at 42700 Jackson in Indio continues to showcase cats on Saturdays.
The rescue effort has gone international. On Wednesday, July 10, fifteen lucky small dogs flew by plane to Little Mutts rescue organization in Calgary, Canada. Canada does not have the pet overpopulation problem that plagues much of the United States, and in particular they have a shortage of small breed rescue dogs. The renowned Helen Woodward Center in San Diego is coming this week for animals, and a group in Arizona is taking additional ones.
More help is needed. We need Coachella Valley residents to come to the shelter and adopt a pet. There is a lovely park next door where you can toss a ball and get to know the personality of the dogs. You can do a meet and greet with a feline friend in the shelter lobby.
Summer is the perfect time to adopt a new pet. The kids are home from school and a new pet will teach them important life lessons, and run off their excess energy. If the kids are gone or you don’t have kids, get a ‘furkid’ who won’t answer back and will love you unconditionally.
Bianca Rae gives us some fantastic reasons to get off the fence and adopt a pet NOW. “There may be a million reasons why you think you shouldn’t have a pet, but if you can think of just one reason why you should, I say ‘Go for it!’. There are so many people whose lives could be changed for the better if they adopt a rescue pet, myself included. I thought I shouldn’t get a dog until I was more settled with a marriage and children. Adopting a dog was a hard decision to make, but the best decision I’ve ever made. Jack brings me so much loving companionship. Every day when you come home, no matter how bad your day was, your pet is always there to give you love and happiness. The countdown is on, and you may be the last chance for these animals.”
The Animal Care Center of Indio is open for adoptions Wednesday through Sunday, and located at 45-355 Van Buren, Indio. Call (760) 391-4135 for hours and directions. You can view their available pets online at www.petfinder.com by typing in “dog” or “cat” and then “Indio CA” for location. The total cost to adopt a rescue dog is $97 and the total cost to adopt a rescue cat is $60, and these fees include spay/neuter and vaccinations. Head out there now to get a wonderful new companion who promises to brighten your day.
