1. HELP US HELP OUR ANIMALS!
We’re YOUR community shelter. Your
support and participation are crucial to
our success. Here are just of few of the
many ways you can help our community’s
neediest animals.
Join our Foster Care Program
Our foster care program truly expands the walls of
SCCAS with foster volunteers opening their hearts and
homes to our shelter’s homeless animals. Foster homes
provide young and old, injured and sick, abused and
under-socialized animals a chance to grow or heal before finding their forever homes. In addition, fostering
animals creates space in the shelter to accommodate
other homeless animals.
Report Animal Abuse
We rely on you to be our eyes and ears in your neighborhood. The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter enforces California Penal Code 597 which makes it illegal
to abuse or neglect an animal. If you feel that an animal
is being neglected or abused, please contact the Santa
Cruz County Animal Shelter at 831.454.7200, ext. 1.
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Each year millions of lost, unwanted, neglected and
mistreated animals are taken in by shelters around the
country. Many of these are euthanized. To help combat
this situation we are asking you to take these actions:
CRUZ COU
TY
The lives of animals in a shelter can be very challenging.
Having an opportunity every day to have special time
and attention is what helps them “get by with a little
help from their friends.” Our volunteers are truly best
friends to the animals in our care, and many say they
get a huge reward from their time with the animals.
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Be a Responsible Pet Owner
AN
Volunteer
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Our Animals Depend on YOUR Support in So Many Ways!
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• Make a lifetime commitment to care for your pet
• Keep your animals under restraint when off your
property
• Spay or neuter as required by local laws
• Provide rabies vaccination and licensing
• Provide identification for your pet (tag and microchip)
Donate
We are so grateful for donations which help support
and sustain the important programs and services we
provide. Our Tax ID# is 90-0039494.
Donate online www.scanimalshelter.org/donate
OR SEND A CHECK to either location below
Animal Shelter Locations
There are two locations for owners to find and
recover their lost pets and adopt new animal
companions.
Live Oak - 2200 7th Ave. • Santa Cruz 95062
Watsonville - 580 Airport Blvd. • Watsonville 95076
www.scanimalshelter.org
Phone: 831.454.7200 • Fax: 831.454.7210
For more information and current hours of operation,
please call or visit our website.
OPEN DOOR
OPEN HEART
The Open-Door Shelter
Serving Santa Cruz County’s
Neediest Animals!

2. OPEN DOOR—OPEN HEART
Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter Programs & Services
The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter is an open
admission shelter which welcomes EVERY animal in
need. This means that we will not turn away ANY
animal that comes to our doors, regardless of age,
breed, adoptability or medical condition. Our goal is to
be a humane resource for the community by providing
a safety net and second chance for local animals in
need. Our success is achieved through the varied lifesaving services and programs described here.
Animal Rescue & Control
One Stop Program
Our field officers provide 24-hour rescue service throughout the county, taking in any animals in danger or in need,
including those suffering from neglect, abuse or cruelty.
SCCAS’s ONE STOP program provides a low-cost,
convenient way for responsible pet owners to vaccinate, license and microchip their pets.
Adoption
Dog Licensing
Adoption is a cooperative labor of love with the people who
choose to look for their new family member at our shelter.
Dog licensing, now available online, is part of our rabies
control program. It is also the key to reuniting lost dogs
OPEN ADMISSION VS. “no-Kill”
We appreciate and applaud people who make the life-saving
decision to adopt a homeless animal!
with their owners. Santa Cruz County residents are required by law to license all dogs over 4 months of age.
Animal Sheltering Services
Spay/Neuter Programs
Caring staff and volunteers provide veterinary and humane
care for every animal that comes through our doors. The
animals’ living areas are kept clean, warm and comfortable.
Frightened animals are reassured, and sick or injured animals
receive treatment or a peaceful end to their suffering.
Through our Planned Pethood program, SCCAS provides high quality, low-cost spay/neuter services for ALL
resident dogs, cats and rabbits of Santa Cruz County.
We offer a reduced spay/neuter fee ($50) for Pit Bulls
and Chihuahuas, who account for a large percentage of
dogs entering our shelter. By assisting county residents
with population control costs, we work to dramatically
reduce the number of animals in need.
While open admission shelters give refuge to ALL
animals, many limited admission shelters—which sometimes call themselves “no-kill”—limit in various ways
the animals they accept. While many animals who come
to us are immediate candidates for adoption, we also
receive animals who are severely sick, gravely injured
or behaviorally unsound. In the case of an animal who
cannot be rehabilitated, we strongly believe that euthanasia is the most humane alternative to an existence of
suffering and pain or being limited to life in a cage.
saving lives together
We are lucky in Santa Cruz County to be supported
in our goal of saving lives by over 50 private animal
welfare partner organizations. With their help and
yours, we will come closer to our goal of saving every
precious life. We are also working hard to create a
community which produces fewer unwanted animals.
Safe Keep Program
Our animal control services are performed in close association with municipal law enforcement agencies and local
health departments. Animals often enter the shelter through
dramatic circumstances such as a house fire, owner arrest,
hospitalization or death. This program ensures that animals
from such circumstances are held for longer periods of time
to allow the most optimal outcomes for the pet and owner.
Outreach/Education
SCCAS is proud to share its mission through shelter tours, public information booths and classroom
presentations for all ages. We also provide a forum for
community animal welfare education.
For detailed information on all programs, visit www.scanimalshelter.org

3. 1 rabbit
4 dogs
2 cats