OC Animal Care will be holding two bottle-feeding training and demonstrations this Sunday, April 28, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. To attend one of these free training sessions, please RSVP at the link below. Come learn more about our foster program and gain hands-on experience with bottle kittens.
Celesta has been a big part of our cat program for years! She is involved in many aspects of helping our cats, from fostering hissy kittens to sorting donations to socializing our resident cats. She is a pivotal part of our RTF/TNR cat program and we couldn't do it without her! We are so grateful for all her experience, wisdom and generosity. Thank you Celesta!
On Saturday April 6, OC Animal Care celebrated its one-year anniversary of moving into the new facility in Tustin. Director Mike Kaviani kicked off the event at a small presentation before doors opened for the day. He spoke of the milestones achieved this last year, among those accomplishments, 2,369 lost pets returned to their owners and 5,621 pets who were adopted into loving families. Early arrivals already in line for adoptions joined in on the fun and helped staff sing “Happy Birthday” to shelter dogs who also got to enjoy their own pup-cakes to celebrate the day. It was a fun family affair complete with food, small and large dog play groups, free pet tags, free* adoptions and free goodie bags for adopters. By the end of the day, 41 Cats, 39 Dogs, 9 rabbits, 2 birds and a snake found themselves in new homes!OC Animal Care is the largest municipal animal shelter in Orange County. It services 14 cities and takes in over 18,000 animals each year. Last year, the Board of Supervisors approved a strategic plan outlining the progressive programs and policies that will guide OC Animal Care to achieve its vision of a safe and compassionate community for all. *did not include licensing or microchip
OC Animal Care’s staff member, Heatherly Lopez, was presented a Community Hero Award by the Anaheim Ducks Foundation on Sunday, March 10th during the annual shelter night event at Honda Center! SoCal Helpful Honda joined in the fun by awarding Heatherly with a $500 donation of toys, food, blankets, bedding and more for the shelter animals she cares for at work! Chairwoman Lisa Bartlett also came down to Honda Center to support the shelter staff, volunteers and animals. The excitement continued when Heatherly was honored on the ice during the pre-game ceremony. Heatherly Lopez is a dedicated member of the OC Animal Care team and has worked at the shelter for over 8 years as a Kennel Attendant. Heatherly always steps up to help and animal, staff or volunteers in need. When growing the shelter’s enrichment and community volunteering programs for the public, Heatherly donated all of the pup-sicle trays so each and every dog would be given treats throughout the day. She is also a member of the Animal Adoption Information Task Force which thinks of innovative new ways to share information about our adoptable pets. Heatherly also plays a key role in the shelter’s foster program, and is a guardian overnight foster for our underage bottle kittens who need to be fed every 2-5 hours. Her most recent foster was a medical cat named Artie. She has taken him into her home and has been providing him the much needed medical care for his dental condition. Heatherly is a super star and a key member of OC Animal Care’s shelter family! OC Animal Care is excited to continue their partnership with the Anaheim Ducks and is looking forward to more events in the future!
March 11-15 is National Wildlife Week! Orange County is a beautiful home not only to us and our pets, but to wildlife too. Now that Spring is around the corner, wildlife may be integrating itself into our lives a little more as it is peek breeding season for most of these animals. Here are some tips on how to share our homes with these wildlife animals to help ensure safety for us and our pets, as well as discouraging destructive behavior. • Cats and small dogs can be easy prey for predators and should be supervised as closely as possible or kept indoors. • Keep pet food indoors and do not leave food of any kind outside at night. Food left out at night will be taken as a welcome invitation by wildlife, and may prompt a future visit. • Remove any fruit which has fallen to the ground. • Store trash in covered, heavy-duty containers. • Keep yards free from potential shelter such as thick brush and weeds, and enclose the bottoms of porches and decks. • Eliminate garbage, debris, lumber piles, etc. • Check fencing and try to eliminate access points to roof tops. • Change automatic sprinkler settings regularly.
Lynda is a dedicated foster mom, a reliable volunteer and an awesome shelter cat photographer. She regularly fosters the sickest and neediest of cats and kittens. She has nursed some of the most critically sick cats back to health. Lynda is a shelter cat photographer, highlighting the best features of our resident cats which in turn helps our feline friends get adopted faster. Lynda also helps out at our Petco cattery and transports the kitties if needed. Lynda has been a volunteer at OCAC for over 8 years! We really appreciate Lynda, and we are exceptionally thankful for her dedication to our shelter cats.
During the month of February, OC Animal Care held their annual Adopt a Shelter Rabbit Month. We encourage everyone to hop on down and find some bunny to love! All floppy eared friends adopted during February received a free spay/neuter and microchip. Month long event was a success, and a total of 27 bunnies found their forever homes!
Please join me in congratulating Kristen, Volunteer of the Month!Kristen is a dog walker who is always at the shelter. She loves her big “pitty type” breeds and anytime during the week you can see her out with a big ol’ muscle-head dog strolling around the shelter. Kristen has become a lead in training our new dog volunteers and we love that we can rely on her! Kristen is dedicated, reliable and an excellent trainer/teacher! She has shown flexibility and a willingness to step up and help out when needed! Thank you Kristen!!
In an effort to find long-term resident dogs a fur-ever companion, OC Animal Care hosted an adoption event for the members of the “Lonely Hearts Club” throughout February 9th and 10th. During the weekend, all dogs who had been available to adopt for more than two weeks had a free adoption fee. The event was a huge success -- the public made colorful Valentine’s cards for our shelter pets which are now on display in the lobby, and fifteen long-term resident dogs found their new forever homes. Cleve, both a staff and volunteer favorite, was a longstanding member of our Lonely Hearts Club, arriving at OC Animal Care in July of 2018. On the first day of the event, Cleve had a heart-to-heart connection with one of the event attendees and was adopted by her new, loving family. Cleve’s new owner plans on giving him lots of love and taking him for long runs through the park! Thank you to everyone who came and supported our Lonely Hearts Club event!
The numbers are in and everyone here at OC Animal Care could not be more grateful for the support from all the partners and community members who helped make 2018 a year of success! Check out the Press Release and infographic linked below to learn more about the impact we were able to achieve together!
