On Friday March 31, Sergeant Su and Officer Craig responded to Tri-City Park in response to a report of an American coot who had fishing line tangled around its left leg. Unfortunately after trying to lure other coots and the injured one, some resourceful use of Cheez-its, and creative expansions of a net, the team was unable to catch the bird. However, the public was very appreciative of the display of team effort and persistence! Remember when you do go fishing, fishing line is potentially dangerous and harmful to wildlife so it is important to pick up all and any fishing line that you see to help create a safe home for our animals in the community!

It's Wildlife Wednesday! Members of our Animal Control team attended the 2018 Spring Fling Eco-Fun Faire this past weekend! Over 500 families were in attendance and had a blast learning more about OC Animal Care and the wildlife in the community. Thank you Officer Chung and Sergeant Detki for all of your hard work! CLICK HERE to learn more about wildlife in the OC.

Please join us in congratulating our volunteer of the month for March, Margaret! Margaret has been with OC Animal Care for just 9 months but has already become such a huge part of our volunteer family. During our big move and all of the events associated Margaret stepped up and became a superlative Greeter for our program, working many long hours many days in a row to assist our staff in the big transition. Margaret primarily likes to socialize with our bunnies but has stepped into the role of greeter in a big way this month! We are so grateful for our dedicated volunteers like Margaret who happens to have volunteered 6 out of the last 7 days! You can see her and our other amazing greeter volunteers at the front desk of our new facility where they are always happy to assist you! Thank you Margaret for all you do, and congratulations on being our March 2018 volunteer of the month!

During the month of March, Cats in Need Yorba Linda re-released 86 feral cats through our SNR (Spay-Neuter-Release) Program. We Spay/Neuter, vaccinate, microchip and notch our community cats’ ears, and release them back into the environment/neighborhood they were originally brought in from through the nonprofit group we work with. Cats in Need Yorba Linda could use your help! If you are interested in being a part of this program for local feral kitties, please contact Cats in Need Yorba Linda at (714) 998-6360.

On Sunday March 24th OC Animal Care had its Grand Opening for the public to come and visit the new campus, animals and some fun from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Even though the doors wouldn’t open until 11 a.m. visitors were eagerly waiting a few hours before then.

As the hours turned to minutes, and minutes into seconds, both staff and visitors alike had contagious smiles which set the tone for the event. Once the doors were finally opened, a sea of visitors were greeted by two lines of staff members cheering them on saying “Welcome!”.

Passing through the lobby out into the courtyard visitors were greeted by a number of vendors and esteemed guests. Among the tents of guests were representatives from 3rd District Supervisor Todd Spitzer and 4th District Supervisor Shawn Nelson’s office greeting people as they began to walk out the lobby doors. Continuing down the path were OC Animal Care partners such as the Anaheim Ducks, Pet Prescription Team, OC Parks, Cell Dogs Inc., OC Shelter Partners, and Pet Adoption Center of Orange County.

Before reaching the end of the pathway visitors also had the chance spin OC Animal Care’s wheel for some fun prizes, learn about Community Coop, who hosted a “Chickens Make Great Pets Too!” demonstration in the barnyard area. Next to the barnyard area were horses Bentley and Tiny Rocket from Hidden Creek Ranch who greeted folks at the stables. In addition to the presentation from Community Coop and greetings from Hidden Creek Ranch, Pet Prescription Team hosted “Katy Cares-Responsible Pet Ownership” with Kane and Bagel for the kids in attendance.

With so much to learn, to try and people to meet, visitors worked up an appetite and could conveniently get food from the food trucks El Governador or TLC’s Sidewalk Café, and then finish off with some Joe’s Italian Ice in the picnic area.

Aside from guests, vendors and food, visitors had the opportunity to walk through the kennel buildings and meet the dogs and bunnies, walk through the hallway and visit the cats and small animals, ask about volunteering, fostering programs and most popular of all… when and how they could adopt.

As Saturday wound down, guests began to filter out and some started to already wait in line for adoptions kicking off the next day, Sunday March 25th.

As excited as everyone was by the previous day’s fun, people were equally if not more excited for the first day of adoptions. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. families came in and left with their new members of all types, sizes and colors. In total, there were 74 adoptions made from 58 dogs, 11 cats and 5 rabbits!

OC Animal Care’s Grand Opening and first day of adoptions went as successfully as one could hope for and left a confidence in visitors that the animals are in good hands and that the new facility is a positive change. As the days go on since the exciting weekend, OC Animal Care is excited to continue working hard for the animals and community.

On Friday, March 9, 2018, Sergeant Onkka and Officer Elisa Hernandez responded to a call of a cat stuck in a storm drain under a freeway. There was no gate on the drain and the cat could be heard approximately 12 to 15 feet away. They attempted to lure the cat with a can of fresh cat food and by placing its mother inside the drain in a carrier. The two cats started communicating and finally the cat was able to follow the food odor and its moms calls and walked out of the opening where it had been! Round of applause for this happily ever after!

We are excited to announce that OC Animal Care's new facility's soft opening will be on Monday, March 19th from 1-4 p.m.Our facility will stay closed through Sunday evening while we work out all of the new processes, but we will continue to assist customers in the redemption of their animals, purchasing a license or taking in strays. Due to the work being completed at the data center, our computer and phone services may also be impacted. We are very much looking forward to sharing this beautiful campus with the community. Address: 1630 Victory RoadTustin, CA 92782Directions to our Facility:I-5: I-5 to Redhill, turn south toward Newport Beach, then turn left on Victory Road.SR-55: SR-55 to Dyer, turn east toward Tustin, turn left on Redhill and turn right on Victory Road

March 12-16 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. Click Here for more information on tips to keep your pets safe from wildlife. Click Here for more information more information on the wildlife in Orange County.

OC Animal Care hosted its last event at the City Drive location, and we had a great turnout! On Saturday, March 10th and Sunday, March 11th, the shelter’s “We’re Moving Adoption Event” helped 69 shelter pets find a home! 22 cats, 35 dogs, 10 rabbits and 2 exotic pets were adopted. OC Animal Care is excited to close this chapter and move to our brand new state of the art facility. Thank you to everyone who came to our final event, shared their love and support and adopted a shelter pet.

The County of Orange celebrated the completion of OC Animal Care’s new shelter with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 7. The new, modern OC Animal Care shelter at 1630 Victory Road replaces the aging OC Animal Care shelter in Orange built in the 1940s. “We are here to resolve a critical need in Orange County,” said Supervisor Todd Spitzer, whose Third District is home to the new facility. “This facility will be the hub of education, setting the standard for ethical and transparent animal care for the entire country. The humane treatment in this facility is designed to raise live adoptability rates that currently stand at 96 percent for dogs and 57 percent for cats. The goal is 100 percent responsible adoption for all pets.” Officials from some of the contract cities, including Tustin, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Newport Beach, Villa Park and Yorba Linda, were in attendance to take self-guided tours of the new facility. On behalf of his City Council colleagues and staff, Tustin Mayor Al Murray presented the County of Orange with a Certificate of Recognition, stating he looks forward to continuing the partnership. read more

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