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Animal welfare is evolving in ways that place the well-being of animals above convenience. That’s a good thing.
Today, shelters are caring for more animals than their buildings were designed to hold. Based on census data and ownership estimates, there are 85,000 households in Pleasanton, Livermore and Dublin with roughly 55,000 dogs and 33,000 owned cats living in them. Even when a fraction of these animals need help, it stretches the system to the limit.
At Valley Humane, we receive up to five surrender requests every day, often marked “ASAP”. At the same time, public shelters ask us to transfer in animals so they can make space for the variety of legally mandated intakes they manage like strays, medical/police emergencies or animal abuse cases, to name a few.
Without help from the community — by reclaiming lost pets, adopting or rehoming on their own — shelters become overcrowded, and euthanasia for space becomes a possibility.
This is why we encourage people to explore other options first. Valley Humane offers a free Home to Home rehoming site (home-home.org), where you can post your pet and share with your network, while Valley Humane also shares your pet. Families who love their animals take great care in choosing safe homes, and research shows that direct rehoming is very safe.
We also hear frustration about cats — why animal services won’t trap a feral cat or pick up a neighborhood visitor. These decisions are about protecting cats. Feral cats are not adoptable; if brought to a shelter, they are usually euthanized.
The humane solution is trap-neuter-return (TNR): spaying or neutering, then releasing them back to their territory. This approach reduces populations, nuisance behaviors and protects birds over time. Valley Humane provides surgeries at a lower cost for community cats.
For friendly cats, the challenge is different. Many indoor/outdoor cats roam and are mistaken as strays. Sadly, only 3% of cats in shelters are reclaimed by their owners, often because they lack identification, like a microchip.
Before taking a cat to a shelter, check with neighbors. A breakaway collar with your phone number can help you find the owner. And if you’re unsure whether a cat (or dog) has a chip, Valley Humane will scan them for free.
When life with a pet becomes difficult, it can be hard to know what to do. Please remember, no one loves your animal like you do. If you’re facing challenges like the cost of care, biting, litter box issues or end-of-life decisions, Valley Humane is here to help connect you with resources before you consider rehoming or surrendering. Very few adopters are looking to take on a difficult animal — they’re simply hoping to welcome a good family member.
Lifesaving is a collaboration. You can help by ensuring your animals have a collar with a tag and a microchip, all with updated information. Take the time and necessary steps to rehome your animals without going through a shelter and adopt. When you adopt you are giving a sweet animal another opportunity for love and a family.
We are partners in building a community where people and pets thrive together. That requires all of us — community members, nonprofits and government – working side by side.
If you’d like to learn more about today’s sheltering system and the pressures it faces, I invite you to read my blog post: “Undervalued and Underfunded: The Quiet Crisis Facing Animal Shelters”.
With compassion and collaboration, we can ensure the best possible outcomes for animals — and for the people who love them.
Editor’s note: Melanie Sadek is a certified animal welfare administrator and the president and CEO of Valley Humane Society, based in Pleasanton.
