The Western Riverside County/City Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley will be open until midnight Saturday in an attempt to help the public relieve desperate overcrowding at the facility.
“Shelters across the entire country are at a breaking point, and Riverside County is no exception,” Department of Animal Services Director Mary Martin said. “This crisis isn’t just about numbers; it’s about lives, and the limits of a system stretched too thin. We’re doing more so the community can help — waiving fees, increasing transparency and expanding support. We can’t do it alone, and we need more people willing to open their homes today.”
Officials say there are roughly 1,300 cats and dogs — mostly the latter — in the county’s four shelters, along with many rabbits and other smaller animals in need of homes. The figure has been consistent for the past month, leaving virtually no space for animals who may need extra room due to special needs.
The Jurupa Valley shelter is experiencing the gravest over-capacity condition, hence the decision to stay open until midnight.
“Shelter overcrowding means some animals are at-risk of euthanasia simply due to lack of space and the inability to properly care for that number of animals,” the agency stated. “Animals immediately at-risk of euthanasia that need rescue can be seen on the department’s at-risk web portal: rcdas.org/list-animals-need-rescue.”
Officials are placing a greater emphasis on fostering to move pets more quickly out of cages and into environments where they may thrive, raising the prospects of adoption. Fostering involves taking an animal home for temporary or indefinite periods — without any obligation to formally adopt.
All fostered pets receive free veterinary services via the county, and all adoption fees are currently waived for individuals who decide to make permanent homes for their foster friends.
In May, the county Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution declaring the county’s goal of becoming a “no-kill” jurisdiction for pets, seeking to ensure that 90% of animals impounded at county-run facilities leave alive.
The measure, among other things, contains a pledge that the county will “work collaboratively with public and private partners, animal welfare organizations, veterinary professionals, contract cities and residents … to reduce euthanasia.”
The 90% no-kill goal entails greater emphasis on free or low-cost spay and neuter clinics, enhanced “return-to-owner” programs that unite lost pets with their loved ones, adoption campaigns, pet fostering programs and expedited “trap-neuter-return-to-field” programs for “community cats.”
More information about fosters and adoptions at the Blythe Animal Shelter, San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus, Thousand Palms Animal Campus and the Western Riverside County Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley is available at rcdas.org.