Gloria Fire
Evacuation Information Follow our fire rescue updates on
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During the
Gloria Fire, The SPCA Provided All the Following At No
Charge:
Sheltered nine
evacuated dogs. As of 8/31, seven dogs were
reunited with their owners. Two dogs are
still being sheltered at The SPCA.
Operated an
emergency animal evacuation shelter for household
pets (cats, dogs, etc.) adjacent to the American
Red Cross evacuation site at Soledad High School.
Stood-by at Incident
Command to perform emergency evacuation rescues of
animals left behind fire lines and
coordinate emergency evacuation shelters for
horses and livestock
Offered
assistance and information to anyone with
questions about evacuating animals
Provided
pet-friendly hotels and motels
on our website
and as handouts.
The SPCA's Role Now and in Future Disasters: These roles are unique to The SPCA for
Monterey County, a leader in disaster
preparedness. The SPCA is independent and
not a chapter of any other agency.
Coordinate and provide animal rescue field
services (including owned animals in danger due to
fire, flood, earthquake, etc. that are left behind
by evacuating owners or assisting evacuating
pet/livestock owners).
Provide temporary animal shelters set-up outside
Red Cross or other organization shelters for
people evacuating with their pets & livestock.
Provide sheltering services for pets displaced by
the disaster.
Provide post-disaster recovery efforts including
reuniting lost pets with their owners; and
accepting donations of animal supplies, equipment,
food, etc. & coordinating their distribution as
needed to affected pet owners, etc.
Coordinate the activities of other animal related
groups, agencies, organizations or individuals as
related to the disaster.
Provide on-going community education regarding
disaster preparedness
for pets and pet owners for CERT Teams, community
groups, etc.
Develop an inter-agency disaster preparedness
resource matrix for use by local animal welfare
agencies.
Develop agency Pandemic Flu Preparedness and
Response Plan.
Train and provide the necessary tools for agency
staff and volunteers to execute their personal
disaster preparedness plans to help assure their
own safety and that of their families during and
following a disaster.
The SPCA for Monterey County reminds everyone in our
community to take their animals with them if they
are given orders to evacuate. Remember, what is
dangerous for you is also dangerous for your pets.
The SPCA strongly recommends not waiting until the
last minute to evacuate with your pets or
livestock. Take time to prepare in advance.
SPCA for Monterey
County Assists with Lockheed Fire Animal Rescues
The SPCA Disaster
Animal Rescue Team assisted Santa Cruz Animal
Services rescuing animals from evacuation areas
caused by the Lockheed Fire. The Lockheed Fire
burned near Bonny Doon in Santa Cruz County.
During the rescues, The
SPCA Disaster Animal Rescue Team evacuated a pot
bellied pig, nine cats, numerous birds, 14 llamas,
2 pygmy goats, and many chickens. To learn how
you can prepare
yourself and your pets for a disaster, please
click here.
SPCA
Disaster Animal Rescue Team member Officer Jeff
Stroud helps evacuate a pot bellied pig from the
Lockheed Fire
Officer
Stroud evacuates a goat from the Lockheed Fire
(photo credit: Debra Means)
Two
rescued goats wait safely at the evacuation area
SPCA
Disaster Animal Rescue Team evacuates llamas from
the Lockheed Fire
2008 Monterey County Wildfire Evacuation Information
During the
Wildfires, The SPCA Did All the Following At No
Charge:
Performed emergency
evacuation rescues of animals left behind fire
lines
Helped people evacuate
their pets and livestock, including pigs, horses,
llamas, goats, dogs, cats, and many more.
Over 400 animals were rescued by The SPCA during
the Indians and Basin Complex Fires.
Operated
emergency animal evacuation shelters for household
pets (cats, dogs, etc.) adjacent to all American Red Cross
evacuation sites.
Coordinated emergency evacuation shelters for
horses and livestock
Sheltered evacuated animals for days, weeks, or
months
Offered
assistance and information to anyone with
questions about evacuating animals
Attended all the fire information community
meetings to inform the public about our fire
rescue efforts and explain how to evacuate with
animals
Provided
pet-friendly hotels and motels
on our website
and as handouts
The SPCA's Role Now and in Future Disasters: These roles are unique to The SPCA for
Monterey County, a leader in disaster
preparedness. The SPCA is independent and
not a chapter of any other agency.
Coordinate and provide animal rescue field
services (including owned animals in danger due to
fire, flood, earthquake, etc. that are left behind
by evacuating owners or assisting evacuating
pet/livestock owners).
Provide temporary animal shelters set-up outside
Red Cross or other organization shelters for
people evacuating with their pets & livestock.
Provide sheltering services for pets displaced by
the disaster.
Provide post-disaster recovery efforts including
reuniting lost pets with their owners; and
accepting donations of animal supplies, equipment,
food, etc. & coordinating their distribution as
needed to affected pet owners, etc.
Coordinate the activities of other animal related
groups, agencies, organizations or individuals as
related to the disaster.
Provide on-going community education regarding
disaster preparedness
for pets and pet owners for CERT Teams, community
groups, etc.
Develop an inter-agency disaster preparedness
resource matrix for use by local animal welfare
agencies.
Develop agency Pandemic Flu Preparedness and
Response Plan.
Train and provide the necessary tools for agency
staff and volunteers to execute their personal
disaster preparedness plans to help assure their
own safety and that of their families during and
following a disaster.
The SPCA for Monterey County reminds everyone in our
community to take their animals with them if they
are given orders to evacuate. Remember, what is
dangerous for you is also dangerous for your pets.
The SPCA strongly recommends not waiting until the
last minute to evacuate with your pets or
livestock. Take time to prepare in advance.
If You Are Retuning Home with Pets:
Please
keep your pets close to you. Keep dogs and cats
indoors and supervise them when they are outside.
Keep in
mind that there may be hot spots near your home that
can hurt your pet’s paws.
Due to
loss of habitat, wildlife may be closer to your home
than usual. Keep an eye on your pets, especially
smaller ones.
Remember
that an advisory evacuation notice can become
mandatory at any time. Be sure to keep your pets
under your control and have evacuation supplies for
pets on-hand (collars, leashes, dog or cat crates,
evac-sacs for cats, etc.). The SPCA has disaster
preparedness checklists available on our website.
If you
have any questions, please call The SPCA. We are
here for you.
The
SPCA is offering a $1,000 reward for information
leading to the arrest and conviction of the man who
intentionally hit and killed a dog with his vehicle
today on Chualar River Road.
The
driver, believed to be a Hispanic male, was driving
a white Ford 4-door pick-up with tinted windows and
towing irrigation poles with a yellow “wide load”
sign on his front grill on May 6th at approximately 11:00
am on Chualar River Road just East of the Salinas
River Bridge. The driver intentionally swerved to
hit and run over a brown and white female pointer
who was running away from him down the road. The
dog was immediately transported to The SPCA for
emergency Veterinary treatment (the dog is pictured
here, in Sergeant Scheid's arms). Attempts to
resuscitate the young dog were unsuccessful and she
died at 11:40.
If
you know of any potential witnesses to this
horrendous act or have any additional information
about this case that leads to the arrest and
conviction of the person responsible, please
contact us or call
831-373-2631 or 422-4721 x213. All calls are
completely confidential.
On February 13, The SPCA for Monterey County rescued
four neglected mares from a boarding facility in
northern Monterey County. The mares were
unnamed when they were rescued, so SPCA Humane
Officers decided to call them "The Spice Girls"
and gave the mares their
seasoning-inspired names. The neglected mares had been part of a
breeding operation. One of the mares, Chili,
was so skinny that her owner did not realize she was
pregnant. We expect Chili to deliver her foal
this May and will update you on their condition as
soon as the foal is born.
This rescue brings our adoptable horse total to 15
horses, with more on the way. If you are
interested in adopting any of our rescued horses,
please
contact us.
To help fight horse abandonment and neglect, please
donate
or
report
animal cruelty.
Chili when she was rescued by SPCA Humane Officers:
The SPCA for Monterey County has successfully
investigated and prepared for prosecution by the
District Attorney another local animal hoarding
case. A resident in Southern Monterey County pled
guilty to misdemeanor animal abuse and The
SPCA has rescued dozens of animals from the property
near Bradley.
When The SPCA first began investigating the animal
hoarding case, close to 230 animals were involved.
The animals spanned a wide variety of species,
including domestic, exotic, and native wild animals.
“While the animal victims in the majority of
hoarding cases investigated by the SPCA are cats,
this case presented many additional challenges
because of the wide variety of animal species
involved,” says Gary Tiscornia, Executive Director.
“We are extremely proud of our Humane Investigations
Officers and very appreciative of the assistance
provided by the Monterey County Office of the
District Attorney for their hard work in this case,
which led to a successful prosecution and a new life
for the animals involved.”
The
case involved hundreds of birds, including pigeons,
geese, ducks, chickens, scrub jays, turkeys,
Brewer’s black birds, woodpeckers, ring-tailed
doves, quail, and parrots. The birds were
inhumanely housed in small coops, crowded cages, and
makeshift aviaries built along the side of the house
or in the garage.
Many of the pigeons were kept in a small camp
trailer, one chicken lived in a small coop in the
kitchen, and two pigeons lived in the bathroom of
the house.
In addition, the case included dozens of dogs and
cats and many goats, pigs, rabbits, tarantulas,
frogs, lizards, and snakes. The snakes ranged from
gopher and king snakes to rattlesnakes and a 14.5 ft
Burmese python.
The mother and daughter living in the house were
charged with nine counts of animal cruelty. The
mother, who died in February of this year, was
successfully prosecuted in 1986 for animal hoarding
crimes. Following the mother’s death, the daughter
pled guilty to misdemeanor animal cruelty and is now
on three year’s probation and has waived her search
and seizure rights.
Some of the animals from this case are now available
for adoption, including two cats that
had been kept together in a small crate and three
pot-bellied pigs. The SPCA is currently working
with two dogs that came to us in very bad condition
due to their inhumane treatment. All native wild
animals are illegal to possess without permits and
have been released back into their native habitat.
The owner has been allowed to keep a small number of
animals on her property and The SPCA is closely
monitoring the situation to ensure humane
treatment.
The SPCA for Monterey
County is honored to
announce that our
Shelter Supervisor,
Justin Phillips, was a
member of the nine
person team that
evaluated the dogs from
Michael Vick’s Bad Newz
Kennels last September.
As part of the team,
Justin traveled to
Virginia and performed
high-level, pit bull
specific evaluations of
each individual dog.
“We are extremely proud that Justin was
selected to be a part of the evaluation team,” says
Gary Tiscornia, Executive Director with The SPCA.
“We are pleased to have Justin, an expert in his
field, as part of our SPCA team making a profound
difference in the lives of animals both in the Vick
case and for all animals in our community.”
The SPCA for Monterey County is currently
caring for three dogs formerly owned by Michael
Vick. The dogs, all American Pit Bull Terriers, arrived at The SPCA on October
23rd. The dogs include “Ginger,” a
quiet and curious two year old red and white female,
“Lil’ Red,” a well-mannered, laid-back five year old
red and white male, and “Stella,” a cuddly three
year old black and white female who loves to give
kisses.
“Every dog that comes through our doors is
evaluated as an individual,” says Justin Phillips.
“I am happy that these particular dogs were also
given the opportunity to show their own unique
qualities.”
The three dogs are being cared for and
trained by skilled local fosters in Monterey County.
"Ginger" (pictured left) and "Stella"
(pictured right) are currently in foster care with loving SPCA foster families.