Free cat neuters!
It is time for No Father’s Day again. This event is only for the boys and an appointment is necessary.
You can make your appointment by clicking here!
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Animals available for adoption.
We work very hard to make sure that our animals available for adoption are listed where potential adopters can find them. We try to keep them listed on Facebook and the general social media places. You can also go to our website to see them.
I have been with the SPCA of Solano County for about 12 years now. We have seen some horrible things come through here. Fortunately not nearly as many as a municipal shelter but bad enough. One of the worst was dealing with 110 puppies from a puppy mill/broker in Dixon in 2010. For me this one was worse. Much worse.
I was approached by a person that we know from the shelter to help a breeder just past Fresno. Her property was being foreclosed on and there was no way the family could take care of the dogs. I was told there was 30 – 40 dogs and we had a couple weeks to work out the details to pick them up. I was also told that she was elderly and the dogs were in rough shape. That was an understatement.
The 30 – 40 dogs and two weeks to pick them up changed to 60 or so dogs and a few days, to right at a hundred and we have to get them by tomorrow because the sheriff is coming to lock us out! The reason we were involved at all was because the municipal shelters in the area are over full and with the shape they were in would probably not make is very long. There were too many of them.
So what do you do when there are little dogs in need? Well you get a couple people and vehicles and drive down there of course. That is exactly what we did. Me, a co-worker, and one of our board members left Vacaville at 3:30 pm and headed down to Fresno. We arrived after dark at 8:30 pm. I am actually glad it was dark. We weren’t able to actually see the conditions of the dogs and property.
She had been a breeder for years. She didn’t broker dogs, she was one of the old time breeders that cared about things like disposition, health, etc. These were nice dogs. The problem was time, age and money. The economy hit everyone hard and some people can’t let go. We actually had some people contact us after the rescue and said that they had gotten dogs from her years ago and that she had a great program and loved the dogs.
We got down there at 8:30 pm. I was told there were lights and that they had enough crates for all the dogs. I believed them. Why I decided to believe them I have no idea. Walking through the kennels was overwhelming. It had been raining the week or so before and while the dogs were mostly on concrete runs it was a mess. Mud all over the place and the smell was bad. I was glad it was dark.
The dogs varying numbers of Yorkies, shih-tzus, poodles and a few English Bulldogs thrown in were in desperate need of a grooming and a bath. Some were possibly pregnant, some were old, this pen was young and on and on. It turns out there were about 110 of them
As far as crates go there were only a few that were actually in good repair and put together. I should have known. Fortunately we did take a few crates and we had one animal control vehicle. We had one of her helpers, family member, we weren’t sure, helping by putting crates together. We loaded as many as we could carry. It was heartbreaking to watch the dogs rolling around in the clean towels that we brought to put in the crates. They were thoroughly enjoying themselves in the clean bedding.
The sheriff was supposed to be there in the morning to put a lock on the property so we were basically racing the clock. Putting a dog in the last available spot the decision was made that we had to come back for the rest ( about 50 dogs). We couldn’t leave them there. That meant a drive back, get dogs settled and come right back. Here we go. Dedicated yes. Smart, the jury is still out.
We have an amazing staff. They are a bunch of great guys that love animals. You would have to love what you do to work at a shelter. They had set up accommodations for our little muddy guests while we were gone. They had no idea how many were left still waiting.
We get back to the shelter a little after midnight. We had a couple of volunteers meet us there to help get them settled. They needed to be vaccinated before we put them in the kennels with the other dogs. They weren’t sick but we wanted to make sure they didn’t catch anything from the dogs we already had. The smell from the dogs was indescribable.
The whole process took a couple of hours. Finished up with the dogs at 3:00 am got some food and headed back to Fresno by 4:00 am. We need to be sure we were there before the lock was placed on the property by the sheriff. We took one of the volunteers with us for the second run. With no sleep and a lot of miserable fog in the dark it was an intense drive back.
We got back down there about 8:30 am. This time it was light out and we could actually see. I wished it was still dark.
It looked like at one time it was a pretty cool place. Palm trees and a cement fountain pond feature type thing. That was a long time ago.
We could see the mud and the dogs. There was stuff all over the place. They had lived on the property for 40 years. The dogs were kept in several areas, buildings, kennels, the house, everywhere. For the most part all the dogs were happy to see people and friendly. In all the chaos and stress none of them tried to bite or even offered to growl at us. They just went along with everything that was going on. They were fairly well fed and every kennel had an automatic waterer. There was just too many.
I felt like I had walked into a tv commercial. You know the ones I am talking about. Poor dogs with Sarah McLaughlin singing in the background. That is what it felt like. I am pretty good about being able to maintain my composure. I was determined that we were not leaving any of the dogs.
I told the lady that was helping to get the dogs loaded that we hadn’t slept and not in the mood for foolishness. We wanted to get them loaded and get them out of there. She took me seriously because loading them was far more efficient than the previous night. They were bringing them out three at a time with at least a little sense of urgency. I was trying to keep my mind on getting the dogs loaded and getting on the road.
Lucy Liu at the SPCA of Solano County waiting for her new family to finish up her adoption paperwork and take her home!
There always has to be one. The one that manages to get through emotionally. We call her Lucy Liu.
We had loaded most of the dogs with the bulldogs being loaded last. We had all the dogs out of the kennels except for the last one. Lucy Liu is a bulldog/shepherd cross and has one of the most expressive eyes I have ever seen in a dog. She was standing with her front feet on the top of the kennel and giving me the look that said PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME HERE!
I lost it. Completely and totally. 24 hours of no sleep, dogs in horrible living conditions and it takes one look from the last dog to reduce me to a useless puddle of tears. I just wanted to get her and go. NOW!! I had hit the breaking point and it was time to leave.
Dogs were all loaded and we were on the road. Now the real work begins. 110 dogs to sort out, vaccinate, spay, neuter, vaccinate, clean up after, etc.
These little cuties are available for adoption to approved homes. We were told they were Australian Shepherd mixes. Maybe? We didn’t see the parents so we cannot be sure. Be sure that if you are thinking about adopting one of these little guys you are prepared to bring a very BUSY dog into your family. They are going to need a lot of training, exercise and CONSTANT attention for a while. They are very smart puppies and find all sorts of ways to get into mischief.
We also CANNOT say for sure how big we think they are going to get. It is hard to estimate when they are this little and we haven’t seen the parents. We are estimating them to be between 45 – 60 lbs when they are full grown but that is an ESTIMATE.
Download and bring the completed application with you to the SPCA to meet with the puppies. Puppy Adoption Application.
They will be available starting Thursday January 15th at 12:30 pm.
They don’t live nearly long enough. Some people have a very difficult time dealing with the loss of a pet.
The group meets the first Tuesday of every month from 7 -8:30 pm at the SPCA of Solano County in the Education Classroom, located at 2200 Peabody Rd, Vacaville, CA 95687. This is a free service but donations are always accepted. Bring a photo of your beloved pet to share.
The group will be facilitated by a mental health professional, Bonnie Mader, a pioneer in the field of pet loss and human emotion and the co-founder of the Pet Loss Support Hotline. The first 45 minutes Dr. Kelly Palm, the other co-founder of the Pet Loss Support Hotline will be there to answer medical questions.
Cats want snacks too! “Kahlua” & “Cream” adopted summer of 2014 and are now obviously very #happyathome
We have had two of those this week. The first one is a truck pulled up at our gate before we opened and pushed a dog out. The SPCA is on a very busy street so we were glad that the dog chose to run in the direction of the shelter and not into the street. It took staff two hours to catch him.
The second and probably the worst one was this dog in the crate. We got a phone call that someone had left a dog in a crate out with the garbage cans hoping the garbage men wouldn’t notice and pick him up too?
A nice couple found him and called us then brought him in. It was obviously not their dog. He was completely freaked out and I can’t say that I blame him.
We hear that a lot also. Yes we are better able to care for them BUT we are also on a VERY busy street. It is really hard on our staff when they find them in the morning when they have been hit by a car trying to follow the car home. It happens, more often than you might think. The SPCA like most shelters operate above capacity. We ALWAYS have more animals in residence here than we should. If we get too many then it is possible that the quality of care and attention the animals get can be compromised. If you are told we are full and we can’t take your animal in that is most likely the reason.
The most recent case of left at the gate is “Dobbie”. Staff members found Dobbie a 3 lb Chihuahua left at our front gate about 9:00 pm. They had gone back out to check on something and found him there. It was freezing and windy and he was terrified. On a normal evening he would have sat out there until 7 am or so. It could have been really bad because he was in a very small crate and he is tiny so the crate blowing into Peabody Rd and traffic was a real danger. As a result we have had to work very hard to gain Dobbie’s trust as you can imagine.
He is looking for his forever home. He is a cute little guy with a big personality. He likes to be around other dogs big and small. He also loves car rides, sitting in your lap and sleeping in the bed under the covers
Currently Dobbie is being fostered by a volunteer and a couple members of the staff. He was not doing well in the kennels so his growing fan club decided it would be best for him to be in a home environment to give him the best chance at finding his forever home. So now he sleeps with his fosters in the bed, under the covers and during the day when the SPCA is open for adoptions he gets to hang out in a crate in the office. The noise of the kennels sends him right under his bed and nobody will be able to see his cuteness to adopt him.
If you are looking for a tiny little companion that thinks he is a big dog he might be the one for you. Come on by the SPCA on Peabody Rd in Vacaville during regular adoption hours to talk to the staff about him and meet the little guy.
The SPCA is open Wed 2- 6 Thursday & Friday 12:30 – 6:00 and Saturday & Sunday 12:00 – 5:00