Resident Feature

Tri Valley Animal Rescue

Those of you that know me know that I volunteer for Tri Valley Animal Rescue. There
are a lot of fantastic rescue organizations saving animals every day. One of the reasons I chose to volunteer and become a Board Member with Tri-Valley Animal Rescue is for the work it does at the East County Animal Shelter. The county shelter is run by the Sheriff’s department and it is generally the first stop for strays, animals rescued from terrible living conditions and animals that are surrendered. Usually the in-demand dogs – meaning cute, young, popular breeds – get adopted very quickly or are taken by other rescue organizations.

What is left in the shelter are the ones more difficult to get adopted and these are the dogs and puppies TVAR takes into their Foster Dog Program. For the Kitten Foster Program TVAR pulls kittens that are too young to be adopted or even many that are too young to even eat on their own and many that have had no socialization whatsoever. Helping these animals is a significant part of our work. Additionally, our Dog and Cat Shelter Volunteers are in the shelter every day walking, socializing, and giving love, affection and even training to the shelter animals until they are adopted. All of these interactions literally save lives. 

It’s been a challenging year for rescue organizations. Adopting an animal became very popular with the Shelter in Place and we’ve been very busy interviewing potential adopters. This is good news, but there’s a lot more work to be done. Kitten season is upon us! We expect with the shelter’s reopening there will be many more
dogs and cats that need our help. In 2019, TVAR helped save, as they have each year for over a decade, over 1,000 animals. We are proud of all the work we do to save these deserving animals.

By Janine Collins, Blackhawk resident since 1999