The County of Santa Clara and the City of Gilroy have partnered together to provide animal sheltering for dogs, cats and other domestic pets for Gilroy residents.
The County of Santa Clara’s Animal Shelter traditionally serves unincorporated areas of the county. However, this new agreement ensures all Gilroy residents can deliver lost domestic animals to the San Martin-based facility.
The county and the City of Morgan Hill also are currently in discussion about the possibility of partnering to offer similar services to Morgan Hill residents.
Historically, the Gilroy Police Department has been responsible for sheltering dogs within Gilroy, but did not accept cats or other domesticated pets. With the new shelter agreement, Gilroy residents can deliver stray animals to the County of Santa Clara Animal Shelter and be assured the animals will receive high-quality care and veterinary services.
“I am thrilled that Gilroy residents can now fully benefit from county animal shelter services,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman. “This mutually-beneficial partnership will also free up Gilroy Police Officers to focus on more pressing public safety concerns.”
The County of Santa Clara Animal Shelter takes in approximately 3,000 dogs and cats annually in addition to small animals and barnyard pets.
The shelter is the only one in the county with the capability to house horses and large livestock. The shelter accepts stray animals of all conditions and is proud to have a “no-kill” live release rate of over 90 percent since 2013.
Caring staff and volunteers provide veterinary services, enrichment and affection to shelter pets while they wait to find families. The shelter is a member of the WeCARE coalition that promotes life-saving and animal welfare in the community.
The County of Santa Clara Animal Services Department is located at 12370 Murphy Ave. in San Martin, and can be reached at (408) 686-3900 or sc***************@ce*.org.
