300 plus pets traveled to Arizona for a new chance at finding homes

More than 300 small pets from San Diego Humane Society traveled to Arizona for a new chance at finding loving families.

The mass transport - the largest in San Diego Humane Society's history - alleviated some of the pressure on the shelters, which set a new record of 2,584 animals in care July 7, 2023. The shelters are still at 175% capacity for dogs and 176% capacity for cats.

At 5:30 a.m. Aug. 7, staff members started carefully loading rabbits, Guinea pigs, hamsters and rats into transport crates and then into an air conditioned truck. Staff then departed the San Diego Campus at 8:30 a.m. and headed towards The Humane Society of Southern Arizona (HSSAZ) in Tucson. HSSAZ has a low inventory of small pets available for adoption and will also work with their local rescue partners to place these deserving pets into homes.

San Diego Humane Society staff is planning to receive a nine-year-old dog named Bulma from HSSAZ. Bulma came in as a stray and has been with them since February. San Diego Humane Society hopes Bulma will benefit from the specialized care at their Behavior Center, as staff work to set her up for success while she waits for a new family.

Because San Diego Humane Society has reached such a critical level with pets in care, they are asking the community to help by volunteering or fostering animals. To sign up, visit sdhumane.org/volunteer. They also continue to encourage those who are facing the decision to give up their pets to use their resources at sdhumane.org/rehome and avoid bringing pets to the shelter.

San Diego Humane Society is so very grateful to HSSAZ for taking in 318 rabbits, Guinea pigs, rats and hamsters and giving them a second chance in Arizona.

Submitted by San Diego Humane Society.