Inside Santa Barbara County
Animal Services
An Interview with Sarah Aguilar,
Director of S.B.’s
Largest Animal Agency
By Lee Heller | June 6, 2024
We love animals in Santa Barbara County, as evidenced by the array of rescue groups at work here. Sarah Aguilar, director of Santa Barbara County Animal Services, explains the role of her organization and the current state of animal welfare in our region.
What does Animal Services do, and how is it different from other rescues in the area? Santa Barbara County Animal Services’ mission encompasses everything from enforcing animal-related laws to sheltering homeless animals, adoption services, dog licensing, and education about responsible pet care.
What sets us apart is that we are a county agency. Our 10 animal control officers enforce animal laws, and our three shelter locations (in Santa Maria, Lompoc, and Goleta) provide services for all county residents. We don’t just care for dogs, cats, and rabbits, either — we also take some farm and exotic animals, and assist with wildlife and livestock.
Animal Services works with various community stakeholders to maximize our impact and resources. For example, we partner with CARE4Paws to educate community members about responsible pet ownership and provide low-cost vaccinations. We host pet food pantries to help families struggling with the cost of pet ownership. Always, we strive to promote responsible pet ownership, prevent animal cruelty, and facilitate positive outcomes.
The thing most community members don’t realize is that we are the county’s largest animal agency. In 2023 alone, we cared for almost 6,000 pets; distributed nearly 20,000 pounds of pet food; held clinics serving hundreds of pets with free microchips and vaccines; placed more than 2,000 animals in foster homes; funded $30,000 worth of spays and neuters; and did this all on a meager $6 million budget.
What are the most pressing issues currently facing Animal Services, and how are you handling the challenge? The financial and housing crisis facing families nationwide is our top challenge here, too. Pets are often the first thing that families give up when they need to cut costs, which means more animals coming into our shelters. Thanks to innovative county leadership, we have been able to avoid the dark reality facing other shelters, which too often have to euthanize for lack of space.
However, our success relies heavily on our community, on fosters to house adoptable pets, and on volunteers to help us meet the basic needs of animals in our care. And because we don’t have staff for fundraising or marketing, we count on partner nonprofits like the S.B. County Animal Care Foundation, CAPA, and K-9 PALS to raise funds for veterinary costs and other needs.
What would you like people to know about the difference between a “pound” and modern-day Animal Services? In the 19th century, “pound” systems, where stray animals were impounded and regularly euthanized, developed as growing cities tried to manage burgeoning stray populations. Fortunately, the role of pounds evolved, so that by the mid-20th century, the modern animal shelter model took over, with shelters focusing on rehabilitation, adoption, and education, finding suitable homes for stray and abandoned animals while promoting responsible pet ownership and population control.
Today, Animal Services offers the full range of services to help people and animals, with the goal of ensuring the well-being of animals and promoting harmonious coexistence between humans and animals.
We hope to see some of your readers at our shelters, volunteering, or adopting soon!
See countyofsb.org/415/Animal-Services.
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