129 stray pets picked up by Animal Services since start of July

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — While most people had fun watching fireworks over the Fourth of July weekend, plenty of pets had a tough time.

Santa Barbara County Animal Services director Angela Yates says that her shelter always experiences a massive increase in runaway animals around this time of year. 

“Animals will break out of fences, screens because they’re trying to get away from the noise,” she said. “That often results in them becoming lost and separated from their owners.”

This year was no different, as they’ve already picked up 129 stray animals —  a mix of dogs and cats — since the start of July.

Of those, 39 additional animals have arrived since Tuesday.

Of the 129 that received, 60 are still waiting at Animal Services for their owners.

“Part of the problem is that people don’t know where to look for their animal if it goes missing,” SBCAS director Angela Yates said. “We really want people to understand that our shelters are the place to come looking if you’ve lost your animal.”

It typically costs $100 to $300 to reclaim a pet, but the shelters have waived the fee through Saturday. 

Pets not yet microchipped will be sent home with a free microchip as well.

“It’s simply a little tiny chip that registers all of the owner's information,” Yates explained. “It’ll allow us to scan the animal, so we know exactly who it belongs to and can get it back home without it ever having to come into our shelter.”

If people still can’t find a stray pet’s owner, then taking the pet to Animal Services is the next step.

Pets registered in the county receive an ID tag with a QR code people can scan to find the owner’s information.

Santa Barbara County Animal Services displays strays on a lost-and-found page, updated every 30 minutes. Animals have a five-day hold before they are posted for adoption.

To look through the strays at Animal Services, click here.