SLO County shelter needs homes for big dogs. Here’s how to adopt or help

The kennels are full at Woods Humane Society, where more than 60 dogs are living at the shelter.

Woods Humane Society, which has locations in San Luis Obispo and Atascadero, is asking community members to consider adopting a medium or large dog.

“We haven’t really seen our shelter be this full pretty much since before the pandemic started,” said communications director Jamie Relth.

Typically, animal shelters in communities with a lot of strays and owner surrenders, such as the Central Valley, will send their dogs to Woods Humane Society to be adopted out, Relth said.

Once a dog is transferred to Woods, the humane society will microchip, spay or neuter and provide any other necessary medical treatment before the pup is adopted out, she said.

About 24 dogs are available for adoption at Woods Humane Society as of Tuesday morning, but more are expected to become eligible as they complete their health exams, Relth said. Although not all the dogs are available for adoption simultaneously, the kennels, which house 68 dogs, are all full.

When the San Luis Obispo and Atascadero locations are full, there is no space for the humane society to accept transfer pets from partner shelters or San Luis Obispo County Animal Services, she said.

“We’ve been seeing this trend for several months now where we’re really hearing from our partner shelters that they are just so maxed out with dogs and they really need our help to make more room in our shelter to help those dogs get adopted and find homes,” Relth said.

The majority of the dogs transferred to Woods are bigger animals, often categorized as husky or shepherd mixes based on appearance alone, according to a news release from the Woods Humane Society.

In an effort to encourage more local dog adoptions, the humane society sponsored a five-day “$50 for 50 pounds” event that ended on Monday, Relth said.

There were 40 available for adoption at the time of the event and most of them were large dogs. During the first four days of the promotion, 19 dogs found homes, Relth said.

The 19 kennels freed up by adoptions from the promotion will be filled again by Wednesday as the intake team works with partner shelters and the county to take in more dogs, said Relth in an email.

Meet some of the longer-term residents at Woods

The average length of stay for dogs and cats at Woods is short — about 10 to 12 days, Relth said.

She said there are two larger, longer-term residents that the humane society is particularly eager to find a home for: Emerald and Shnookums.

“We have so many dogs that make great family pets and companions, and they deserve to have a home,” she said.

Emerald is a young mutt thought to be a Staffordshire Bull Terrier that has been living at the San Luis Obispo shelter. Grey with a white patch on her belly, Emerald loves to cuddle on the couch with her humans and would do best as a single dog in a home with no small children, according to the Woods website.

Thought to be a cross between a Catahoula Leopard dog and Pit Bull Terrier, Schnookums is a hefty dog weighing in at nearly 65 pounds. She has a brindle coloring and one brown and one blue eye, but most importantly, she is a sweet, loyal guardian who is protective of her loved ones, according to the Woods website. Similar to Emerald, Schnookums would do best as a single dog household without small children.

Emi is a black Labrador Retriever mix who came to Woods Humane Society as a transfer from a Central Valley shelter, according to the Woods website. The roughly one-and-a-half-year-old dog had a leg injury that required extensive hip and leg surgery. Emi does not get along with cats.

Emi has been through a lot already and is ready to find her family, Relth said.

The qualifications such as no small children and no other dogs can sometimes make it challenging to find homes for some of the large dogs, but San Luis Obispo County residents are quick to adopt rescues with behavioral quirks or special needs, Reft said.

“Typically we see animals find their homes around here,” she said. “We’re really fortunate that families come to us to look for their pets.”

Can’t adopt a dog but want to help?

Woods Humane Society is always looking for shelter volunteers and foster homes for its animals, Relth said.

Another option is to participate in the winter stock-up donation drive. On Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Woods Humane Society and the San Luis Obispo County Food Bank will be collecting donations at the Atascadero shelter, where Santa Claus will be on hand to take photos and hand out goodie bags.

Some of the pet supplies the shelter needs are Greenie Pill Pockets, Kirkland brand adult dog food, dog toys and more, according to the flyer, which has images of requested items.

Drop off new, unexpired pet supplies at the Woods North County location at 2300 Ramona Road in Atascadero on Saturday.

Woods Humane Society also has a donation wishlist on its website at woodshumanesociety.org/donate/our-wish-list/ and an Amazon wishlist.