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COURTESY PHOTOGRAPHY What RCHS has been doing for decades is fostering meaningful connections between animals and humans in a number of ways, including, of course, offering animal adoptions. However, their unique mission is to help alleviate the overcrowding that's occurring in county shelters, which are operating at 150 percent capacity or greater. Sanzo refers to RCHS as the "relief valve" for county shelters, assessing animals and bringing those determined to be highly adoptable to RCHS with hope that they'll move on quickly into a loving home. "And that's been our success," says Sanzo. But it's far from the shelter's only success. RCHS also works hard to ensure those homes are truly "forever homes," including a foster-to-adopt program that allows people to try the animal in their home to be sure it's the right fit, sending a representative from the shelter to the home to help both sides settle in. A behavior and training team can help new owners address behaviors that no one may have anticipated. e center also works in several other ways to keep animals and their owners together, including offering financial assistance for seniors whose pets are facing an extraordinary veterinary expense, a community pet food bank, and providing pet boarding for seniors and veterans facing extended hospital stays, many of whom may not commit to care until they know their pet has a place to stay. "Because in the military," says Sanzo, "you don't leave your buddies behind." A new medical facility, created in the recent renovation, will offer low- or no-cost veterinary care for local rescue groups and other groups within the community. Perhaps the shelter's most powerful way of supporting the deep emotional bond between humans and their pets is through its Animal Safehouse Program, offering temporary pet boarding for people in crisis. "When we did a study back in the '90s, more than 50 percent of the people in abusive relationships said they wouldn't leave an abusive relationship because there was no place for them to secure shelter which would also care for their pets. And, they were fearful that in leaving an abusive household, the abuser would turn anger towards the pet, so they wouldn't leave it behind," explains Sanzo. Created in 1997, the program supports people as they find their own safety and then reunites them with their pets when they are able. Though its beginnings were humble, the shelter's impact for people and animals in the community continues to be enormous. Says public relations director John Van Zante, "Even before I came to work here, I thought of RCHS as 'The Little Shelter That Could.' Now I believe that we have become 'The Little Shelter That Does!'" rchumanesociety.org << Focus philanthropy ranchandcoast.com 52 DECEMBER 2024 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE A mural at the center stars Tipperary, the shelter's longest resident, who's still seeking her forever family Rancho Coastal Humane Society's Happy Tales program engages local students to improve their reading skills while offering comfort to shelter dogs