San Francisco Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals

Shelter & adoptions:shelter medicine program: all animals entering the shelter receive comprehensive medical care to ensure they are ready for their new homes. Before adoption, all animals receive a medical and behavioral screening and quality care. They are also vaccinated, spayed or neutered, and microchipped.in addition to the sf spca's shelter population, many unaltered animals accepted by the san francisco department of animal care and control shelters receive spay or neuter services in our state-of-the-art shelter medicine surgical suite.shelter behavior training and specialization: dogs receive basic training, plenty of exercise, socialization, and dog play. Cats enjoy socialization and interactive play. The sf spca has specialized programs for dogs and cats to help these animals and ensure they are ready to find their forever homes.adoption center: the sf spca operates a large adoption center in the mission district. The adoption center finds homes for 4,300 - 5,000 animals each year. Trained staff and volunteers work with potential adopters to ensure a good adoption match and outcome.the mission adoption center was the first adoption center ever designed without cages, a design which all modern shelters built since have followed. Animals are housed in glass-fronted "condos," creating an environment that is both conducive to adoption and, for the animals, minimizes the stress of living in a shelter environment.sido program: enrollees in the sido program can rest easy knowing that if their pet outlives them, their companion will be taken into the sf spca adoption program, cared for, and rehomed.

Public education and advocacy: the sf spca advocates for more humane treatment of animals on a state level. The shelter policy and legal services (spals) program champions policy change and seeks to transform sheltering in california. Shelter pals also assists other animal shelters and rescues in california with free legal assistance to improve their lifesaving capabilities. Shelter pals is the country's only pro bono legal-aid program dedicated exclusively to the needs of animal shelters, providing free legal advice and coordinating strategic litigation.

Volunteer services: the sf spca would not be able to accomplish all it does without the more than 1,300 generous volunteers who support its many programs. These services are the fuel for many of the sf spca programs including the shelter, shelter medicine, community medicine, our central valley clinics, and the foster and the animal assisted therapy programs.foster: underage, sick, or injured cats and dogs are nurtured in volunteer foster homes until they are old enough or well enough to be adopted. Animal assisted therapy: the sf spca animal assisted therapy program (aat) brings the healing presence of animals to people in a variety of facilities across the city. Each year, the sf spca volunteers and staff take animals to visit nearly 30,000 community members in over san francisco facilities: hospital wards, nursing homes, psychiatric clinics, senior centers, special schools, hospices, and san francisco international airport. The loving, non-judgmental presence of animals is often successful in breaking down barriers that isolate people with physical and emotional difficulties. The dogs, cats, rabbits, and other small animals chosen for the aat must meet medical and socialization criteria.