Sal and Vivian Medina say that their pups Luna and Harley-Grace provide extra comfort during these tough times. The couple is grateful to receive dog food from C.A.R.E.4Paws.

On Sunday the 26th, the Santa Barbara News-Press featured our food distribution and other COVID-19 efforts on its cover!

Also, our Safe Haven program for pet owners affected by domestic violence was just featured on Edhat and in the Santa Ynez Times, Santa Maria Times and Lompoc Record .

We have just received a $15,000 donation from community members Heather and Tom Sturgess to help us purchase a large order of pet food from  Lemos Feed & Pet Supply . We're beyond grateful for the generosity, kindness and support! Also, thanks to substantial discounts and a big donation of food from Lemos, we were able to stretch the gift even further. "Tom and I are very happy to help families feed their pets during this very difficult time," says Heather.

In addition to the donation and discounts on food we just received, our friends at  Lemos Feed & Pet Supply  donated several tons of pet food to C.A.R.E.4Paws earlier this month to help support families in need in Santa Barbara County during these difficult times. Thank you, Mike Lemos, Paul Benedix, Jason Byard and your team for the wonderful contribution! 

C.A.R.E.4Paws’ mobile veterinary clinic is still open for dogs and cats in need of critical medical treatment and urgent spays/neuters. The clinic also serves as an access point for pet food three to four times per week. The need is tremendous as more and more people are facing financial difficulties. Throughout this process, we're taking all necessary precautions to keep our staff, volunteers and clients safe.

With the lockdown orders and heightened emotional and financial stresses caused by COVID-19, domestic violence is on the rise. So many of our community members and their animals are being harmed in a place where they should feel safest: their own home. C.A.R.E.4Paws and our agency partners are here to help through Safe Haven . We provide temporary foster care or boarding for pets until they can be reunited with their loving owners. Read our latest press release here .

We could not be more grateful to Jeffyne Telson and  ResQcats  for hosting a cat-food drive for C.A.R.E.4Paws. In less than a week, ResQcats has raised more than $4,000 worth of food, which will help feed so many kitties in our community!

When we did not know where to store and pack all of our food in south county, our longtime partners at Dioji K-9 Resort & Athletic Club stepped in. Co-owners Jeannie Wendel and Susan Vasquez offered up one of their facilities as storage and work space and it has made a tremendous impact for us. Dioji and its many generous members have also donated pet food to us. The photo is of Jeannie volunteering during one of our many "food packing parties." Thanks, Dioji!

We're truly grateful to  Best Friends Animal Society for generously sharing pallets of wet and dry Wellness dog food with C.A.R.E.4Paws and other regional partners. We also thank our friends at the Santa Barbara and Santa Maria Valley Humane Society for a recent, large donation of pet food to support our distribution program. Other awesome contributors of food and supplies include Santa Ynez Valley Humane Society/DAWG , ASAP, Montecito Pet Shop , Healthy Pet , PetSmart , La Cumbre Feed , and Foodbank of Santa Barbara County .

Even though C.A.R.E.4Paws is not a rescue group, we sometimes, due to special circumstances, take in pets to ensure they don't up in the shelter. Sweet senior Hunter was first abandoned by his owner and then his new caretaker could not keep him. After a dental in the mobile clinic, he could have been homeless were it not for our volunteer Libby Walling, who took him in and provided lots of love and care. This week, our compassionate board member Dan Keep and his wife, Darcy, met Hunter and wanted to make him a part of their family. Happy tails and trails, Hunter (aka Hugo)!

Fall Productions  is kindly helping us produce two videos about C.A.R.E.4Paws' services, including our mobile clinic, pet food distribution during COVID-19, and Safe Haven, which supports those affected by family violence. Gerry Fall, thanks for such a wonderful, generous gift! We can't wait to share the videos.

C.A.R.E.4Paws is collaborating closely with Santa Barbara County Animal Services' three shelters to prevent animals from being relinquished. We work directly with shelter staff to ensure pet owners have access to the services we offer. Also, a big shout-out to Animal Services along with ASAP, Santa Ynez Valley Humane Society/DAWG and the Santa Barbara and Santa Maria Valley Humane Society for providing foster care for so many adoptable animals. Many of these pets will stay homebound!

Need some pawsitive news? Check out AnimalZone's latest episodes and learn about different animals and animal groups and the great work they do. C.A.R.E.4Paws and our Wags n' Whiskers Festival is featured in several episodes and we love the coverage!

April is National Volunteer Month and we send a huge thanks to all of our incredible volunteers. Without YOU, we cannot do our work, right now or ever. You make a difference through our Companion Pet Assistance program, the mobile clinic, Safe Haven, Paws Up For Pets, Wags n' Whiskers, and beyond.

Another silver lining during this crisis, we have recruited many new volunteers and it's exciting to keep building our team!

Thank you, everyone. Together, we make a pawsitive impact and inspire happy tails.

PS: A special thanks to our food package and delivery teams. Glenn with Moving Miss Daisy , we appreciate all of the deliveries made in your beautiful van.