Lisa Stanziano – Friends of SFACC

March 2024

Senior duo Rocko & Miko found themselves at our shelter when their person died. They were adopted from us more than 10 years ago. Happily, friends of their owner flew to SF from Colorado to adopt them. Thank you!

Adoption update! Petra (now Coco) is living a happily spoiled life with her dad, Steve Adami. She was in her stroller about to enter Costco. She is 3 months old and getting bigger, and was so calm amidst the hustle and bustle around her. It was obvious he dotes on her so much and said she’s almost done with her puppy classes! What a proud girl dad! Her IG handle is @cocoinsf

Bernie the young conure was adopted last month after his previous owner died. We got an update from his adopter: “Bernie is such a beautiful bird and is doing great in training and very much loved.”

Pretty Miss Tidbit was adopted this weekend: “I adopted Tidbit and she settled into our home in no time! Just wanted to give y’all an update and let you know she’s doing great.”

Sweet Eloise and her fabulous ear floofs were adopted by one of our cat volunteers today! It was love at first sight!

Big boy Tuna was adopted today after waiting patiently for almost 4 months! He took his beloved unicorn stuffy home with him and had a little celebration in the parking lot. Happy tails!

Adoption update! “Enzo was found all alone, in a Hunters Point sheet metal yard parking lot in February 2021, weighing 7 ounces and the great person who brought his tiny self to SFACC is our unknown hero. He checked out to be healthy and was put in Foster care via SFACC, and the rest is awesome history! Enzo was a pandemic parking lot adoption after his neutering (oh my goodness I am sure Enzo thought he was being Tutored not Neutered) I facetimed his Foster Mom on a Friday and went to ACC parking lot the next Tuesday. When Enzo adopted me, he weighed just 2 lbs and today he’s 14 pounds of Tuxedo love. He adores his Big sis Grappa. We love Enzo so much and he’s a therapy kitty cuz he keeps 10 year old Grappa young and me too.

Thank you so much SF ACC for fostering Enzo a nd giving him a chance to live. We love life with Enzo Furrari! He’s meowvalous!”

Adoption update! Mittens was adopted a couple of weeks ago and we just got an update: “Hey SFACC Fam, it’s Mittens, but my dad now calls me Hank. He grew up learning to read through the stories of a nefarious farm dog called, “Hank the Cowdog” and gave me the name in his honor. I’m doing great! Dad takes me out every morning for a five-mile run to the top of twin peaks. It’s my favorite part of the day besides going to the dog park where I am an absolute star!!! I shine bright when playing tug o’ war with new dog friends, get compliments from the onlooking humans, and play nicely with everyone while getting my zoomies out.

I am so polite when on leash walking exactly by my dad’s side, if not two steps behind, although I must admit when I know we are going to the dog park I put all my strength into getting dad to move faster. Because I’m always staying physically active my indoor personality is really reserved and I spend most of my time in my dog bed by the office window or on the couch as a reward for being a good boy. We have our first day of puppy school coming up and my vet introduction appt too! I’ll let you know how those go. Nevertheless, Dad gave me my first bath at the local pet shop and he said I did great! Nevermind my shy little whine and side eye when he used the blow dryer instead of towels.

Thanks for taking care of me, giving Walker the chance to love me, and stay tuned for more updates! With gratitude and love,Hank a.k.a. Mittens a. a. k. a. Hanky Panky“

Doodle puppy Marvin was adopted earlier this week. He has a new name, Sunny, and a new brother to play with.

Adoption update! Puppy cutie Chuckie (R) went home this weekend. His new name is Mack and he loves hanging out with his new big brother Cashew!

Purty Peach has been adopted! Her new name is Juniper.

This family adopted 3 cats: teen house panther siblings Wednesday & Puggsley, as well as handsome gent Olaf. One cat for each person!

Sweet beauty Luna. It took her a few weeks to find her confidence in the shelter thanks to the help of our volunteers. Now she’s in her furrever home!

Pretty pup Larkspur was adopted today! She was found on St Patrick’s Day and was adopted on Easter. Her new name is Shannon.

SFACC dog volunteer Rebecca adopted a cat, who’s now named Hashbrown! He was a stray with a big abscess on his back, but now he’s all healed up and has gone home to live with his dog sister.

Benedict

Celestina

Delia

Maddie

Marshmallow and Fluffy

Porcetta

Tommy

March 8, 2024 – Northern Saw-whet owl

Officer Mullen reports…

Earlier this week I was working at dispatch when I received a call from a concerned homeowner about a small baby owl in her back yard that was not flying away when approached and had been there for a few hours. She was afraid that the owl might be sick or injured. Since we needed her to be home to access the backyard, I asked if she would be home for a bit while I found an officer to go out there and she told me that she would stay home as long as it takes to ensure that the owl was cared for. I sent Lieutenant Ryer out to get a closer look at the owl’s condition. Lt. Ryer arrived on scene and met with the homeowner who brought her into the backyard to see the small owl that taken up residency on her back steps. Due to the small size, it was first thought to be a baby owl, but upon closer inspection the owl appeared to be an adult Northern Saw-whet owl (and anecdotally one of the cutest owls ever).

Wearing her protective bite gloves, Lt. Ryer used a large towel and slowly approached the owl. Using the towel, she was able to gently grab the owl and place the bird in a transport box. Once in the box, she was able to get a better look at the bird, who appeared to be hopping around well and had no apparent injury. These birds are mainly nocturnal and so it was a bit strange to find one during the day just sitting on the ground. After communicating via text with our partners at Peninsula Humane Society Wildlife Care Center in Burlingame, they thought it was best to bring the bird to them for a closer evaluation.

Northern Saw-whet owls are mainly active at late dusk and through the night, they have excellent low-light vision and can easily find prey in the darkness of night. Its defense upon discovery is to sit still and not fly, this behavior leads people to perceive these owls as “tame” and was possibly the behavior that we witnessed in the homeowner’s backyard.

During breeding season males give a rhythmic tooting song that can go on for hours without a break. The bird was named for this song which resembles the sound of a saw being sharpened on a whetting stone. The female Northern Saw-whet owl does all of the incubation and brooding, while the male hunts and brings back food for all to eat. When the youngest nestling is about 18 days old, the female leaves the nest to roost elsewhere. The male continues to bring food for another month and the older nestlings will help to feed their younger siblings. They are one of the smallest owls in North America and can be similar in size to an American Robin.

The owl was brought back to SFACC where we put a call out to our dedicated transport volunteers to help bring this adorable owl to get wonderful care he deserved with our amazing rescue partners at PHS Wildlife Center. We are always in need of more people who are available to help us transport creatures of all shapes and sizes to our rescue partners. Please reach out to us on our website and see how you can become a transport volunteer. If you see wildlife in need of our care, please call SFACC dispatch at 415-554-9400 to speak with one of our officers.

Amazon

Thank you Amazon for spending your day with us! This team decorated home-made nutritious Valentine cookies for the dogs, among helping with other tasks.

We believe that caring for an animal is vital for many humans and can be especially so for folks experiencing homelessness and unstable housing. Corporate volunteers are the backbone of our new community program, prepping necessary supplies for our pet pantry families. We can accommodate up to 20 corporate volunteers each month, we will ask you to confirm your group size on the submission form.

February 2024

Timothy McFreckle-Face, eager to leave the building, was adopted after three months at the shelter.

Wee puppy Bryony has a new family and a new name, Juneau. He will have a big brother to show him the way!

Sweet puppy Spritz (left) went home to learn the ropes with his new older sister.

Sweet little Tetra has a new home and a new name, Coco. Happy tails!

Handsome charmer Tiger has been adopted by an employee of San Francisco Recreation and Park Department!

Phoebe and her new family.

Enzo update (formerly known as Chowder)! “Hello! A month ago my partner and I adopted a puppy from your shelter. I just wanted to send some photos and a little update. He is a playful, friendly, and sweet puppy! LOVES THE SUN. Two weeks ago we started training and he already knows many tricks… he knows how to sit, stay, down, touch, look (he look at you), come, leave it. He’s a very smart boy!! He has a very particular way to sleep. we all love him”