9/29/2023 – Officer Mullen reports…
Early one morning Officer Ryer and I were called out to a residence for an opossum with his leg caught in a snap trap that was intended for a smaller animal. When we arrived on scene the concerned homeowner met us in front and took us to the backyard where we saw the juvenile opossum huddled against the back fence. As I approached the animal remained still, I used a towel to calm him, so I could better see what was going on. Thankfully the trap was easily released and I was able to quickly free the foot. There was a small break in skin where the trap was removed and the foot was quite swollen. When placing the animal into the wire transfer cage, I noticed that the opossum was appropriately using his foot while walking and climbing in the cage. This was a great sign. We spoke with the homeowner about better ways of keeping unwanted rodents away from their house. Keeping areas free of food and other temptations to wildlife and using scents like ammonia to deter wildlife are much better options than using snap traps. Snap traps should never be used in outdoor areas as they can often injure many different types of both domestic pets and urban wildlife that they are not designed for. The homeowner understood and vowed to never use these types of traps in that space again.
Upon getting back to the shelter, I brought the juvenile opossum to see our staff veterinarian for an evaluation on the leg that was caught in the trap. By this time, the swelling had reduced dramatically and the youngster appeared to be fully able to use and bear weight on his leg. Since opossums are ground dwellers that burrow in all types of soil, they are susceptible to infections that can quickly become serious. The wound on opossum’s leg was confirmed to be open and oozing. Since he was a juvenile he was able to be transferred to Lila at Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue to do some healing in a controlled environment where his wound can be cleaned and monitored. Once feeling better he will be released back into the same neighborhood that he came from. Opossums are nomadic animals and do not tend to sleep in one place for more than three nights. I know that he will enjoy his few nights at Yggdrasil so he can heal fast and move on to enjoy the many different nights to come in the wild city of San Francisco.
If you would like to learn more about humane ways to abate and protect your home from the prolific urban environment, please contact organizations like Wildcare https://discoverwildcare.org and other websites that find kinder ways to share our environment with the wildlife around us. Never hesitate to call our dispatch at 415-554-9400 if you ever see any type of animal stuck in a trap.
September 2023
Batito and his spectacular ears went home with his new family!
Tabby teen cutie Luna was adopted before we even had a chance to post her on Facebook.
Cornelius has gone home! His adopter and their roommate came in with two friends to adopt him.
Winter, an Ornate Box Turtle, has a new home.
Senior beauty Zooey
Lovely bun Svetlana
Bonded pair of guinea pigs Hash Brown and Horchata have gone home together.
Sweetie pie senior Bonobo has gone home. Senior cats rule!
Ginger gem kitten Austin is going home to two SFACC alums adopted in 2020.
Scrumptious puppy boy Willy Nilly and his flawless smokey eyes went home.
Darling puppy Barbie’s adopters were waiting outside before the shelter opened.
Sweet lady lap cat Nymeria
Lap cat extraordinaire Angelo is going home to both a human sibling and a cat sibling, who was adopted from SFACC as part of a kitten pair in 2010 and has been lonely since his sibling passed. Love bug Angelo has lots of love to share!
A week after Posey was adopted (in Sept.), we got an update: “Posey (now known as Mary) is a perfect fit with the family and co-workers. She is loved and she gives love in return.”
Bonded kitten cuties Poppy & Lilac have gone home together!
Sweet puppy Marley
Polydactyl junior house panther Trevor
Adoption update! Nebula (fka Dimple) was adopted a year ago this month. She’s had a wonderful first year, with training classes, adventures and cuddles. Happy adoptaversary!
Dot and Little One were adopted together. We love that!
Freya was adopted by SF State students.
Guinea pigs Sue and Sandy were adopted together!
Beautiful Medusa
Fun puppy McKenzie has gone home with her new family!
Warby Parker has left the building!
September 22, 2023 – pigeon with fish hook
9/22/2023 – Officer Mullen reports…
Officers Ortega and Tumath received a late night call for a gull in distress. The reporting party described a gull that seemed to have his beak stuck to his foot. Upon closer examination it was seen that there was a fishing lure that had two sets of hooks. One of the hooks was stuck to the beak and as the bird tried to remove the lure with his feet, he ultimately got his feet caught in the lure as well. Ortega and Tumath rushed to the scene and were able to locate and secure the bird. With some tools, they gently removed the lure first from the feet and then from the beak. Remarkably the young gull seemed to have very minor injuries from the fishing lure and they were able to release the bird on scene and he flew off into the night.
Did you know that we have officers in the field responding to calls from 6am to midnight every day of the week? Because of our accessibility and availability we are able to quickly tend to injured animals as soon as they are reported to us. We respond to approximately 11,800 calls for service each year. Aside from assisting and rescuing wildlife, we respond to a wide variety of field calls including: dealing with sick and injured stray domestic animals, welfare checks on housed and un-housed domestic pets, cruelty investigations, vicious and dangerous dogs, public safety issues pertaining to animals and picking up animals that need to go into custody care due to their owner going to jail, the hospital or when they become deceased. Animal Control Officers also assist the police and fire departments when they are dealing with animals in an emergent situation.
A huge thanks to the person who spotted the injured gull and gave our officers a call at tel:415-554-9400 to report this bird. An even bigger thanks to the speedy response from our officers who were able to act quickly, before the injuries became more severe, and free this bird so he could fly off to his next adventure.
September 15, 2023 – rabbit rescued from I-80
9/15/2023 – Officer Mullen reports…
Rabbit freeway rescue! A Good Samaritan noticed a rabbit on the side of the freeway and called us. Three of our Animal Control Officers – Officer Ortega, Officer Tumath and Officer Quirk – managed to stop traffic on I-80 Westbound from the Bay Bridge to rescue the rabbit. The Officers stopped the cars, corralled the bunny, and brought her back to the shelter at 1419 Bryant Street, San Francisco. She is healthy, uninjured, and doing well in our care. She will be at the SFACC shelter for several days to see if an owner claims her. If no one comes forward, she might be available for adoption early next week. Shelter staff have nicknamed her Elektra after another female daredevil of note.
September 8, 2023 – orphaned kittens
9/8/2023 Officer Mullen reports…
I received an early morning call from a concerned San Francisco resident about a couple of underaged orphaned kittens that she was trying to help. The resident explained that she had been observing a mom and kittens the last few weeks on her routine walks with her dog. Momma cat kept her kittens tucked away under a bush near the sidewalk. A few days ago, on her morning walk, she noticed that mom was missing. Kittens were still in the nest under the bush, but mom was nowhere to be seen. Knowing that the mom may be out getting herself some food, the resident did not worry too much. However that evening and the following day, the mom was still not seen with the kittens and the resident started to worry. The resident went back to the location later that night to find the kittens still alone and were now getting cold to the touch and were starting to cry and stray from the nesting area. Concerned that the babies had been without mom for over 48 hours, she gathered up the kittens and placed them in a small carrier and brought them into her house for the night.
Aside from warming them up and keeping them safe, the resident was not sure what to do with these kittens. Thankfully she had fostered larger kittens before and knew a bit about kitten husbandry but did not know how to bottle feed these approximately 3 week old kittens. She gave me a call early the next morning and explained her situation. I met her at the front gates of the shelter prior to opening. She had done a great job keeping the kittens safe and did the right thing by monitoring the situation for 48 hours and then stepped in when the kittens appeared to be declining without the warmth and nourishment from their mom. I brought the kittens into the shelter and they appeared to be warm, in good health and ready to eat. With only a slight encouragement, the kittens rapidly drank from the bottle and filled their tummies with warm satisfying formula, stopping to pose for a few adorable milk mustache photos. After their meal, they quickly passed out cuddled next to each other in a warm carrier with a soft stuffed animal to snuggle with. Thankfully our wonderful RVT, Angie, who is also a bottle feeder extraordinaire was able to take the kittens home that night and foster them temporarily for a few days until a more permanent foster became available.
Our foster program historically places between 750-800 animals per year. A majority of those animals are underage kittens. However, very few of those underage kittens need bottle feeding, as most of them are over 4 weeks and eating solid food on their own. Bottle feeding is a specialized skill that requires a very dedicated foster parent. Kittens under 3 weeks old cannot regulate their temperature and require supplemental heat to keep warm. This is why kittens tend to pile on top of each other and against mom. Kittens under 4 weeks of age require a liquid diet, mom’s milk is the best, but when that is not available, KMR formula is a great substitute. Bottling kittens can be very challenging and can lead to complications such as aspiration pneumonia. However for most of these at-risk kittens, if we do not step in and at least try bottle feeding, they would experience an even worse outcome. Have you, or anyone you know, ever successfully bottle fed a kitten? Would you like to showcase your skill with our amazing kittens? We would love to help more at risk kittens like these two and just need a few more foster parents available to help us with these precious babies. If you have bottle feeding experience or would like to help out our foster program in other capacities, here is a link to find out more about the foster programs we have available: https://www.sfanimalcare.org/how-to-foster-animals/
If you find a litter of kittens in distress, please call our dispatch at 415-554-9400 and we will ask you a few questions about the situation. We will probably have you send in a picture or video so we can correctly address what is happening. We do not want to steal any babies from mommas that may have left them temporarily to find food. However, if the kittens appear to be abandoned by mom, we will want to step in to provide them the care that is needed to be healthy and thrive. Thanks again to this concerned resident and all other concerned parties that call our dispatch line to report sick, injured, and displaced animals throughout the city.
