Colton, CA– Last Saturday, Sep. 16th, Colton’s Community Services Department (CCSD) partnered with assemblywoman Eloise Gómez Reyes to host the 8th annual Pets and Wellness event, called P.A.W.S. in the Park at Cesar Chavez park. The event offered free pet vaccinations, microchipping, licensing and adoption opportunities.
Besides the animal services, stands run by the San Gorgonio Girl Scouts and the David Toro Foundation offered more opportunities for pet owners to support their involvement in the community and the continued wellness of Colton’s animals.
Local food trucks sold food and Starbucks gave free coffee to owners and “pup cups” to pets.
The free event gave Colton residents an opportunity to license their pets and tend to their well-being. Most importantly, free vouchers were provided to assist with spaying and neutering services.
Spaying and neutering your pets, both cats and dogs, is the number one way to address a huge problem Colton has right now: stray animals.
Last year, the Pepper Bough covered concerns about stray cats and their involuntary residence here at Colton High School. Despite how cute they are, uncontrolled breeding will inevitably become a catalyst for the spread of disease among animals and people in the community.
Unneutered cats can arguably be a bigger problem than unneutered dogs because even if they’re pets, most owners allow them to freely roam outdoors during the day. According to SNAP, a nationwide organization focused on veterinary care, a fertile cat can produce up to three litters a year of four-to-six kittens.
Colton still doesn’t even have its own animal shelter, yet its stray’s overwhelming amount of street-born litters have been filling nearby shelters to their capacity. And it is only recently that the police department hired a new animal services officer to replace the previous two retired officers.
City councilman David Toro understands the problem well. “So, I started the P.A.W.S. in the Park, and I started the David Toro Foundation to help the animals in Colton. We needed an avenue to stop the pets going to the shelter, dying in the shelter . . . The spay and neuter, in my opinion, is the number one thing to do to keep unwanted births from happening.”
Unfortunately, due to shelters being filled to capacity, if strays aren’t adopted after an extended amount of time then they will be euthanized.
According to UC Davis’s Koret Shelter Medicine Program, approximately 100,000 cats and dogs are euthanized annually in California because there’s not enough space in animal shelters to care for them all.
Many are aware of this problem, though, which is why some decide to abandon their pets on the streets instead of taking them to a shelter. Often this is done before making sure the animal is neutered.
Colton residents who are aware of the stray problem really appreciate events like P.A.W.S. in the Park, because it encourages a solution to this problem.
Jackie Ficarotta, a Colton resident of 32 years and dedicated animal lover, adopted her dog to save him from euthanasia. “We wouldn’t have this problem in the pounds right now,” she said in regards to spaying and neutering. “They’re euthanizing, killing all the animals and people don’t realize it, you know. Just neuter ’em! I know a lot of men are against neutering males, but they need it done. Otherwise, they need to take care of that population.”
Without the resources to round up and tend to the wellness of strays, events like P.A.W.S. in the Park provide a necessary start to spread awareness and provide pet owners with necessary services to help curb the problem.
