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A paw-sitive merge
Humane Societies renamed to Santa Barbara Humane with expanded services
Fiesta poster, pin unveiled By MITCHELL WHITE NEWS-PRESS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The 2021 Old Spanish Days celebration continues to take form. Just a few days after the plans for the 2021 festivities were announced, officials unveiled the official poster and pin for the annual event on Saturday night during the Fiesta kick-off La Primavera celebration at The Carriage and Western Art Museum.
La Presidenta Stephanie Petlow had the honor of debuting the poster and pin, having designed them herself using family, youth and history. “My inspiration for the 2021 poster began with a watercolor my mother Sylvianna Johns, a New Mexico fine artist, painted many years ago of a Spanish dancer,” said Ms. Petlow, who has served more than two decades on the Old Please see FIESTA on A6
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The Santa Barbara and Santa Maria Humane Societies merged a little over a year ago, and the combined nonprofit will now officially call itself “Santa Barbara Humane,” an announcement shared at a press conference at the Santa Barbara campus Saturday afternoon.
By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The Santa Barbara and Santa Maria Humane Societies merged a little over a year ago, and the combined nonprofit will now officially call itself “Santa Barbara Humane.” Board members, staff and volunteers gathered Saturday afternoon at the Goleta campus to celebrate the accomplishments of the merger thus far, while looking ahead to the future of the combined nonprofits. “Day-to-day operations from the beginning of the merger will not change, but we’re going to expand those services and we’re actually going to start adding more services,” Kerri Burns, CEO of Santa Barbara Humane, told the News-Press. “We’re figuring out what the needs of each end of the county are and we’ll be expanding the services based on what the community needs.” These expanded services will focus mostly on the organization’s safety net programs, which include behavior training, medical intervention, pet food banks, financial assistance for veterinary bills and more. The programs aim to meet pet owners where they are and help them keep their pets, rather than relinquishing them. The merger came a month before the pandemic hit in 2020, which resulted in an increase in adoptions and animal fostering. Animals’ length of stays decreased to around six or seven days, according to Ms. Burns. “All across our nation, people started fostering and adopting. Capacity for shelters went down to about 50%, but we’re so thankful, because it gave our industry as a whole a moment to breathe and think and say, ‘How are we going to do our business differently, or are we, as we move forward?’” Ms. Burns said. Since the Santa Barbara and Santa Maria shelters merged: 20,000 veterinary services were performed for community-owned animals; 1,000 families received assistance from the TLC Fund supporting veterinary services; 1,800 animals received affordable training and rehabilitation; 800 animals transferred in from overcrowded shelters; 400 animals were surrendered for a second chance; 100 stray animals were received; and, most importantly, 1,400 animals were placed in loving homes. On top of that, requests for support to spay
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La Presidenta Stephanie Petlow unveiled the poster for this year’s Fiesta Saturday night. Ms. Petlow designed the poster herself, using family, youth and history.
Protesting COVID-19 restrictions By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Tens of dozens of community members gathered Saturday afternoon next to Stearns Wharf for a “Worldwide Rally for Freedom,” taking a stand against COVID-19 restrictions in the region. The rally joined 180 other Dogs and humans alike gathered for the announcement.
or neuter a pet went up by 250% this year, highlighting the increase in pet adoption. However, pet relinquishments are also up, with 79 owner-surrenders through April in Santa Barbara and 155 in Santa Maria. Humane staff says this reaffirms the need for the expanded services. According to Ms. Burns, there are two main reasons pet owners turn in their pet: because of a medical issue or because they’re moving, and this still remains the case today. “If you want to keep your pet, or for some reason you think you can’t, we throw out this safety net to say, ‘How can we help you keep your pet in your home?’” she said, referencing medical care, food and training as things less expensive to get at Santa Barbara Humane than a shelter.
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“A lot of people come here because their dog is unruly and we can provide those services,” the CEO said. “We have some scholarship rooms set up for people if they can’t afford it — we can get them in a class, because they love their pet. They just don’t know what to do, so these safety net programs and resources that we’re expanding because of the merger are really, really helpful for these pets.” Santa Barbara City Councilman Eric Friedman attended the celebration Saturday, and shared that he and his wife renamed their new dog when they adopted it, changing it from “Eclipse” to “Morgan” — that is, “Morgan Friedman.” “Any time you can have North County and Please see HUMANE on A5
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
A group of community members gather at an anti-mask, antivaccination rally at Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara on Saturday.
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cities and 40 other countries also holding rallies to protest COVID19 mandates, according to Justin Shores, the event’s organizer who ran for Goleta City Council last year. “The U.S. is one of the slower countries to get involved in pushing back against the coronavirus restrictions, at Please see RALLY on A3
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