A Shelter Closes Its Doors

Six cats roam around the once-bustling offices inside the Fairmont Animal Shelter. Paulette Murillo laughs at their antics, a rare bright moment at the now-shuttered facility in the San Leandro hills.

"We've all been kind of sad about it," said Murillo, a board member of the non-profit Friends of the Fairmont Animal Shelter.

The shelter was shut down in June by Alameda County, part of the summer of budget cuts. The closure prompted the membership of the Friends of the Fairmont Animal Shelter to vote in September to dissolve their organization that has been in existence since 1986. While the paperwork for dissolution goes through the processes, volunteers like Murillo try to finish up business.

Animals are no longer accepted at the Fairmont shelter. People who find stray pets in unincorporated San Leandro as well as Castro Valley and San Lorenzo are told to take them to the county's shelter in Dublin. Animals found within the city limits of San Leandro are taken to the city of Fremont's shelter.

Murillo said residents whose pets are missing should check both facilities since you can never be sure where a pet is picked up. 

The night drop box at the Fairmont shelter is still operating. That's a chute where cats can be deposited and left inside the building overnight. Cats that are left there are taken by county animal control officers to the Dublin facility. Dogs still need to be driven to the shelters in other towns. 

Inside the Fairmont shelter, Murillo and others are still trying to find homes for six cats. They are the last of the animals in their care.

Photos of the cats accompany this article. People wanting to adopt them can call 510-667-7736 or 510-520-5882.

If no one adopts the animals by Dec. 31, they will be taken to the Dublin shelter.

Friends of the Fairmont Animal Shelter also is no longer offering spay and neuter certificates that used to provide pet owners with low-cost services at the SPCA and other organizations. Murillo urged pet owners to continue to seek out those services as well as animal rescue operations at the shelters that are still open. 

Taking care of pets, she said, is an important task.

"You can judge a society by how it treats its animals," Murillo said. "People who treat animals well tend to treat each other well."