The San Diego Humane Society and SPCA have been serving animals and people in our community for 131 years. As our community continues to grow, the Humane Society is committed to keeping pace with this growth by addressing the challenges associated with the ever-expanding animal population and by providing access to programs and services for animals and people alike.
Collectively, the communities that comprise North County are home to an estimated 825,000 people and thousands of companion animals. The Humane Society, through its central San Diego location, has long-strived to assist all residents with intake and adoption of homeless animals, education opportunities and a variety of other charitable programs, but access to our services for North County residents has not been convenient.
The Humane Society is working to enhance programs and services for animals and people in North County, and to support and foster “the human-animal bond,” a central component of our overall mission. Furthermore, the thousands of companion animals who are without a home each year deserve a safe, healthy environment where they can thrive and find a family of their own.
We are pleased to announce that with the support of the community, the San Diego Humane Society has opened an additional campus in North County located at 572 Airport Road in Oceanside.
Located less than a mile from our current North County facility on San Luis Rey Road, our new campus provides immediate relief by housing cats, kittens and small animals, space for community programs for children and adults, animal cruelty investigations, a retail store and more. Our existing San Luis Rey site has been converted to care exclusively for dogs.
Together, all of our animal campuses operate as an innovative and shared system designed to best meet the needs of each animal in our care; each location benefits from the changes at other locations. The result of this growth will be a positive impact across the county. Today, the Humane Society has more than 800 animals in our care across all campuses.
Some additions that are new to North County are an on-site veterinary hospital for Humane Society animals at both North Campus locations, and adding medical isolation kennels for dogs at San Luis Rey. The dog park adjacent to the San Luis Rey campus — Oceanside’s only off-leash dog park — will be upgraded during these summer months thanks to the generous support of PETCO and the PETCO Foundation.
The new Airport Road location is already saving animal lives. A current feline resident, GinGin, found himself without a home when his owner passed away. GinGin needed advanced medical intervention to manage a heart murmur, a skin infection and dental disease. Because GinGin just lost the only family and home that he had known, he was shy and overwhelmed. After receiving months of veterinary care and attention by staff and volunteers, GinGin is healthy and available for adoption at our Airport Road campus.
This is just the beginning. In the coming years, with the continued support of our donors, volunteers and people of the community, we plan to continue our expansion in North County. The Airport Road site, currently 30,000 square feet, is a work-in-progress. Our long-term vision is for the new location to ultimately serve as our primary North County animal campus for cats and dogs, while utilizing the San Luis Rey shelter as a non-public location to care for sick or injured animals. But this vision requires planning and funding to properly construct the Airport Road campus for dog runs, drainage, exercise areas, and more. For now, we believe the opening of a renovated Airport Road facility serving cats and other small animals is a significant step forward.
We would like to welcome the community to join us for a preview and a family-friendly open house at 572 Airport Road from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 18. June 18. Be among the first to see our progress at the new campus, and learn more about the Humane Society’s plans to expand its scope of services and community programs.
If you can’t join us June 18, both locations in Oceanside are open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit sdhumane.org for available animals or a schedule of programs across all campus locations.
On behalf of the staff, volunteers, donors and so many animal lovers throughout San Diego County, thank you for allowing us the opportunity to do even more for the animals we all love so much.
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