This year, from November 5th to 11th, it is Animal Shelter Appreciation Week. Why are animal shelters important? What shelters do we have here in Santa Barbara? Why is it good to get pets from shelters? These are all great questions that some may not know the answers to, so what are the answers?

Each year, families get new pets, and each year some of those pets will end up homeless for many different reasons. Maybe the owner decided they didn’t want a pet or the animal ran away. Whatever the reason, these animals should not have to live on the streets or die in the wild when they are meant to be house pets. Animal shelters help with this issue by taking animals that have been abandoned taking care of them, and helping to find new homes for them. So many animals each year are saved, even just by our local shelters.

“Animal shelters are important because they house animals that could be out on the street and it gives them a place to live and be cared for.” said freshman Serah Angel.

While some breeders may be good, oftentimes, people wanting purebred animals lead to them being inbred. This is dangerous for the animals as it can lead to pain and disabilities for them. Along with this, many animals will be mistreated by breeders who want to make money off of them and don’t care about the lives of the animals. For these reasons, it is much more ethical to get animals from animal shelters, and you get to give some loving animals a second chance to have a great life.

We have a few shelters here in Santa Barbara, including ASAP (cats), Santa Barbara Humane (dogs and cats), and BUNS (bunnies). These are all local non-profit organizations. These shelters help rescue so many animals each year and are a great addition to our community. The shelters have quite a few very sweet animals waiting for new homes where they can give love and be loved.

Animal shelters are great for animals and a great addition to our community. They help animals have a second chance give people a chance to get a new friend and provide a new life for these animals. No matter what animals have been through, they still deserve love, and animal shelters are a great way to help them find that.