And you can help out by adopting a dog or a cat — or, really, both — and it won’t cost you thing.
That’s because adoption fees at the Milpitas shelter are temporarily being covered through a large donation at the Milpitas shelter in order to find “forever homes” for these animals while officials deal with fire damage.
“In response to the recent fire at HSSV, adoption fees FOR ALL ANIMALS are sponsored thanks to the generosity of The Sobrato Family and The Family of Wilbur and Indy,” HSSV posted on Facebook. “While we work to rebuild, we need your help now more than ever to find safe, loving homes for our adoptables! Visit https://www.hssv.org/adopt/ to meet them all!”
The fire occurred on Dec. 16 at HSSV’s facility at 901 Ames Street. It reportedly started in the laundry room, but the damage extended into other areas.
“After a week of assessment, we confirmed that half of the shelter was damaged, including the medical center, shelter operations, and all the animal-holding areas in the west wing of our building,” according to a post on the HSSV website. “The adoption area also sustained damage, leaving only two-thirds of the floor operational. We are incredibly grateful that no staff, volunteers or animals were injured.”
HSSV officials praised both the hard work of employees as well as outpouring of support from the community in response to the fire.
“To our staff and volunteers who worked tirelessly around the clock and to every individual who stepped up to help, we cannot thank you enough,” according to a Facebook post.
Notably, the shelter managed to reopen for adoptions less than 48 hours after the fire and some 100 animals found their forever homes during the week that followed. Also, another 90-plus animals were moved into foster homes within two days of the fire.
HSSV is still looking for donations to help recover from the fire damage and to help with finding homes for pets. Visit hssv.org for more information.