This 138-Year-Old Shelter Talks to You for an Hour Before You Meet a Dog. Here Is Why.

Cameron MainSo, Paige and Amanda, thank you very much for having us today here in Santa Barbara. I know the weather is a little bit inclement, but we're very happy to be here nonetheless.

AmandaWelcome. We're so happy you're here.

Cameron MainSo Chris and I came to see you about three months ago for the first time. Yeah. And we were definitely, definitely blown away by the work you do here. from not just the fundraising, but also how much you care and how much you really put your heart into the job that you do. It was very important for us to be here and to share your story and what you do to help the dogs as well. So that's a big reason for us coming down. Okay.

Chris NobleSo I would love it if you guys could tell us what is the Santa Barbara Humane Society?

PaigeWe are officially Santa Barbara Humane, and we are... It's okay. It was a new rebrand in 2020. We really wanted people to start seeing us as different from a national organization because all humane societies are local to their community and all completely supported by their local communities. So we changed our name to Santa Barbara Humane, and we just want to reiterate that we are access and hope for the entire community. And Santa Barbara Humane has been around since 1887, so 138 years, getting on to 139 years, and we are one of the oldest animal welfare organizations in the country. And we take that responsibility really seriously and we're very proud. And we love our county. We also in 2020 expanded up into Santa Maria, which is also in Santa Barbara County, and obtained another campus up there to help twice as many people and their pets.

Cameron MainAnd you can tell also by the buildings. The buildings are beautiful, but as we saw last time, they do need a lot of work and maintenance, which is a big part of why you are doing this rebuild and why you are raising this extra money to really build that new facility.

AmandaYeah, we're really proud of what we're able to do despite the shape of the buildings that we have. But, you know, we paint them pretty yellow and keep them sunny and happy. So most people don't even realize that they're in the state of disrepair that they are. But the new campus is going to be amazing. And when you said, you know, what is Santa Barbara Humane? I like to say that it's a place that helps people with pets and pets without people. And so we really have transformed from being just an animal welfare agency to almost a social service agency.

Chris NobleYeah, I was blown away by how much you guys do because it's not just the rehoming of dogs and cats. It's so much more for the community.

AmandaYeah. Do you want to talk about the three pillars?

PaigeYeah, we have pillars of our focus of pillars of service. Absolutely. Adoptions at the heart, but also affordable veterinary care and access to dog training. Something that we learned post-COVID is that there were quite a few. dogs that were not socialized. We didn't socialize, so they didn't socialize. And it's very important. We offer nine classes a week. And it is everything from puppy class to something that we call a shy dog class or a reactive rover class. We want to... not only train the animals, but train the families. And that is something that is going to be a priority. So access to affordable veterinary care and training is the future of animal welfare, we feel.

Chris NobleAnd these two things, I guess, are a different approach because that's fixing probably the root cause of a lot of reasons that families need to take their dogs to a shelter.

AmandaYeah. I mean, we want to make sure that they don't have to come into the shelter in the first place. So anything we can do to help keep a family with their pet, we're going to try to get to that yes and find a way.

Chris NobleAmazing. Yeah. How innovative is that approach or that proactive approach to, I don't even want to say like sheltering because it's not, it's so much more than this, but are other organizations doing this in the U.S.?

PaigeOur CEO is part of the CEO network in California, but then also the United States. And it is something that the more progressive organizations are addressing. And we want to be kind of a beacon for what... shelters can be, what animal welfare organizations can be. And it is, it's happening, but we do feel like we're at kind of the forefront of it, thanks to our leadership that we have here.

Cameron MainYeah, well, that was something that really surprised me. And it was something I wanted to take back to my local shelter. It was when you talked about the psychology behind understanding a dog, not just when it's adopted, but also when it comes into the shelter and having that space where someone can say, I guess tell the story why are they coming in not just drop the dog off and run away you have context every single time a dog is adopted or a dog comes into your shelter that for me was very very it's something that I think most people wouldn't wouldn't even think about and that consideration is tremendous it's how did that come about

PaigeWell, we call it conversational adoption. So all of our animal care specialists and they get to meet adopters where they are and find out what they need. So somebody can fall in love with an animal based on a photo on our fabulous website and come in thinking that that's the dog for us. We need to know what is your lifestyle like? What is... What is your ultimate goal? Because we know all of our animals so well that we can matchmake better. And that really comes through conversations. Sometimes it can just be a solid hour of talking before we go and meet the dogs or the cats. So it really is about learning and meeting people where they are.

Cameron MainIt's so important. I think for people also to understand what breed fits their lifestyle. I was very, very humbled recently because I looked after a Border Collie mix for somebody for a couple of weeks. I live in an apartment and this dog, okay, I took, his name is Milo, I took him out three hours a day and we really, really, you know, we walked a lot and he got all the exercise that he could ever dream of. But I thought to myself, I couldn't personally keep this up for the lifestyle I live. I travel a lot. I work a lot. It's something that I think, I mean, you guys actively do it. You will tell somebody this is not appropriate. And I think, is that a conversation you have with people? Like, does this breed fit your lifestyle?

PaigeAbsolutely. And the energy and the brain power of any type of Australian Shepherd or Border Collie mix, that's a real thing. Same thing with German Shepherds. They're very specific. They need more stimulation, more exercise, more enrichment than... You know, my dog, I adopt senior dogs because I'm a little lazier. And so I like a dog that will stay on the couch with me. And that works for me. So nobody would know that unless I was able to feel safe enough to have that conversation.

Cameron MainI think until you have it in your life, until you're really experiencing it, it's something that maybe people don't appreciate. Because I've had different breeds of dogs. I've had retrievers. I've had Westies. And they're relatively active dogs. And we gave them enough walks. And they had enough space to play in the yard. But wow. I mean, the real energy that comes from a shepherd. And also just, as you say, the stimulation aspect is real.

PaigeThey really have a job that they need to do. And so we need to also meet them where they are.

AmandaI love, though, that when we have these conversations with people that we come at it with so much care and respect. We never make anyone feel shame or bad if they adopted an animal that wasn't a good fit or if they're looking for something specific, but we can help guide them into the right fit. We're very thoughtful and caring. I am so impressed with the staff here. They take the time.

Cameron MainYeah, you do. And I wanted to mention briefly as well, which was something that we were definitely in awe about. It was the job that you both did and everyone here during the LA fires. Can you tell us more about that?

PaigeWe were very fortunate, we are very fortunate to be a part of a greater system in California, even though we are not connected, we all know each other. And so when a natural disaster happens, we are able to rise to the occasion. I was walking across campus and ran in the day the fire broke out in Altadena and this mostly impacted Pasadena Humane because they received all of the evacuation dogs. I ran into our shelter supervisor who was getting in the van to drive into the fires to go and help. And we went for the first three days really to go and help with... It was such a dramatic fire to really help with on-the-scene kind of crisis management. But then we went a step further. We sent down our PR director. We sent down a few of our veterinarians. We sent down our COO. And they were on the ground because we had to remember. This staff, they were being evacuated too. They were living in the shelter with their animals and they needed rest. So we were able to come and really help alleviate some of the pressure, give some of our expertise because we are not, there's not been a shortage of natural disasters in Santa Barbara County. so we have some experience and we were able to share that but San Diego Humane came and helped shelters across California came and pulled a few dogs what you want to do is you want to take the adoptable dogs that are at the shelter to other shelters so you free up kennel space for somebody who's evacuated and needs emergency services and it's a it's a very well choreographed

AmandaYeah, I'm just amazed at how quickly we can jump into action and help our community and help other communities whenever the need is there.

Cameron MainYeah, the logistic reactivity was just unbelievable. We were blown away with what you told us.

PaigeSomething also we were very proud of is that we took some of the most severe medical cases that they have because we have the resources to address that not many other shelters in California have. So we really... We really prioritized that and then continued to work with them a couple of weeks after Pasadena Humane specifically because they were the most affected. And it was it was a beautiful thing and reminded us we need to always update our emergency preparedness plan. And there is something to learn from each other at all times. So we did just that.

Cameron MainAnd the way that you also help rehabilitate these dogs and bring them back to a state of health, it's something that is also taken so, so seriously here. And you have your on-site clinic and you take a lot of care about that. How do you go about that? Like, what's the number one thing that you do to try and help them come back to that real state of what you would call a healthy dog, a dog that is ready to go into a new home?

AmandaWell, it's definitely the medical care is a number one priority, but then it's also taking care of that emotional and behavioral needs as well, because some of them have come through their own bits of trauma or, you know, transition, and it can be a shock to have been moved from one place to another and to be new in this, you know, in this shelter system. And so we're there for every step of the way to make sure that their stress is reduced and that they're healthy, that they get the care that they need. And so if it means that each one gets their own behavior plan and we work with them one-on-one and make sure that they get the time, we'll take that time. And I mean, our average length of stay for residents here is only 10 days, you know, plus or minus a couple of days, depending on the time of year. And how long did it take for all the Pasadena dogs to find homes?

PaigeWell, we had some with more severe medical cases, but at least it was six weeks. And we were able to... Really be recipients of amazing community support, not just in Santa Barbara County, but from Los Angeles. Los Angeles heard about through our marketing what we had done and they were able to really help offset a lot of these costs. And that is what makes us run is the generosity of our community and and the compassion and. and focus that we have as an organization is, I think, seen and appreciated. And we were floored that money came and really offset those costs almost exactly. It felt very magical.

AmandaYeah, that was really wonderful that the community stepped in.

Chris NobleThe biggest thing I understand or I get when I talk to you guys is your sense of community and how important that is for the mission. I would love to learn more about what community means to you beyond what we've talked about so far.

AmandaOh, gosh, that's a big question. I mean, I think it might be unique for each one of us individually and even for the organization, perhaps. But for me, community means compassion. It means compassion for each other, for our animals, for our environment, and towards ourselves. And that's one of the biggest reasons why I love being a part of Santa Barbara Humane is that we are helping create a more compassionate community and raising the next generation to be more compassionate leaders and thoughtful people. That's my personal reason.

PaigeAnd I love it. I love it that you feel that way. And I go a little more personal because born and raised here in this community, this has always been the fabric of my life. The humane society has always been there. But I didn't fully understand everything that we can offer to the community and to individual families and animals until I really got to be here. We have volunteers that come. every week and say this is the most meaningful part of their week and we want to be a place that you want to come to not a place that makes you sad because we are a place of next steps and access and there's always an answer and there's a solution and we even if we can't provide a specific service we can guide you to where you can get help.

Cameron MainIt is a happy place, as you say. I think when we left here, you know, it's always when you leave an animal shelter, you always feel some sort of, at least I feel some sort of heavy heart. But when we were driving away in the car last time, we said to ourselves, these dogs, even though they're not in a home, so to speak, have a great life here. and they have space, they get walks, they get good food, they're looked after. It's not a sad place. And they're also not here for very long, as you mentioned. So we are very, very proud to be working with you guys. And it means a lot to us to be partnering with you in that regard.

PaigeThank you. We are so, we can't take credit for that. We get to be the messengers of all the good work we get to do. And it's our team. They know every single one of our animals individually on such an intimate level that there wouldn't be the success rate that we have without just this amazing, big-hearted team.

Cameron MainWhen it comes to donations, how are you able to get your donations in? What's the most effective way in terms of fundraising?

PaigePeople have to come and see. We love giving tours of this campus. We love... As a traditional development department, this is very boring speak. We have certain scientific rules of fundraising that we abide by, that we do. But you have to see it to believe it and to see how transformed people have become by visiting. That's the best way to convert somebody. If you're already converted, of course, financial support is key. But we also have some people, they prefer to give supplies. So we have a very robust pet food and supply pantry in both Santa Barbara and Santa Maria. So that's fantastic. dry dog and cat food that's wet food for both it's leashes it's beds it's kennels and most of that comes from people donating back to us so there is rarely a time that I go into our parking lot that somebody is not bringing something out of their trunk to donate to us and it's wonderful, the local grantors that we have. So our family foundations and larger foundations in California are very focused on. Originally it was, let's fund spay and neutering and adoption support. Now they're thinking more, let's also fund behavioral training for a sheltered dog to really set them up for success when they meet their family. And it's growing holistically, but... We are actively fundraising all the time. It's an absolute joy because it's just a conversation and nothing is more fun than saying, do you have an animal? Do you have an animal in your life that you love or somebody that you love who loves an animal? Everybody can make a connection to know how important these beings are in our world.

AmandaIt's just a really exciting time to be a part of Santa Barbara Humane. I think that people are amazed to find out what we do every day, but also they're so inspired to see how they can make a difference in the future. And so with the new campus, that is really, it's going to transform animal welfare. It's going to expand what we can do, and it's going to serve for generations to come. And when people learn about it, they're blown away. And it's just so fulfilling to see people excited to become a part of that future and to join that journey with us.

PaigeWell, there's a difference in how money comes to us. So the reason that we have been so sustainable and successful, aside from our amazing leadership and community, is a lot of it is through planned giving, so bequests. And those landfall gifts have allowed us to increase construction on our current property or help us... attain a goal that we didn't think that we would be able to do. We are lucky enough to be able, and this year we're looking for our veterinary clinic for financial assistance. We're looking to surpass $650,000 in financial assistance. That only comes to us through major donations and And this base that we have through our bequests, our endowment, which is going to help us stay around for another hundred years, which is our goal, another 200 years. And. We have received, I mean, personally for us, we had a very exciting million dollar gift that felt transformational to us. And we were so appreciative and it was such a beautiful experience. And we are so grateful for that.

Chris NobleSo you mentioned the new campus, and I know this is where a lot of the fundraising is going. Tell us more, because we've been fortunate enough to see the plans, and it looks incredible.

AmandaOh, my gosh. It's going to be amazing. Carrie, our CEO, she always likes to say it's being built from the paws up. But it's going to be a place where everyone is welcome no matter how many legs you have. And it will be larger in the areas that it needs to be. So our veterinary care, that space that we currently have, We've maxed it out. We have helped as many animals as we can, and we continue to do so, but we truly have run out of space. I think you guys saw the waiting room is actually outside. We can't even fit people inside anymore. But the new medical center will be four times larger and will be state-of-the-art. And there's so many aspects of the new campus. It's kind of hard to answer that in just one breath. So I'm glad you got a chance to tour and to see the model and see the fly through because everything has been rethought and it's going to be amazing.

Cameron MainYeah, we're hoping Vitadog can definitely help contribute towards that at some point as well and maybe be, I don't know, key in building some aspect of it. That would be a bit of a dream for us.

PaigeOh, that would be so incredible. We would love that, Cameron. And we're lucky enough to own the land that we are on. And today we had a little bit of a... sideline because it rained in California who would have who would have thunk and that does restrict some of the movement of our dogs during the rain and our new campus will be it will be almost weatherproof in terms of them still having access to their own individual yards and Right now we have such an amazing team and team of volunteers that each dog gets at least three walks a day and we can make it work but we want them to have playtime in their yards and so this will really help create a more hospitable environment to moisture And something, we are no stranger to wildfires in California. We're going to have the ability to have drop-down front doors to block out smoke. Because smoke inhalation is a huge risk for them. And we're in a very good... position in the town that evacuation of this campus is very unlikely but we always have our second campus in santa maria if we need to go up there we have wonderful transport vans but like amanda said our veterinary clinic is going to be almost four times larger than it is now and that really is on track to continue meeting the needs of the community The amount of people that come and need our services is going to continue to increase, we hope, because we don't think you should be rich or need to be rich to own a companion animal. It's one of the most important things in my life. I mean, my dog and my cat are my world. And I can't imagine not being a part of this. If I heard about it, I would be knocking on the door saying, can I please have a job here?

Cameron MainBeing in this area, you're close to Montecito. You're not very far away from LA. Do you ever get any celebrity adopters that come in? You do?

PaigeWe do. And we respect their privacy. And it's very, it's fun. We've had, I, we did an audit. We had about 12 very big A-list celebrities in the past eight years, I think. And we just, We want them to have animals too, and we're so grateful that they are looking to adopt from a shelter. So research just came out yesterday that 30% of the animals in people's homes are shelter animals. That means 70% of animals in people's homes are obtained other ways, and that can be purchasing. I was very surprised that 30% please adopt.

Chris NobleAre there any misconceptions about adoption that you think would be helpful to clear up for people who don't know much about it?

PaigeThat's a good question. Well, I think that, like Amanda said before, these animals come to us with a history. We do get puppies in, and you can start from scratch with them, but puppies are also a lot of work. And I appreciate seeing your animals. And if you have resources to support your... bringing them into your home if you see oh gosh they want to kind of dash out the door or they like to bark at the fence or they are a little weird on leash with somebody else we have the answer for you we have we have a class for that and it's a little more you don't get a completely perfectly behaved animal. Sometimes you do. But just to be aware that they come to us with a history of their own.

AmandaWell, and that your shelter is not just a place to adopt at, that we're here to support the entire journey, right? From the very first day that that pet comes into your life to the very hard day that you say goodbye, we're there here at Santa Barbara. You mean every step of the way for our community. And so a lot of people feel more empowered knowing that they have that support system to be willing to adopt.

PaigeAnd most importantly, we will never judge you. If an adoption doesn't work out 100%, please just come back. We will happily take the animal back, have a conversation with you so we can learn more because you have just been the best foster for that animal. We know more about the animal for the next adoption counseling session. Animals don't judge us, so why should we judge the people? And we just want to continue to be as accessible for everybody.

Chris NobleThat's incredible. I think I get a sense that you guys are really on the cutting edge of, firstly, the care of the animals in the shelter, because as Cameron said, this is such a happy place. And I didn't feel sad at all walking around because it felt like every single dog here had a family and they had so much space and they had toys. They had a great life. So it wasn't a sad place. So you're clearly doing a really good job there. You also talk a lot about, I guess, wellness, the veterinary care, and the long-term support. What's the overarching message of the new campus development and everything that you're doing on, I guess, dog wellness? What would you say the one tagline is?

PaigeI will bleed over into people wellness as well. So we are a social service agency for people and their pets and pets without people. So we like that as a tagline because it addresses our two main populations, families and then A few of what we like to call our guests, our residents, for the short time that they are with us, we want to give them everything that they need. And it really, it's about flipping the idea on its head of being a social service agency, which, thanks to community support, we are able to be. And we want... the association to be about there are answers here and there from the beginning of their life with you to the end of their life with you, you can get support here.

AmandaI mean, pets improve our health so much, and so it is so important to us, of course, to take good care of the health of the animals in return. I don't think we'll ever fully understand everything that they do for humans. And so, you know, on a personal level... And I just love my dog so much. And anything I can do to give her the healthiest life, I would do it.

Chris NobleThat's beautiful. I love where you guys went with the answer. Do you have anything to finish with? I think that's a really nice message to finish on, actually. Do you?

Cameron MainYeah, I think so as well. It was actually beautiful.

PaigeWe love talking with you. We love what you're doing. We're happy that we're friends, our friends at Vitadog.

Chris NobleUs too. Thank you so much for taking the time.

Cameron MainI think that was, yeah, for us, for Chris and I, it's always been... with you guys we always had the same goal it's just for the dogs to be as healthy and as happy as they possibly can and to live the longest and richest possible lives and when we talked to you we know we knew straight away that for you that was also the you know that's a key factor that's that's what you live for I guess like us, every day we wake up and we do the same thing as you. So thank you so much for hosting us. It's been a pleasure. And we're very much looking forward to the continued collaboration with you.

AmandaWe love your big hearts. Thanks for coming.

Cameron MainThank you. All good.

PaigeDr. Katie is going to be much more animated than we are. She's got a lot of...

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