Animal Services

May is Chip Your Pet Month and Mission Viejo Animal Services is reminding residents to keep their pets safe by microchipping them. 

When lost, microchipped animals are far more likely to be returned to their owners. Microchipping is available at quarterly drive-through vaccination clinics for only $20. There is no exam fee or appointment necessary. The next clinic is from 8:30-10 am on Saturday, May 13.

In recent years, the Mission Viejo Animal Services Center has encountered more cases of animal neglect and cruelty. This was the case with Ernie, a 7-year-old pit bull whose extreme neglect and lack of veterinary care caused severe skin issues. 

Korra – one of our longest residents – is still available for adoption, but she is now being fostered at night and on weekends, so she can get some time out of the shelter.   

Korra’s foster mom reports that she is a completely different dog in the home. Relaxed and happy, Korra is mellow and likes to lay around in the sunshine. She does not react to other dogs on her walks but does pull a bit, so she could use some basic training.  

Why do we see duckling rescues this time of year?

In the spring, ducklings are born in heavy brush away from a water source. Once ducklings are old enough, the mom will lead them to water. Unfortunately, there can be many obstacles for ducklings and their mom during this journey. 

Our Mission Viejo Animal Services Center volunteer of the month is Carl Lekander, who has been volunteering at the center since summer 2008. After retiring, he wanted an opportunity to give back to the community. Carl and his wife both love animals. 

Microchips enable shelter workers across the country to reunite pets with their families. Every pet - including indoor-only animals - should wear a collar and tags as identification. This serves as identification, so if your pet is lost, anyone who finds the animal will know where the pet belongs. However, what happens if your pet gets out of your home without its collar or manages to slip off the collar along the journey somewhere? The pet is left with no identification and its chances of being reunited with family decreases.

Mulligan arrived at the Mission Viejo Animal Services Center in early January, but it hasn’t been a very good new year for this 6-year-old pit bull mix because he is still waiting for a forever home. 

For some reason, Mulligan has not received any adoption interest, which makes no sense because he is a sweet dog.  

Meet Chadwick, a sweet young cat that is living a normal, active life with three legs.  

Just over a year old, Chadwick was turned into the Mission Viejo Animal Services Center as a stray with a leg issue. His left rear leg was turned up in an odd manner, making it completely unusable. The center immediately sent Chadwick to a veterinarian who – after examination and X-rays – determined Chadwick would be better off without the leg, which he was not using. The issue was caused by an old injury that never properly healed or a birth defect.

One-year-old Twinkie was rescued by Mission Viejo Animal Services from a high intake shelter in January. She was adopted shortly after, but unfortunately, she was returned.