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Growth
Gratitude for the Cal for All Animals Community
Reflecting after the 72nd and final All Call
On Valentine’s Day 2022, we gathered in a Zoom room, all squares and no chocolates. A one-eyed cat named Pirate purred his way into the scene. California for All Animals launched with an invitation to dream different, as so many Californians have before. An invitation to imagine what’s possible when we invest in what it takes to match animals in need with the right outcome through the right care, delivered in the right place and at the right time.
Does that feel incredibly idealistic now?
It’s true that rising costs and pet restrictions continue to lock families out of stable housing. Violent immigration enforcement policies separate families and send pets to already crowded shelters. For many shelters and communities, essential vet care is out of reach. Even with over $16 million in grant funding devoted to spay/neuter, we’re still limited by shortages of veterinarians and support staff, and a pandemic-era surgery backlog persists.
These aren’t personal failures. They’re systems failures that make it increasingly difficult for people to care for animals and for shelters to serve their communities.
But this is also true: Our collective action to make change brings us closer to that Valentine’s Day vision.
Over 72 All Calls, we saw what this looks like in practice. Shelters building partnerships with veterinarians and community organizations to deliver low-cost care, free spay/neuter, microchips, and vaccines. Piloting short-term foster programs, veterinary assistance funds, fee-waived Return-to-Home and education-before-citation approaches that recognize people want to care for their animals when barriers are removed. Translating shelter websites and adoption materials. Sharing Emotional Support Animal information, pet food, and supplies through pop-up events, flyers and door-knocking. And within and across organizations, sharing disaster support and mutual aid resources, and strengthening cross-team collaboration to get animals home faster. There is a role for everyone to play.
You’ve documented what it means to meet people where they are, with compassion, respect, and a recognition of what we share: a belief that pets are family, and that we all deserve the conditions needed to care for the animals who add so much to our lives.
Ultimately, these 72 hours offer a record of reimagining not just what we do, but how we do it. You’ve documented what it means to meet people where they are, with compassion, respect, and a recognition of what we share: a belief that pets are family, and that we all deserve the conditions needed to care for the animals who add so much to our lives.
The momentum is spreading. For the first time in 140 years of animal sheltering, New York City will include spay/neuter funding in its budget. Texas appropriated $13 million for spay/neuter over two years.
A California that’s truly for All Animals—and for safer, healthier, and more connected communities where people and animals can thrive together—requires ongoing action and ongoing investment.
Thank you for everything you’ve brought to this work over the last three years. The All Calls are ending, but their spirit continues. We hope, on days you feel discouraged, you’ll be reminded of the many colleagues who are ready to support you.
The community relationships and partnerships you’ve built—they’re yours to keep growing. You’ve shown us that meaningful change builds slowly, through small, brave acts of innovation and care. The bright spots you’ve shared—they’re spreading.
And the advocacy you’re doing matters. City councils, county boards, and state legislators need to hear from shelter teams and community members why sustained funding is so important. They need to hear firsthand stories that show why a robust state spay/neuter fund is crucial.
Keep committing to changing systems rather than blaming individuals and one another. We can continue moving toward that vision of the right care, in the right place, at the right time—where pets and people have what they need to stay together, and shelters have what they need to be there when animals need help most.