It's been a busy 24 hours for the San Diego Humane Society, which is now providing animal control services for the city of San Diego as well as six others in the county.
The San Diego City Council voted in April to award the nonprofit group a $20-million contract for the next 1 1/2 year.
Humane Society workers spent all night taking inventory of every animal and making sure they are in good medical condition.
Animal adoptions in San Diego, Carlsbad, Del Mar, Solano Beach, Encinitas and Santee are now all handled by the San Diego Humane Society.
President Gary Weitzman said the Society is making the transition as seamless as possible, especially pet licenses.
"If someone's license is current they can continue with that, but it is the renewals that will come to the Humane Society," Weitzman said.
In addition to picking up the responsibility of getting animals adopted, the Humane Society will also be providing enforcement.
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"Our officers are certified by the state of California to be humane officers," he said. "So that means they can look for and help people with their animals as well as making sure animals are in safe and secure conditions."
One of the most notable changes now that the San Diego Humane Society has taken over is the hours. The agency will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Sunday.
Despite having taken over a day ago, Alexandria Lopez said she was impressed with how the Humane Society ran the shelter in Linda Vista. She was there to adopt a kitten.
"Usually when I would go to a shelter they would be poorly organized and they really didn't have much resources, but in this one, it was very nice," Lopez said. "They had big rooms."
The Humane Society is taking over during one of the busiest time of year, the Fourth of July holiday. Frightened pets who escape from the homes are turned over to animal control, a service the Humane Society is now also in charge of.
"We have actually signed up close to 800 fosters so people taking animals home so they are not in the shelter," Weitzman said. "And we hope people in their homes take good care of their animals and don't let their dogs run loose."
The Society will be waiving animal reclaim fees and providing them with free microchipping if your pets go missing during the Fourth of July celebration until July 8.
