Animal Shelter Across From Tustin Hangar Fire In Search Of Dog Foster Parents

An Orange County animal shelter is asking the community to foster their large and medium-sized dogs for a minimum of two weeks after their operations were forced indoors.

Orange County Animal Care sits right across the street from the Tustin air hangar that was burning earlier this month.

"From our parking lot you can actually see right into the hangar and the devastation that's occurred over there," says Alexa Pratt, the public information officer with Orange County.

For the animal shelter, that means their dogs have been unable to go on walks, play, or roam around outside, which is leading to kennel stress.

"When dogs are kept in the kennel too long without that mental stimulation, it could lead to kind of behavioral problems and all the socialization that they've experienced can kind of go backwards," says Pratt.

State of the hangar

Tustin city officials said in a news release last week that they had finished cleaning up debris in the immediate vicinity of the hangar. Most of the massive building — 17 stories high and more than 1,000 feet long — has already collapsed, and officials are planning to knock down some parts of the structure that's still standing.

In the meantime, OC Animal Care has had to keep its more than 300 sheltered dogs indoors.

The shelter is asking the community to help with sheltering the animals. So far, about 30 dogs have been fostered.

"It's continuing to be an ongoing emergency. We don't quite know when we are able to resume normal operations," says Pratt. "That's why we're asking for the public's help to give them some space outside and interaction with your family."

How you can help

• Contact OCACPrograms@occr.ocgov.com to become an emergency dog fosterer.
• If you don’t have room to foster, you can also donate using the county's Amazon wishlist to buy toys and treats to help the dogs still at the shelter.
• The shelter is also accepting Kong toys to keep the dogs occupied while indoors in their shelter kennel. You can drop them off in person between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.