Our Accomplishments
Over 9,000 abandoned animals will enter the Chula Vista Animal Care Facility every year. Many of these are sick, injured or too young to survive without our help.
- For every person born, 45 cats and 15 dogs are also born.
- ONLY 1 out of every 12 cats ever finds a home.
- ONLY 1 out of every 10 dogs born ever finds a home.
We are doing everything we can to help! Check out some of our amazing accomplishments…
HEART’s Latest Contributions
HEART continues to support the Chula Vista Animal Care Facility. In addition, HEART has also embraced the San Diego Animal Services Spay/Neuter Voucher Program. Last fiscal year, we gave a hefty $7500 donation! Additionally, we were able to provide the BAARK spay/neuter bus with an anesthesia machine and related supplies to assist lots more families (and their pets!) in need. Together with our donor’s help, we are tackling the pet overpopulation problem…one pet at a time. A special heart-felt THANK YOU to all those who have and continue to support our cause!
HEART Donates to the CVACF
Despite 2020 being a challenging year for all of us – including pets, HEART of Chula Vista was proud to present a $10,000 (BIG) check to the Chula Vista Animal Care Facility (CVACF) to support free- and low-cost spay/neuter programs for FY 2020/2021. Funding helps make spay/neuter clinics possible for South Bay residents who need assistance. We’re doing everything we can to help families and pets stay united, happy, and healthy.
HEART would like to extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who supported us throughout the year. Every dollar adds up! If you have a passion for pets and can help with a donation – even if it’s $5, we’ll make your money go far! THANK YOU.
Donation to Sharp Chula Vista
With the onset of COVID-19, the Spay Shuttle hasn’t been doing community outreach or spays/neuters – and for good reason! We want everyone to stay safe and be at home!
We’ve suspended our spay/neuter services for pets, but HEART and the Chula Vista Animal Care Facility wanted to donate our unused surgical masks (PPEs) to Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, where the staff on the front line can use our supplies (which are getting hard to come by because of the demand). We want to keep everyone safe, and we care about our community! We are honored that we could help Sharp Chula Vista. We know pets are “people” too…but right now, the doctors and nurses at Sharp need help, too. We all work together to protect EVERYONE: people…and their pets. We love our community. Thank you to Sharp, along with all those “essential workers” out there who are still working their magic. We really appreciate you and all you do, and we look forward to serving you and your pets in the near future! We will get through this together.
Mayor’s Proclamation – Spay Neuter Awareness Month
Mayor Mary Casillas Salas of Chula Vista presented the Chula Vista Animal Care Facility (CVACF) with a spay/neuter awareness proclamation and recognizes HEART’s contributions!
We’re so proud to have accomplished so much – and we thank our supporters for helping to make it all happen.
View Video »
This video is shown on the City of Chula Vista’s City Council Meeting streaming archives…it may take a bit to load!
Skip down to item B as shown in the blue highlighted text.
Mega Cat Spay Day
HEART Presents Check to the CVACF
The HEART of Chula Vista Board of Directors was proud to present an $18,000 BIG CHECK to the Chula Vista Animal Care Facility (CVACF) Manager, Mandy Mills, to support free- and low-cost community pet spay/neuter programs for the coming fiscal year. This is the largest yearly contribution that HEART has ever made to the shelter! Funding will make weekly spay/neuter clinics possible for South Bay residents who need assistance.
Thank you to all our supporters – we are so appreciative, and we couldn’t do it without you!
Gold Seal from GuideStar
H.E.A.R.T. of the Chula Vista Animal Care Facility was recently recognized for our transparency with a 2018 Gold Seal on our GuideStar Nonprofit Profile!
GuideStar is the world’s largest source of information on nonprofit organizations. More than 8 million visitors per year and a network of 200+ partners use GuideStar data to grow support for nonprofits.
In order to get the 2018 Gold Seal, we shared important information with the public through our profile. Now our community members and potential donors can find in-depth information about our goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress. We’re shining a spotlight on the difference we help make in the world!
Spay Shuttle Receives Proclamation
The Spay Shuttle staff received a proclamation from Mayor Mary Casillas Salas, recognizing February 2019 as Spay/Neuter Month in Chula Vista. She and City Councilmembers commended the Spay Shuttle for our community spay/neuter services – since 2012!
HEART is the major financial supporter of the Spay Shuttle, performing nearly 700 free and low cost spay/neuter procedures each year!
Collaborative Spay Day
Aerial view (from the Chula Vista Animal Care Facility roof!) of our collaborative all-cat Spay Day on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb 3 – sponsored by HEART. The Spay Shuttle spayed 31 cats and the Neuter Scooter spayed 25! It was an awesome day of teamwork. Thank you to everyone who took part.
Foster Care Program Sponsorship
The Foster Care Program is designed to give animals, who are too young or not ready to be adopted, a chance to thrive in a loving, temporary home until they can be adopted through the Chula Vista Animal Care Facility. All supplies necessary to care for the animals are provided, including food, baby formula, medicine, heating pads, pet carriers, etc. That’s where we come in!
Cattery Expansion
We obtained a $25,000 grant from the PETCO Foundation to help finance a new cattery addition. This was exciting news for the facility! This important expansion comfortably houses all the cats available for adoption! You can walk through the hallway and see all the kitties playing and interacting with each other. This social environment reduces stress and greatly improves the quality of life for a “temporary” home.
The rendering above illustrates (in red) the seven new rooms, which are all indoors and connected to the existing walkway through the cattery area. Check out the gallery and see all the cats in action!
Providing Comfort
We’ve made huge strides in making sure every animal is comfortable and cozy at the Chula Vista Animal Care Facility.
- We installed air conditioning units for the animals in all four of the facility’s animal control trucks.
- We have provided hundreds of warm, comfortable fleece beds and blankets for cats and dogs.
- We’ve purchased new, roomy cat enclosures for a more stress-free, comfortable environment.
- We’ve furnished a two-story rabbit condo for orphaned bunnies, spacious kitty condos, cat trees, and toys for dogs and cats.
Urgent Veterinary Care
We completed a state-of-the medical treatment room at the facility for sick/injured animals and have funded special surgical procedures for seriously injured cats and dogs, and special tests as needed. In addition, we’ve supplied vaccines and necessary veterinary supplies and medicine to help treat sick and injured animals.
Exercise Area
Without a doubt, one of the areas that stand out as the greatest improvement for both the animals and the volunteers who dedicate time and energy to exercising the dogs is the new and improved exercise area with the artificial turf. Be sure to bring a camera with you, because you will want to take snapshots of all the “wagging tails” you will see in the new exercise area.
Roy & Marion Holleman Foundation Grant
In November of 2014 we received a second grant from the Roy & Marion Holleman Foundation for the Chula Vista Animal Care facility in the amount of $40,000. This grant was to be used for Facility Enhancement projects at the Shelter. Among the stipulated projects that were spelled out in the grant were the following enhancements:
- Installed new lighting and synthetic lawn in adoption interaction areas, making the area cleaner, more attractive and easier to maintain.
- Resurfaced the facility’s floors with epoxy to prevent the spread of disease and create a more stable flooring surface.
- Installed air conditioning and sound proofing in the Behavior Assessment Room, allowing assessments to be more comfortably performed during hot weather and reduce animals’ stress caused by outside noise.
- Created a small reptile enclosure to better address reptiles’ environmental needs for reliable lighting, heat and security.
Proclamation
In February 2017, the Spay Shuttle received a proclamation from Chula Vista Mayor and City Council for five amazing years of performing FREE Spay/Neuter services to the South Bay pets of low income residents. H.E.A.R.T. is the major funder of these FREE spay/neuter efforts! The Spay Shuttle provides spay/neuter services for low income Chula Vista, National City, and Lemon Grove residents. With your contribution, you can help us continue to control the overpopulation of unwanted pets!
Free Spays & Neuters
On August 1, 2018, Dr. Dorothy York, president of HEART presents a check for $10,000 to Mandy Mills of the Chula Vista Animal Care Facility to support free spays and neuters. Your donations made this possible!
Do you need to have your pet spayed or neutered? If you’re qualified, find out how you can get help!
Donate Today!
Donations are 100% tax deductible.
H.E.A.R.T. is a 501(c)3 organization, EIN#37-1522742.