Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.
Gage Forster
San Diego, CA
Why San Diego Animal Shelters Are Severely Overcrowded | San Diego Magazine
For just over a year, local animal shelters have been sounding the alarm that there are more pets than they can support in need of permanent homes. This has happened before, but typically during brief periods like kitten season. This time around, the situation is unique in that organizations are struggling to adopt out dogs, especially large breeds such as huskies, German shepherds, and pit bulls (who also have big litters).
“Dog overpopulation in shelters right now is something we’ve never seen before,” says Dr. Gary Weitzman, CEO of San Diego Humane Society (SDHS).
According to Stephanie Filer, executive director of the national organization Shelter Animals Count, the usual flow of animals in and out of shelters has fallen out of balance since the pandemic. “We have had more pets entering shelters than have left,” she says. “The number of days that large dogs are waiting to get adopted has doubled.”
Experts are unsure why adoptions have flatlined, but the reasons for increased pet surrenders are clear.
“When owners are surrendering [animals], it’s because they literally cannot afford to care for them or cannot find a place to live with them,” Filer says.
Landlords frequently bar pets over 50 pounds or restrict certain breeds. Amid a housing crisis, renters may not have the luxury of choosing affordable residences that also accommodate large dogs. In a 2021 report, Michelson Found Animals claims 8.2 million pets could find homes if these restrictions were lifted. The organization also found that housing led 14 percent of surveyed renters to surrender animals.
“As a society, we really want people to be able to have animals and enjoy that companionship and not have those resource issues be a factor, but they are certainly what’s driving the overcrowding,” says Jill Tucker, CEO of California Animal Welfare Association (CalAnimals).
Of course, housing isn’t the only economic concern contributing to shelter overcrowding. The New York Times reported last month that the cost of veterinary care has shot up more than 60 percent in the past 10 years. Meanwhile, the number of vets has dropped—the staggering debt, relatively paltry salary, and high stress of the profession has led to veterinarian shortages across the US.
Shelters are affected by the vet shortage, too. According to a recent survey of California animal welfare organizations by the Program for Pet Health Equity at the University of Tennessee, 64 percent of organizations cannot provide certain kinds of veterinary care, such as spaying and neutering, to animals at their facilities because they are unable to fill vacant veterinarian positions or afford or even find appointments at nearby vets.
At the beginning of the pandemic, many vet surgeons ceased spay and neuter procedures amid a PPE shortage in which safety equipment was saved for human medical care. Large-scale spay and neuter programs that often fixed upwards of 50 animals in a single day were paused due to the health risk of congregating in groups.
Previously, SDHS, one of the largest shelters in the nation, received puppies transferred from Arizona and parts of the American south each year, taking pressure off shelters in those regions and allowing San Diegans to adopt young dogs. For the first time, SDHS has not been able to accept transferred animals because there are puppies entering the shelter system locally. As of May 30, “we’ve got about 140 puppies right now and they’re all from San Diego,” Weitzman says.
“For [SDHS] to not be able to help organizations who previously depended on them, because, rightfully, they need to help the animals in their community first, it does create this ripple effect across the country,” Filer adds.
Currently, SDHS is building a new veterinary facility for mass spay and neuter care, but in the interim, the organization, which performs 80 to 100 sterilization procedures per day already, has had to cut back on providing that service for pet owners in the community because they have so many animals in their own care. This only leads to more unaltered pets in the community in the future. “It’s just this exponential math problem,” Tucker says.
Amid this national crisis, overpopulated shelters face thorny decisions: Will they limit their intake of abandoned animals; house more animals in subpar conditions, like hallways lined with cages; or euthanize pets so the remaining animals have enough space? SDHS has a no-euthanasia policy, but reps have stated that overcrowding causes behavior problems, risks the spread of contagious diseases, and leads to immense stress on staff and animals.
“Shelters get stuck in a position where there’s not a good outcome,” Tucker says. She helped spearhead the first ever California Adopt-A-Pet Day on June 1, when 3,609 animals across the state found homes.
Tucker and Weitzman are also part of a coalition of animal welfare agencies lobbying for the state legislature to pass bills to address the problem. Potential solutions include requiring vet schools teach students how to perform mass spay and neuter procedures and restricting landlords’ ability to enact pet bans.
The best way for the average person to help? Adopt a shelter pet.
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Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com
SANDY, Utah — SANDY, Utah (AP) — Sergi Solans had two goals and an assist, Diego Luna added a goal and two assists, and Real Salt Lake beat San Diego FC 4-2 on Saturday night to extend its unbeaten streak to six games.
Morgan Guilavogui scored his first goal in MLS and had an assist for Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). The 28-year-old designated player has five goal contributions in his first six career games.
RSL hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver in the season opener.
San Diego (3-3-2) has lost three in a row and is winless in five straight.
Luna opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he re-directed a misplayed pass by Duran Ferree, San Diego’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, into the net.
Moments later, Solans headed home a perfectly-placed cross played by Luna from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box to the back post to make it 2-0. Solans, a 23-year-old forward, flicked a header from the center of the area inside the right post and past the outstretched arm of Ferree to make it 3-1 in the 37th minute.
Guilavogui slammed home a first-touch shot to give RSL a three-goal lead in the 45th.
Marcus Ingvartsen scored a goal in the 14th minute and Anders Dreyer converted from the penalty spot in the 66th for San Diego.
Ingvartsen has five goals and an assist this season and has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 16 career MLS appearances.
Rafael Cabral had three saves for RSL.
Ferree finished with five saves.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
When John Resnick opened Campfire on a quaint little street in Carlsbad, Calif., in 2016, some locals weren’t sure what to think. The coastal enclave wasn’t exactly awash in innovative, chef-driven establishments, so it was a shock to see the dining room consistently full. Early on, one woman wondered aloud to Resnick, “Where did all these people come from?”
It’s a moment he remembers vividly. “I was struck by her statement, because I think she was surprised that so many other people in Carlsbad were there,” Resnick says.
The rest of the culinary world would take some time to catch up to what was happening. In 2019, when Michelin expanded to rate restaurants throughout all of California—not just the San Francisco area—Addison was the only one in San Diego to earn a star. But since emerging from the pandemic, the region’s food scene has grown dramatically. Driven by outstanding farms, ingredients, a bumper crop of talented chefs, and a G.D.P. approximately the size of New Zealand or Greece, San Diego County has become one of America’s most underrated dining destinations.
Perhaps no single restaurant is a better emblem for this shift than chef William Bradley’s Addison, which opened in 2006. After landing his first star, Bradley knew he wanted more. To get them, he transformed his French-leaning fare to serve what he calls California Gastronomy, which combines the cultures of SoCal with impeccable ingredients and wildly impressive techniques, prizing flavor over flair. Michelin responded, awarding Addison a second star in 2022, and making it the first Southern California three-star restaurant just a year later. The accolade has created a halo effect, attracting culinary tourists from around the world.
Berry beet tartlets at San Diego’s three-star stalwart Addison.
Eric Wolfinger
“Earning three stars forces the global dining community to pay attention to a place that may not have been on their radar before,” says chef Eric Bost, a partner in Resnick’s four Carlsbad establishments.
Resnick recruited Bost, who spent time at award-winning outposts of Restaurant Guy Savoy, to run Jeune et Jolie, which he led to a star in 2021. They’ve since taken over an old boogie-board factory down the street and converted it to an all-day restaurant and bakery, Wildland. The space also hosts an exquisite tasting-counter experience called Lilo, which was given a Michelin star mere months after opening in April 2025. And as Resnick and Bost grew their successful Carlsbad operation, chef Roberto Alcocer earned a Michelin star for his Mexican fine-dining spot Valle in nearby Oceanside.
The stylish tasting counter at Michelin one-star Lilo in Carlsbad.
Kimberly Motos
About 25 miles to the south, another affluent coastal community is going through its own culinary glow up. In La Jolla, chef Tara Monsod and the hospitality group Puffer Malarkey Collective opened the stylish French steakhouse Le Coq. Chef Erik Anderson, formerly of Michelin two-star Coi, is preparing to launch Roseacre. And last year, Per Se alums Elijah Arizmendi and Brian Hung left New York to open the elegant tasting-menu restaurant Lucien, lured by the ingredients they’d get to serve. “A major reason we chose San Diego is the quality and diversity of the produce,” Arizmendi explains. “San Diego County has more small farms than anywhere else in the U.S., and its many microclimates allow farmers to grow an incredible range of ingredients year-round.”
Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.
Gage Forster
Chef Travis Swikard has also been a tireless advocate for the region’s ingredients since he returned to San Diego, his hometown, and opened Mediterranean-influenced Callie in 2021. There’s no sophomore slump with his latest effort, the French Riviera–inspired Fleurette in La Jolla, where he’s serving his take on classics like leeks vinaigrette and his San Diego “Bouillabaisse” with local red sheepshead fish and spiny lobster. Its food is bright, produce-driven, and attentive in execution, while the dining room maintains a relaxed and unpretentious style of service. And Swikard sees that approach cohering into a regional style with a strong network of professionals behind it.
“It’s really nice that we are developing our own identity, not trying to be like L.A. or any other market, just highlighting what’s great about the San Diego lifestyle and ingredients,” he says. “Similar to New York, a chef community is starting to develop where chefs are supporting each other. There is a true sense of pride to be cooking here.”
Top: In La Jolla, Lucien serves ocean whitefish with tomatoes turned into concasse, sabayon, and other expressions.
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