Michael McConnell

"A lot of times the pets are the only ones left that love them unconditionally."

Having to give up a pet to find housing is one reason many people stay on the street. El Cajon is looking to remove that barrier, city officials said in a meeting last week.

"A lot of times the pets are the only ones left that love them unconditionally," said councilman Gary Kendrick, who wants to make it easier for people to accept services by offering shelter for their pets.

If the city takes care of them, their owners won't have to worry; they'll be there when they get out of the program, Kendrick said. "I think this is a situation where we can actually save lives."

It's a clear obstacle for many.

"I would think a majority of the population we deal with is like that; they're not going to part with their animal," said Mike Moulton, chief of police.

Still in the analysis phase, the idea picks up a previous discussion about using the city's animal shelter to house pets while people seek services.

The latest plan, for which the council voted unanimously to study options and costs further, branches out to working with the Humane Society or rescue groups.

"I think if we partnered with rescue organizations we could probably do it for a small amount, maybe just the cost of food, because we've got a lot of fosters," said councilmember Michelle Metschel.

"I'm working with a family right now and that's one of the problems they have finding shelter because they have two dogs."

There's still plenty to figure out, said city manager Graham Mitchell. One likely pre-requisite of a program "would be the ability to go visit your animal while you're receiving services. I don't know how many foster parents would be cool with people showing up at their home and spending time with their dog at their house."

There are 2,046 homeless shelters in San Diego, but only PATH San Diego and Father Joe's Village allow pets on-site, according to Feeding Pets of the Homeless, which provides services for pets of the unsheltered.

San Diego Humane Society and Pets Without Walls offer resources to this population, from pet food and veterinary care to fostering.

Karina Hernandez, housing program manager at Home Start Inc. agreed there are a lot of unsheltered people with pets – at least 25 – who are reluctant to accept services that would separate them from their animals.

"It is a barrier when we try to house them permanently ," because often the pet must be deemed a service animal to be accepted into housing "and it is hard to get them to a clinic downtown which is part of getting an animal to be a service animal."

If the same pet caretaker was in a shelter, given time and transportation to work things out, Hernandez said. "I think they'll be more open to services."

It would be "fifty-fifty" that someone would agree to put their pet in the shelter and visit while they receive help, she added. "I will have some that will say no."

Home Start covers the motel pet costs when they put someone in emergency shelter, she said.

High on the city's wish list is getting other cities or the county to partner with them on the venture. The city is part of a Memorandum of Understanding intended to support homeless solutions in East County.

"I would like to explore the idea of bringing in another city with this idea," said councilman Phil Ortiz. "I really want to press Lemon Grove, Santee, the county - to step up and partner with this MOU we have, this understanding that we're gonna work together regionally with this."

Metschel agreed with making it more of a countywide effort. "This should not just be an El Cajon thing."

The easiest way forward is to study what's already being done, city manager Mitchell said, pointing out that the Humane Society has a similar contract in place with Carlsbad, which would show the costs. It would be more complicated to involve rescues because of the possible visitation issues that might arise, he said.

While El Cajon has never run out of space, animals flow in from both La Mesa and Santee because the city has a direct contract with La Mesa and Santee has a contract with the Humane Society.

"One advantage of the Humane Society is if there's an overflow we can push some of the dogs to Santee or La Mesa or one of their shelters. I think there's capacity for a program if we went the humane society route."