Santa Barbara County Animal Services is considering consolidating its three locations into two.
Officials say the idea is in its early stages but would include closing the Lompoc shelter and moving most of the staff to the Santa Maria location.
Some services would still be available in Lompoc, but those wanting to adopt, foster, or find a lost pet would have to go to Santa Maria or Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara County Animal Services Operations Manager Esteban Rodriguez says consolidation could be beneficial to operations at the Santa Maria shelter.
"We're going to increase service," he said. "I think customer service will be better just in the sense that sometimes we only have one person working the front counter. If we condense staff members, we'll be able to facilitate more people coming to the shelter if we ever get back to some sort of normalcy."
Rodriquez says the shelters have housed fewer animals lately, which he attributes to the pandemic and support from the community.
He says the decision whether to consolidate the shelters will ultimately be up to the Lompoc City Council.
