The Animal Rescue Team is the realization of a long held dream of its Executive Director and Co-Founder Julia di Sieno, who has been rescuing, rehabilitating, and returning animals to the wild for 25 years. In 2000, after 20 years working with the S.B. Wildlife Network, Julia moved to the Santa Ynez Valley and opened a large mammal animal rescue & rehabilitation center, making her dream a reality and creating The Animal Rescue Team. Here, Julia and a small group of trained volunteers run a 24/7 animal rescue hot line where the S.B. County Sheriff’s Department, various Fire Departments, Humane Societies and Animal Services, as well as caring citizens, call to report wild or domestic animals who have been injured, orphaned, abused or displaced. We are the only animal rescue facility equipped with an Animal Ambulance on the Central Coast which allows us to respond 24/7 to animals in crisis. We also have a 14’ trailer that attaches to our Animal Ambulance to help with evacuations. During the recent Jesusita Fire, A.R.T. rescued over 200 animals, wild and domestic.
We’ve taken in bobcats, foxes, deer, pigs, coyotes, weasels, turkeys, beavers, squirrels, bunnies, and all types of birds, dogs, cats and many other abused or abandoned animals both domestic and wild. We are the only wildlife facility permitted by Fish & Game to rescue/rehabilitate large mammals between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo and the only facility from Los Angeles to San Francisco to take in injured, orphaned fawns.
A.R.T.’s mission has always been to serve the Tri-county’s large native wildlife population. Because human population and building has been growing in our area, and our native wildlife continues to get pushed out of its natural habitat, we are seeing more injured, orphaned and displaced animals as a result. There is a growing need for hands-on care and rapid response capability to aid these injured and threatened wild animals. This is the vital missing piece of environmental stewardship that the Animal Rescue Team is determined to provide. We also aim to provide education to the public about the needs of at risk wildlife, and the need for animal care and protection. We were certified In Disaster Animal Response Training (DART) through the Humane Society University of the United States in 2010 and are now officially on the National Disaster Call List.
In 2009 the Animal Rescue Team released more than 100 rehabilitated animals back into their natural environment. This year we hope to triple that number!
Please visit us our website at animalrescueteam.net, and click on our link to our Animal Rescue Team, Inc.’s Facebook site too!
Animal Rescue Team, Inc.
875 Carriage Drive
Solvang, CA 93463
Rescue Hot line: (805) 896-1859
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