Heart of Gold's Shelter

10/30/2026

Though we planned on halting new transfers until we get our new roof in December, we received an urgent request from our partners at the San Diego Humane Society and had to answer the call to action!
They are at critical capacity and need more space for the endless number of dogs entering their shelters. Fellow rescue partners have also answered the call. Such a strong rescue community!

Here is a sneak peek at our adorable new transfers! We have yet to rename them, but here is some additional information on our new group of 3 pups:

American Pitbull Terrier
1 year old
Female
She will be receiving medicated baths to treat her dermatitis. Working toward a shiny and full coat in the coming weeks.
I told myself I was on a foster break for the remainder of this year, but...she will be joining me in my home as a foster pup! She has already met my 3 pups that accompany me to work and loves them! She has so many smooches for me and has laid on my feet while at my desk. I look forward to slower introductions with my other 2 pups and 3 cats once we get home. She's going to fit in just fine with the pack life!

Pug mix
2 years old
Male
He has a double ear infection, dermatitis, and is underweight. This ye**ty and sticky boy was poorly taken care of by his previous home. We will get him back by continuing his medicated baths and have a vet appointment scheduled for next week to address his ears and assess his body.

Chihuahua mix
1 year old
Male
This happy boy had a not so happy start. He was saved by a member of the public after being hit by a car, fracturing his pelvis (right ischial) and tail. His tail was amputated as it could not be saved, so he has an adorable nub (ethically non-cosmetic, aka medically necessary) for a tail. His pelvic fracture seems to be healing well, but time will tell. We are hopeful he will not require a right hind leg amputation.

That's all for now!
Stay tuned for updates on our newest 3 transfers 🐾

10/29/2026

Shout out to Quinn D., Community Resources Manager at the San Diego Humane Society, for sending our rescue home with a pallet full of Dentastix and other goodies!

Chews are such beneficial enrichment tools for the dogs in our care, and something we run low on frequently.
Our supply has been replenished, and our pups couldn't be happier

10/28/2026

We would like to thank Stacy & Michael for their immensely generous donation. They paid our outstanding balance at Mast Blvd Pet Hospital in full, in memory of their ray of sunshine, Pace 🐾

I am grateful to have known and cared for Pace since we first met at the beginning of our rescue in 2018.
Whether hanging out with his doggie friends in my home, casually strolling the yards, or resting amongst my cats, he exuded joy wherever he went.

His smile, his friendship, and his beautiful soul will be greatly missed.
Please help us honor his memory by taking a moment of silence for Pace, the best boy

10/24/2026

Thanks to our transparency, responsiveness, professional customer service, and more, we are a Gold Certified Partner on Adopt a Pet!

Our new badge is displayed on our personal page via our favorite adoption website 🐾:
https://www.adoptapet.com/shelter/105826-heart-of-golds-shelter-el-cajon-california

10/24/2026

We have officially moved back into our rescue!
After over a week of fans and dehumidifiers working hard to dry the interior walls and ceiling, we were able to collect our pups from their boarding stays at Mary Puppins Dog Training and PetSmart.
Tarps are over our roof to prevent further leaks and roof repair/replacement will begin in the coming months.

As we will be focused on the dogs in our care until the roof repair/replacement is complete, transfers of new pups from our shelter partners will be placed on hold. We always accept returns of dogs previously adopted from our rescue and will continue to honor that guarantee without pause.
Since we won't have any new transfers, and our current set of pups do not appreciate the upfront approach and hectic nature of crowded adoption events, we will be cancelling all remaining adoption events through the end of the year.

We look forward to resuming adoption events and transfers early next year! Until then, feel free to check out our adoptable pups via the link below:
https://www.adoptapet.com/shelter/105826-heart-of-golds-shelter-el-cajon-california

10/21/2026

Last weekend, we attended the 2026 California Heroes Month awards ceremony.

Along with fellow nominees, we received our Certificate of Recognition from Supervisor Joel Anderson as 2026 California Heroes!

We are honored to receive this recognition and look forward to the future of our rescue journey! 🐾

10/20/2026

We have highly recommended Embark Vet's breed, breed + health, and age tests to our adopters for years without realizing they had an affiliate program for dog rescues 😅

We are now a Rescue Affiliate! If you are looking into purchasing any of their Embark products:
1. Visit: https://embarkvet.com/products/embark-dog-dna-test-shelter-program
2. When selecting "Add to Cart", a prompt will allow you to type in "Heart of Gold's Shelter"
3. Make your purchase! You're not only getting the most accurate test on the market, but you're helping support our rescue with your purchase!

I have purchased an Embark breed test for Penny, our long-term foster that I recently adopted, and can't wait to share the results with you all in the near future! 🐾

What breed is your dog? Learn their breed mix and screen for health risks with an Embark Dog DNA Test. Knowledge is key to giving your dog a happy, healthy life.

10/13/2026

Major Update:
Our roofer and mold remediation team arrived today. Even though the walls appear normal, a moisture reader determined that the walls are saturated with water.
No mold has appeared, which would mean an entire wall replacement. Due to the material our walls are made out of, the interior will undergo a minimum dry time of 7 days using multiple dehumidifiers. This will make the interior of the kennel both loud and hot.

After spending hours calling around different vet and boarding facilities, PetSmart was able to board 10 of our 11 pups! The remaining pup, Daffodil, will enter my home for temporary boarding.

Drying work begins tomorrow so our facility will be closed for the next 7-10 days. A roof replacement is also in the works.
We'll keep everyone posted as we work through this exhausting situation. 🐾

10/12/2026

In preparation for Tropical Storm Rachel, I had a feeling the excessive water would be a bit much for our old building. We did our due diligence and had a water seal applied to the exterior and had our roof inspected.
We got the ok that our roof was good to go.
Unfortunately, it wasn't...

Yesterday several areas of the kennel ceiling became saturated with rain water and multiple leaks occured. We had our roof emergency tarped to prevent further damage, had a hole cut in the ceiling to drain the built up water, and had a fan and dehumidifier placed to both dry the area and prevent mold.

Thankfully, our pups remain safe and warm and are able to utilize their kennels and outdoor play areas.
We have roofers coming tomorrow to provide estimates, though we are certain the entire roof will need to be replaced along with several areas of the ceiling.

Hoping to get this work done as quickly as possible so we can be back on track and ready for what is predicted to be a rainy season.