San Pablo nonprofit that helps low-income pet owners in need of new home
A San Pablo no-kill shelter that's considered a last resort for animals is scrambling to find an affordable new home quickly.
If it can't, animals that are in dire need of help could instead be euthanized.
At Jelly's Place, Julie Bainbridge is nursing Ohwdis the puppy back to health. He snapped his front leg jumping out of a backpack and his owner couldn't afford veterinary care.
Her no-kill shelter supplies homes for abandoned, abused and injured dogs and cats. Now, the 7-year-old nonprofit itself needs a new home.
"It upsets me. I worry about it every night," Bainbridge said. "I got into this to help animals, and now I feel like my heart's been ripped out."
Jelly's Place has rented its San Pablo space from Caltrans at a discounted rate for years. Now, it needs to make way for a new highway project nearby.
And she said she cannot afford the landlord's proposals to try to buy the property at auction or sign a long term lease at much higher rates.
"I can't compete with high rentals. We don't have that kind of money," she said.
So far, Bainbridge has had no bites in her search for a new place. So, she's re-doubling adoption efforts and stopped taking in new arrivals.
Without Jelly's Place, she would no longer be able to house hundreds of animals she's rescued each year from pet owner surrenders, injury and euthanasia, and even hoarding and slaughter overseas.
And low-income pet parents would lose out on its free vaccination clinics and help getting emergency vet care.
Len Welsh of Stitch in Time Animal Rescue in Kensington partners with Bainbridge and her nonprofit.
"Sometimes there's a dog that gets in a car accident and has a broken leg. They want to keep the dog and can't pay for vet care, so we take care of that for them," he said.
Bainbridge is hoping to she can keep Jelly's Place open in Contra Costa County.
She hopes to find some place that's at least an acre in size and zoned for agriculture.
"I think about it every night. I'm losing a lot of sleep. It worries me for the community and animals. That are not going to get our help anymore," she said.
Bainbridge said Caltrans told her the deadline to move has been moved up from December 2025 to May 2025.
Caltrans told KPIX it's continuing communication with Jelly's Place so the nonprofit can make plans for a replacement space as Caltrans gets ready for improvements on the San Pablo Dam Road/I-80 Interchange project to improve safety and traffic flow.
The Jelly's Place location will be used to store construction materials when work tentatively schedules to begin in 2026.
Meanwhile, Bainbridge hopes the county or state has property it could rent at a discounted rate, or maybe someone has property to donate.
Bainbridge can be reached at julie@jellysplace.org or www.jellysplace.org.
