Calling for help in an animal emergency is about to get a little easier.
The San Diego Humane Society is adding dispatchers to answer your calls 24/7.
Starting Wednesday, if you call the San Diego Humane Society after 10 p.m. a dispatcher will answer your call.
“We hit the point where were getting so many calls overnight with our on-call officers with questions and things that may or may not have been an emergency,” said Rebecca Scally, San Diego Humane Society Communications Center Manager.
Dispatchers take hundreds of calls each day across San Diego County.
“It's a lot. It's a lot of people. It's a lot of pets. It's a lot of wildlife,” said Scally.
After-hour calls are only for emergencies. Currently, if you call after 10 p.m. a voice message directs you through several options. Many people just want a live person on the phone, and most calls can be handled on the phone or online.
“As [SDHS has] grown we've become a key piece in the public safety community in San Diego,” said Scally.
For the past month, the humane society has been testing the 24/7 service with San Diego County mutual aid such as surrounding police departments, San Diego County Sheriff and area fire departments.
On Wednesday that service is scheduled to go live to the public.
“We are here for the animals - that is our focus. Is there an animal that is hurt? Is there an animal that in danger? Or an animal that needs our help? Then that is what we would call someone out for,” said Scally.
The key piece is dispatchers on duty taking your animal emergency after-hours call or question can resolve them on the phone or online.
“They play an integral role in filtering calls and some things that we may not be able to go to but simple education,” said Cecelia Rivera, San Diego Humane Society law enforcement officer.
This service will also be added protection for the officers who are not on duty around the clock but on call. They carry tasers but not guns and overnight calls can get hairy.
“It's nice to know that someone is there. They have our back when we are in the field and checking in on us when we have late-night calls,” said Paige Milam, San Diego Humane Society law enforcement officer.
The Humane Society said now that dispatch will be on 24/7 they eventually will move humane law enforcement officers to 24/7.