Bob Eubanks hosted the Seal Beach Animal Care Center’s 25th Anniversary gala. Photo by Ben Novotny.

An extravagant event took place in Long Beach last Sunday night. Couples danced as the soul band The Emperors rocked the stage. Former “The Newlywed Game” host Bob Eubanks cracked jokes with the audience and shared some of his personal experiences working in television and radio, as well as some of his thought on life, work, and family.

And it was all done in support of stray dogs and cats that need a loving home.

In order to raise money for such vital services such as new dog kennels, emergency veterinary care, and cat and dog vaccinations, The Seal Beach Animal Care Center celebrated their 25th anniversary by hosting a fundraising gala at The Grand in Long Beach.

“We never hosted an event like this before, so we basically started from scratch,” said Rachael Simon, who served as the events Gala Committee Chairperson.

Although the final numbers have yet to come in, the committee members of the event estimate that it raised at least $70,000, which will greatly help the shelter, which has an annual operating budget of nearly $800,000, all of which is all funded by the shelter’s contributors. And despite being located in Seal Beach, the SBACC actually receives most of its support from residents of Long Beach.

“We’re more associated with Long Beach than Orange County” said Dee Carey, an SBACC volunteer who served as one of the committee members of the event.

One of the major Long Beach connections to SBACC is the fact that Long Beach’s Animal Care Services contracts itself to the City of Seal Beach, meaning that if a Seal Beach resident calls about a stray dog or cat in their neighborhood, ACS will pick it up and bring it to the shelter. The shelter also adopts many animals to Long Beach residents, including its former Mayor Beverly O’Neil.

Friends of the Seal Beach Animal Shelter was established as a group in 1986, it wasn’t until July of 1988 that the shelter opened it’s doors right behind the Seal Beach Police Department. In the early days, it was just a small cat room and 12 dog runs.

Today, the shelter houses at least 80 cats and between 35-40 dogs. It is unique among most other local animal shelters because it is a no-kill, pro-humane shelter, which means that no animals that are brought to the shelter are put down due to lack of space. The only time an animal is euthanised is if they are sick and their quality of life is gone.

“That was our vision from the very beginning” Carey said. “Our mission was to have a place where the animals who came into our care would never have to face euthanasia”.

As a no-kill shelter, SBACC attracts volunteers and adopters from across the Southland, however, it also incurs far more expenses than most other shelters because of the length of time animals remain there and medical costs.

The shelter has come a long way from where it was 25 years ago and still volunteers continue to strive to make it even better with future plans including building an outdoor play run for the dogs.

If you are interested in contributing  to the SBACC, volunteering at the SBACC, or would just like to have a new best friend with four feet, you can go to the shelter’s website at sbacc.org or contact them directly at (562) 430-4993.

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