By Sarah Martinez
Meet Jeremy
Jeremy Selbach has been working with animals his whole life. From his childhood to his teen years, Jeremy spent his summers on his grandparents’ ranch taking care of all sorts of animals — growing up around animals has shaped his life. Now, Jeremy works at the County of Santa Clara Animal Shelter as Animal Shelter Supervisor.
“I have spent time and worked with animals all my life. As a child and teenager, I spent summers on my grandparents’ ranch where I cared for a multitude of animals including pigs, cows, chickens, dogs, cats, and horses. I also enjoyed collecting small animals like lizards, snakes, and frogs and having them as pets,” Jeremy said.
As ‘Animal Shelter Supervisor’, Jeremy is responsible for animal shelter operations. This includes the care, fostering, housing, and adoption of all the animals. Before becoming supervisor, Jeremy worked in various positions for the shelter.
“I started my career with the County of Santa Clara Animal Shelter as a kennel attendant where I was responsible for the care and well being of the pets in the shelters care. I advanced my career when I was promoted to an Animal Control Officer. In the officer role, I was responsible for investigating complaints regarding the care of animals and picking up lost pets,” Jeremy said.
One of his favorite parts of his job is being a voice for the animals.
“I enjoy educating and speaking with the public on all things related to our pets and providing them with the best care possible to give them their best life possible,” Jeremy said.
The County of Santa Clara Animal Shelter is teaming up with SJSU’s Advertising Campaigns (ADV 129) course to help bring awareness and raise money for the shelter. With the help of the County, the shelter is in the process of constructing brand new facilities to replace their current 70 year old building. The current shelter lacks the space and amenities needed to maintain an open-intake policy that accepts stray and abandoned domestic animals. However, the shelter is in need of additional funding for veterinary equipment and other furnishings. These SJSU students are tasked with creating an advertising campaign to help make this happen.
Jeremy said, “If there’s one thing I would like everyone to know is [they can] foster. Fostering helps create room for us to accept more animals. Even if they can only take care of them for two weeks, it lets us take care of another animal.”