San Diego animal shelters have received more than a dozen pets from people who were deported this year — nine at the San Diego Humane Society and four at the county’s Department of Animal Services.

That’s likely an undercount because neither shelter system asks about people’s immigration status. The shelters only know this information if people include it in the intake forms.

“There could be more because it’s such a sensitive situation that it may be that we have pets in our care, and we don’t know the full story,” said Nina Thompson, director of public relations at the San Diego Humane Society.

Cata, a 4-year-old pit bull mix recovered from a home in Mira Mesa in October, was left behind after her owner was deported, according to a neighbor who contacted the Humane Society.

Thompson s

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