LIVE OAK -- Following a recent fire, homeless pets might not be able to stay at the Santa Cruz SPCA's headquarters Live Oak anymore, though it's unclear if the change is permanent.

County spokeswoman Chris Hirsch said the shelter will be closed for at least three months while crews repair fire damage. An accidental electrical fire Thursday night caused more than $15,000 damage to the Seventh Avenue building and its contents.

"While it's being repaired, they can't be there," Hirsch said.

However, SPCA Director Lisa Carter said she was told animals will not be allowed to return to the building even after the repairs are finished.

"They may not let us go back there with animals and just want us to use it as an office," said Carter, who heard the news from county officials Tuesday, the same day a dog missing since the night of the fire was found safe.

County officials could not be reached to comment further about the SPCA having to move.

The SPCA rents the Seventh Avenue building from the county. The organization, which has rescued Santa Cruz County animals for seven decades, has been at that site for 30 years, Carter said.

The SPCA sold the property to the county about five years ago and county Animal Services is building a new shelter next door, according to Carter. That facility is slated to open in August, Hirsch said.

Carter said she was excited at the thought of working right next to Animal Services because the SPCA regularly takes pets from the agency and places them with foster or adoptive families.

Carter had expected to return animals to the building within 60 days, the timeline she said she was given for repairs to be made.

The SPCA evacuated the 22 dogs, cats, rabbits and a pot-bellied pig from the building during the Thursday night fire, which was sparked by a computer printer. One dog burned his paws and Boo, a black schipperke mix, escaped, but the other animals were unhurt.

Boo was found Tuesday afternoon living in a wooded area off Capitola Road "like a feral dog," according to SPCA adoption counselor Sarah Eryavec.

Carter said media coverage helped people realize the loose dog was Boo.

"Somebody called in because they saw his picture in the paper," she said.

Eryavec drove to the area where Boo had been seen and tried to lure him to her, but he was "absolutely terrified," she said. Using treats, she drew him out of the woods and into her car.

Before he escaped the SPCA, Boo had been skittish and sometimes nipped at people. Eryavec said it seems the experience of living alone in the wild has calmed him a bit. Back at the SPCA, he drank a huge bowl of water, ate a big bowl of food and conked out on a blanket.

"He seems friendlier now than he was before, maybe because we're his saviors," Eryavec said.

Like most of the other animals that had been staying at the SPCA, Boo will likely be placed in a foster home, according to Eryavec. Carter said pets are being cared for by volunteers or are staying at Bed and Biscuits while SPCA officials determine where they can relocate -- either temporarily during repairs or permanently, if the county prohibits them from bringing animals back to the Seventh Avenue building.

The SPCA does have a second location next to the Chanticleer Veterinary Hospital, Carter said. The site is used to quarantine sick animals, but the building could serve as the organization's new shelter if need be.

"It's just smaller and needs quite a bit of repairs," Carter said.