Orange County Register

The passion attendant to (what we are now calling) The Shelter Wars has, frankly, surprised us. The Watchdog has been accused of favoring the county animal shelter over city animal shelters after the recent post about doggie dumping.

We’d like to point out that we did not come to the conclusion that city shelters turn away unadoptable animals that eventually wind up at the county shelter; the Orange County Grand Jury did.

That said, Sharon Cody, a devoted volunteer with the Mission Viejo shelter, wants to air her views, and she makes some very good points. Here is Cody’s take on things:

1. For the second year in a row, the Mission Viejo Shelter has seen the actual impound records for animals reported as having come from our jurisdiction (ending up at the county shelter) only to find a 40%-70% error rate. In year 2006-2007 stated were 27 strays when there were actually only 7. In 2007-2008 stated were 25 strays, there were actually 10.

Clearly, the county records are flawed. In one instance when we asked for stray animals found in our city that ended up at their shelter included in the number were several bats, animals found in their own service area and other cases that should not have been counted. Please see an animal by animal accounting in the email sent  to the our shelter manager involving strays, last fiscal year. For the previous year a complete set of impounds records were furnished including ALL animals from our jurisdiction taken into the county shelter, (not just strays) and the error rate was the same.

2. There is an enormous difference between a stated policy and an actual law. The County of Orange Animal Care Center takes animals in  from outside their jurisdiction as a matter of policy. They can decide to stop taking these animals. Because there have been many days when the county shelter could not take animals from their own jurisdiction because they stated they were full, the fact that they are taking animals from non-contracting cities is really difficult to  comprehend. In other words, residents who are paying for service
found not enough room at the shelter for their animal because the shelter was full presumably with some animals found in cities that  have no contract with the county.

3. The Orange County Grand Jury based their recommendations on flawed data provided by the OC Animal Care Center. It seems the bloggers favor a spay and neuter law and so do we. The Grand Jury recommended that a spay and neuter law be passed for the entire county which would result in fewer animals ending up at the shelter.  I have seen no such law being considered by the Board of Supervisors.

4. A letter from the Mission Viejo’s Mayor to Jennifer Philips (county shelter director) dated April 2008 stated that the City of Mission Viejo, from this date forward, expects to be notified within 2 days of ANY animal found in our service area but impounded at the OC Shelter so that our animal control officers can retrieve our stray animals. In one particular case a purebred Pomeranian only 2 years old was taken off our streets (Oso and Marguerite) by a county officer and sold five days later. 

5. Dedicated Animal Welfare Group spent $80,000 on medical care for the animals at the Mission Viejo Shelter just this past year alone. We are a tiny all volunteer group and we work hard to make sure that
every adoptable animal has a chance to be restored to good health so they can find a forever home. An extremely high number of “so called stray animals” found by individuals living in the county service
area, end up requiring extensive medical care. It is highly likely that individuals lie in order to get their animal into a shelter with only a 10% euthanasia rate rather than 40% like the county, with a non-profit funding expensive medical care, where no such service exists at the county, and with a shelter that places animals into new  homes with a fantastic adoption program where people are screened carefully, rather than being sold at the county shelter. The return rate for animals at our shelter is only 7%.”

We have invited the county to respond….will keep you posted.

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