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Alcala, Abigail From:Michael M <mlmavro@gmail.com> Sent:Monday, To:eComment Subject:CITY COUNCIL, GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT Attention: This email originated from outside of City of Santa Ana. Use caution when opening attachments or links. (a) Cities pay for the county animal shelter. Why are they putting up with its low standards? From Patch Orange County, February 2: Tell the OC Animal Shelter to Fix Its Problems - At No Cost! https://patch.com/california/orange-county/tell-oc-animal-shelter-fix-its-problems-no-cost-nodx The "no cost" solution is a non-profit willing to assist the shelter, the previous Strategic Plan at a cost of 400K+ was never implemented. Excerpt: OC Animal Care has a Strategic Plan developed in 2018 by the best experts on animal shelters (at a cost to taxpayers of 400K+ in 2018). But the county is ignoring its own plan. The county bureaucracy wants to hire some random consultant to “update” the plan. They managed to craft the process to their liking… so that they have only one bidder. (Their favorite?) They want OC cities to pay this consultant… so the bureaucracy can craft an excuse to lower the shelter’s standards – at the expense of OC animals and OC taxpayers. (b) For nearly two years, I’ve been telling OC Animal Care to allow adopters to visit the kennel areas. I published a research paper proving that kennel access generates more adoptions: https://jsmcah.org/index.php/jasv/article/view/85 The county is reluctantly following my recommendation, but the delay cost city taxpayers AND the shelter's animals dearly. The only way to avoid more waste and mismanagement is to fully implement the Strategic Plan. From Voice of OC, January 24: OC Animal Shelter Expands Weekend Visiting Hours https://voiceofoc.org/2025/01/oc-animal-shelter-expands-weekend-visiting-hours/ Excerpt: The shelter has faced harsh criticism for years about its accessibility to the public after the COVID-19 pandemic. When businesses and municipalities began reopening after pandemic-related closures, the shelter was slow to return to standard operations. Instead of fully reopening to the public, OC Animal Care implemented an appointment-based operation that prohibited visitors from walking through the kennel areas, prompting protests, petitions, a lawsuit and fear that the closed-off shelter was preventing adoptions and causing more euthanized pets. In July 2023, shelter staff launched a program that opened up some kennels for five hours each week. It was the first time the kennels were opened to public access since before the pandemic. Then in January 2024, the shelter established its current viewing hours from 2 to 5 p.m. \[Starting January 25, 2025, viewing hours on Saturdays and Sundays will begin at 12 p.m and last until 5 p.m.\] According to the shelter’s 2024 statistics, 256 adult dogs were euthanized during the calendar year — about 6% of all adult dogs. The kill rate for adult dogs has tripled since the current shelter location opened in 2018, according to the shelter’s data sheets published quarterly on its website. In 2018, the kill rate was right around 2%. 1