Orange County grand jurors
released another damning report Wednesday on county animal services, declaring
that poor leadership has contributed to problems like rat infestations at the
county shelter and dead animals being left near homes for days after being
reported to animal control.
The situation is so bad, the
panel wrote, that the county should consider replacing the leadership
of the county's community resources department, which oversees animal
services. The report doesn't mention them by name, but the
department's director is Steve Franks.
“This alleged void in
leadership has resulted in either the inability of management to define the
problems at hand or, if defined, an unwillingness to correct them," the
report found.
"It has been alleged by
many that the lack in leadership has led to a few mid-management personnel
assuming control of the Animal Shelter daily operations with little or no
oversight from upper management.”
Reached by phone, Franks
declined to comment, deferring to county spokeswoman Jean Pasco. She
later released a statement saying the report is “based in part
on unsubstantiated allegations.”
“It is our belief that the
report in its totality does not accurately reflect the current OC Animal Care
program or the commitment of all County staff and our volunteers to the humane
treatment of animals,” said county CEO Frank Kim in a statement.
The county has reduced dog
euthanasia rates by more than half, and has dedicated funding to fill nine
vacant animal services jobs and another $150,000 “for shelter repairs,
including replacement of the cat isolation trailer,” the statement added.
The shelter’s director also
said that she will keep working to improve conditions, without getting into
specifics.
“I have and will continue to
promote conditions at OC Animal Care that benefit the animals in our care,
acknowledge the work of our dedicated staff and serve the community,” said Dr.
Jennifer Hawkins, director of OC Animal Care.
The health risks include a
shortage of animal control officers to pick up dead animals, rodent problems,
and a lack of ventilation in trailers that store cats, the grand jury found.
This is the second scathing
grand jury report on conditions at the 74 year-old animal shelter in less than
a month. A report issued on May 21 found that the
health of animals and people alike are being put at risk while top county officials fail to take leadership on
building a new facility.
That report also placed
responsibility for the state of affairs at the feet of top county government
officials.
Among the latest report’s
findings:
• A shortage of animal control officers has led to dead animals
being exposed in public for several days at a time. In one case, a dead
deer was left in front of a home for five days before an officer could respond
to the call. “Although there is a need for 10-12 [animal control
officers] in the field on a normal day, there have been times when there was
only one [officers] available to respond to service calls throughout the entire
County.”
• A lack of training of animal control officers and “the absence
of appropriate tools and equipment to deal with animals that need to be
tranquilized or euthanized.” As an example, two officers opted to slice
an impaled deer’s throat, as opposed to allowing a veterinarian to administer a
euthanasia drug.
• Most shelter employees who were interviewed “complained of
morale problems…Virtually every mid-level and lower-level employee identified
the same individuals in management as those who were responsible for low
morale.”
• “Hundreds, if not thousands, of gallons of water” might be
wasted each day because the shelter doesn’t have nozzles at the end of the
hoses used to wash down kennels, and water was left running “constantly even
when the attendants were not present.”
• County medical employees and veterinarians have warned against
the county’s “feral free cat” program, calling it a potential public health
hazard, ineffective, and a waste of tax dollars. Yet the program has
continued.
• Kennels are hosed down while dogs are inside, leaving the dogs
soaked, despite standard practice at other shelters of moving dogs into clean
kennels before washing. The grand jury “could find no justification to
support the practice of soaking the dogs,” which has a higher chance of dogs
catching a disease.
• “Serious allegations of criminal behavior and other serious
matters were brought to the [grand jury’s attention,” which were referred to
the District Attorney’s office for investigation.
The report also made a series
of recommendations to address the findings, including hiring qualified staff
more quickly, improving the ventilation system for cat trailers and using the
“move-one-down” method for cleaning kennels.
It’s unclear whether the county
will implement the recommendations, which are not required by law.
Grand jurors also noted that
similar complaints about the shelter – particularly regarding low employee
morale, unfair hiring and promotions and mistreatment of animals – have
been discussed in grand jury reports for at least 15 years.
June
18, 2015
Voice
of OC
By
Nick Gerda
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