FAIRFIELD — The 2019-20 Solano County grand jury
described an ugly and unhealthy picture of the animal shelter, to include
“evidence of rodent infestation.”
The worst conditions are in areas where stray
dogs are kept, and those dogs deemed “too vicious to handle.”
“The majority of the cages of the confined stray
dogs were so full of water that most of the dogs were standing on their
steel-framed elevated dog beds to keep out of the water,” the grand jury report
released May 28 states.
“In many cases, the dog beds were full of feces,
evidence that the dogs were avoiding the water in their cages and were
relieving themselves on their beds. Staff explained that these cages were
cleaned once a day; however, the cages of the dogs that were up for adoption
(and therefore more likely to be seen by the public) were cleaned two to three
times a day.”
The grand jury made three findings with
corresponding recommendations.
The first recommendation is “clean the area and
rid it of rodents.” The second recommendation is to “rid the cages of the
puddles of standing water.”
Finally, the grand jury recommends cleaning the
“cages (for stray dogs) as often as the cages for the adoptable animals.”
The grand jury report notes that the condition
of the animal shelter has been the subject of grand jury reports for decades.
Previous grand juries found Solano County’s
animal care and control services ineffective in meeting the needs of the
community and recommended the facilities be replaced, the report states.
“In 2012, Solano County entered into a $5.15
million agreement with the seven cities of the county for animal care and
sheltering services from 2012 through 2027. The approved project was funded by
the issuance of certificates of participation with the member cities
reimbursing the county for their portions of the costs over the term of the
agreement,” the grand jury report states.
Work on the first two phases is done. They
include “site work, relocation of the ‘temporary’ modular building used for
administrative offices, and design and construction of a new 12,500-square-foot
kennel at the existing Clay Bank Road site,” the report states.
The kennel includes a spay/neuter clinic for
animals up for adoption, but pet owners can pay for the service as well, which
should increase revenues.
“Although improvements are slowly coming to
fruition, there are still issues within the facility that have little to do
with funding. While the improvements to the building are due to be completed by
the end of 2020, the issue of maintaining cleanliness in the cages,
particularly for stray dogs, will not be solved by building a new facility,”
the report states.
The report also describes a condition by which
dogs that staff describe as “too vicious to handle” are kept in small cages and
given no exercise.
“According to animal behaviorists and
veterinarians, lack of exercise can contribute to aggression as excess energy
can cause the dog to perform undesirable behaviors,” the report states,
although there are no specific references to back the statement.
Staffing is viewed as one of the problems, with
shelter administrators telling the grand jury that even “at least one more
employee would make a huge difference in conducting the business of the
shelter.”
“Administrators feel that increasing the staff
would allow the shelter to once again open six days a week, insteadof five,”
the report states.
“The five-days-a-week schedule was designed to
save money, but the new schedule allows fewer opportunities for the public to
see and adopt animals. That means the shelter has to hold animals an extra day
leading to extra costs to the shelter; therefore, any possible savings are
eliminated,” the report states.
Cuts were made to animal care services by the
Board of Supervisors, on a recommendation by the Sheriff’s Office, for
budgetary reasons.
The animal shelter administrators also would
like to stop accepting feral cats.
“According to shelter administrators, feral cats
are the number-one issue in the shelter’s population. Of the 8,900 animals
received each year at the shelter, approximately 6,000 are cats. Administrators
feel it would make a vast difference if they were able to stop accepting feral
cats. They emphasized that there are enough community cat programs to deal with
the feline population,” the report states.
“The grand jury observed several feeding
stations for feral cats outside of the shelter’s Administration Building,” the
report states.
Inside, due to private donations specifically
for cats, “the animal shelter has some very nice cages housing cats that are
available for adoption . . . (that) include scratching posts and climbing
towers for the ‘cat residents,’ ” the report states.
And while the comment was not a specific
recommendation, the grand jury noted better street directions to the shelter
are needed.
“Although the shelter address is technically on
Clay Bank Road, clearer directions are necessary since it is not physically
located on Clay Bank. Visitors need to turn right at the second intersection on
Clay Bank Road onto Fonstal Way. The shelter is located on the left side of the
roundabout.”
The required response from the Sheriff’s Office
had not yet been filed with the grand jury.
A call seeking comment from the Sheriff’s Office
was not returned.
Solano County Daily Republic
By Todd Hansen
June 16, 2020
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