For years, the City of San Jose has largely ignored the concerns of animal welfare advocates such as volunteers, rescue partners, independent veterinarians and employees at the San Jose Animal Care and Services Center. Surprisingly, little has been done other than an audit request made by Mayor Matt Mahan.
That 133-page City audit barely scratched the surface of the overall dysfunction at the City’s animal shelter.
Despite the audit, animals continue to suffer due to a management team that is unable to perform basic tasks when it comes to animal care.
Neonate kittens are underfed. Kitten formula runs out. Dogs are euthanized without ever going on a rescue list. Kittens with highly treatable ringworm are given “final” dates. Rescue partners and fostering concerns are ignored. Vet staff misdiagnose and ignore fractures. Dozens of dogs and cats have died after routine spay-neuter surgery. Poorly trained intake staff turn away kittens under 12 weeks, risking violation of state law.
Friendly and adoptable adult cats are misidentified as “feral” and released into the community.
The medical clinic was found by the auditor to be out of compliance with DEA protocols regarding management of controlled substances. Employees and volunteers who “speak” up are retaliated against. The Community Action Committee proposed last November by the public works director, Matt Loesch, to facilitate audit recommendations has never been established.
Poor hiring decisions since late 2021 have created and compounded an environment of incompetence and negligence as well as a toxic culture that has driven away valuable staff, volunteers and rescue partners.
Rescue participation has dropped to record lows. Line-level staff members go untrained. Turnover is high. The shelter has been unable to attract qualified medical staff. Contrast this to the Santa Clara County’s shelter, which earlier this year attracted two full-time veterinarians to help support a low-cost public spay-neuter program.
The City’s audit found shelter operations not compliant with basic Association of Shelter Veterinarian guidelines. The practice of trap, neuter, release and low-cost public spay-neuter clearly haven’t been priorities. Surprisingly, San Jose City Manager Jennifer Maguire has appeared content with the performance of animal shelter directors who have repeatedly failed the animals in their care and the community they serve.
Shelter performance data in the annual report has been found to be erroneous and highly misleading. Fundamental metrics such as live-release rates, average lengths of stay and unhealthy/untreatable rates are not calculated accurately nor compliant with industry standards.
A recent survey of San Jose Animal Care Center staff by union representative John Tucker showed that 100% of the respondents said new leadership is either “Extremely Important” or “Very Important.” Of those polled, 42% had worked at the shelter for more than eight years and 26% between four and seven years. In other words, these are employees with institutional memory, who can recall how well the shelter operated just four years ago with 28% higher intake and roughly half the current $17 million budget.
Directors have been hired without any traditional college degree and little operations experience at a high-volume shelter. When a highly regarded former shelter manager left to take the same position at Santa Clara County in 2021, he was replaced by an animal control officer who had never worked at a shelter before, let alone one that takes in over 12,000 animals annually.
The public trust cannot be repeatedly broken by highly paid City staff who have little to no background in animal welfare. Otherwise, the lives of thousands of defenseless animals will continue to suffer and die.
It’s time for City Manager Jennifer Maguire to appoint a competent industry professional who can lead this shelter out of the abyss, reset the culture and win back the confidence of the community.
Mike Wagner is a former board member of Kitten’s First for the San Jose Animal Care Center, an authorized nonprofit partner that managed a foster kitten program for the shelter.