‘Putting lipstick on a pig’: Advocates question progress city claims is being made at San Jose animal shelter

Animal welfare advocates continue to sound the alarm about San Jose s beleaguered animal shelter contending that the city s suggests of progress do not reflect the reality of the situation there Instead they say the city has handled the shelter s issues with gross incompetence reneging on promises and gaslighting their concerns A city audit last year validated numerous of the advocates complaints over several years poor conditions operating at overcapacity and mismanagement to the detriment of the animals fitness leading to recommendations and demands from elected authorities for marked improvements Shelter management reported at the Neighborhood Services Committee meeting this week that their actions taken in response to the recommendations would be submitted for review by the end of December But advocates argued that audit compliance is not a barometer for improvement and compared the city s largest part current status document to putting lipstick on a pig noting numerous systemic issues that continue to persist and need amendment Leadership may claim that audit recommendations are met but as a long-term volunteer I can attest that conditions inside the shelter have not improved volunteer Lyne Lamourex revealed in written comments provided to the committee Staff morale remains low region trust is eroding and transparency is lacking Efforts appear focused on checking boxes rather than restoring effective services The shelter s new Deputy Director Monica Wylie acknowledged the advocates passion The bottom line is we re all on the same organization Wylie explained We all want what s best for the animals and we want to provide that so we definitely want to continue in that area The shelter is designed to be a temporary safe haven so how can we mitigate any stress caused by the animals for being there and how can we keep them in their homes where they already have a home The shelter s management had come under fire for years before a barrage of complaints and rise in animal deaths led to the audit The uptick in deaths also led to the shelter losing its no-kill status Among the findings were substandard conditions an increased threat of illness and outdated or nonexistent protocols The audit also unveiled that the shelter operated well above ceiling at times taking in fewer animals due to trouble moving them on through adoption or rescue and instead focusing on more sick and injured animals Other substantial concerns included the shelter s failure to expand physiological care including trap-neuter-return services to help stem the growing pet population and the poor relationship between the shelter and rescue groups as evidenced by a decrease in engagement Division Manager Kiska Icard noted that the shelter had taken in animals during the last year representing a more than decline in intake as part of strategic efforts to control its population The shelter is in a much better state in terms of our maximum for care more space for the animals less stress for them and that s us working really hard at our intake unit and ensuring that the shelter is the right place for that animal Icard announced During the same period the average length of stay for dogs dropped from to days while for cats it dropped from to days Icard added that the live release rate for all animals was now In addition to the audit requiring the shelter to update its training and protocols improve public engagement and strengthen record-keeping it called for increasing trap-neuter-return services for the society which it now offers two days a week along with low-cost surgery for owned dogs once a week But despite the improvements contributors area members and even former staff documented numerous negative experiences through more than pages of constituents comments and dozens of speakers including concerns about the quality of care animals needlessly euthanized failures to serve the group the mistreatment of helpers and a lack of responsiveness to their concerns We have been providing recommendations not just critiques volunteer Jeaneen Sullivan described Bay Area News Group adding that foster groups created a separate assistance framework for help that they do not receive from the shelter We ve been very clear We ve documented it since the beginning of the year formally with meetings and lots of emails and for the simplest things checklists protocols supplies they have rejected them and obstructed them from happening Courtney Ferro a former animal care attendant blasted the city and the shelter s management for failing to train employees as she referenced an matter in May when she identified a dog that was unattended that was being suffocated by an IV line It was a effect of a shelter with no written procedures no real training beyond shadowing other untrained staff and no accountability Ferro commented Audit recommendation No requests written protocols and proper training yet seven months later this still has not been implemented These issues are structural and will continue without meaningful leadership change Other society members called for the city to exhibit more fiscal transparency about how shelter funds were being used to which the city has agreed They also want to see trap-neuter-return programs expanded to five days a week as requested by the City Council last year and questioned why the city had not formed a region advisory committee as indicated in the audit response In the spring General Works Director Matt Loesch took responsibility for not forming the group citing a family urgency But on Thursday he stated that he decided to rely on focus groups because the issues were very disparate in terms of their uses Comments from District Councilmember Bien Doan also inflamed tensions with advocates when he called it wrong for them to offer negative comments about the shelter without allowing Wylie who was hired six weeks ago time to implement modification Mike Wagner a former board member of a nonprofit that ran a foster kitten activity for the shelter reported he was disappointed to see the committee accept what he considered was a flawed annual record that misled the community about the shelter s performance It s not clear to me why city councilmembers continue to be so apathetic and disengaged when it comes to an animal shelter that has performed so poorly over the last four years Wagner advised Bay Area News Group