A depositary of living animals shall provide the animals
with necessary and prompt veterinary care, nutrition, and shelter,
and treat them kindly. California Civil Code Section 1834
The “depository of living animals” for Costa Mesa is the Orange
County Humane Society located in Huntington Beach. The City
of Costa Mesa currently contracts with OCHS for animal shelter services. OCHS used to provide shelter services to the
City of Newport Beach. Too, until Newport abruptly cancelled the contract late
last year (DP articles here and here).
In a December 22, 2015 report, Newport Beach staff noted
unsanitary conditions. The report also
stated that “Animal Control Officers frequently found animals soaked“ due to
the practice of hosing out kennels with the dogs remaining in the kennels. The Newport Beach report also cited poor
record keeping and failure to implement State of California requirements for
spay/neuter.
After touring the
OCHS shelter a number of times, I also had concerns. The level of cleanliness left a lot to be
desired. One of the buildings was dark
and had minimal ventilation. Dogs and
cats were housed in close proximity, increasing stress for all the animals. Overall, the situation did not look very “kindly”.
Muzzled!
After speaking with current and former volunteers at OCHS my
concerns increased. Unfortunately,
volunteers are fearful of talking on the record, as they will then be “fired”
as volunteers. In fact, the rules for
volunteers impose a gag order.
Yelp!
No such limitation on Yelp.
OCHS received only two stars, the lowest rated animal shelter in Orange
County. Eighteen of the thirty-two
reviews gave the facility only one star, the lowest rating possible. Reviewers cited rude staff, lack of
cleanliness, provision of inadequate/inaccurate medical records, and adoption
of animals subsequently found to be unhealthy.
One reviewer said they saw an OCHS staff member kick a small dog.
Where’d they go?
Each year, our animal shelter data is required to be submitted to the California Department of Public Health. Costa Mesa’s annual reports show total animals coming in from various sources each year significantly higher than animals going out each year except 2010, when things about balanced. In fact, from 2009 through 2014, records show about two thousand (2,000) more animals coming in than are accounted for going out via adoption, owner redemption, euthanasia, etc.
This may simply be poor record keeping. On the other hand, maybe animals are escaping to wander the streets. What if the euthanasia rate is being masked? Other worse, scenarios come to mind. In that case, I’m hoping it’s just poor record keeping.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Because of the large number of animals entering the system from Costa Mesa, our options are limited to larger facilities. At one time Costa Mesa contracted with the City of Irvine, but that was discontinued a few years ago. Orange County is preparing to build a new shelter, but it could be costly to participate in that, and the Orange County Grand Jury indicates that they have problems of their own, from the existing rundown facility to inadequate staffing. We might be able to join with a few other cities to build a local shelter, if a site could be found.
Or should we continue at OCHS?
Months ago, in response to my concerns, a staff member indicated that people in Irvine and Newport Beach were more “picky”. I was told that OCHS was “good enough for Costa Mesa”. Do you agree?
The City Council will be discussing the issue this evening, March 15.
