There was Gary and Finn, Lily and Flip, Lucy and Lana, Rocky and Bear. Big dogs, all euthanized last year.
The “kill rate” for dogs at Orange County’s main animal shelter shot up markedly under its appointment-centric visitation system, where folks couldn’t browse the full furry inventory at their leisure, data suggests.
In 2019 — pre-pandemic — only 3.5% of dogs taken in at Orange County Animal Care‘s new Tustin shelter didn’t make it out alive, according to shelter numbers. That’s 197 pooches who were euthanized or died in care.
In 2023 — post-pandemic — 6.2% of dogs didn’t make it out alive. That’s 304 pooches who were euthanized or died in care, which must be hard as heck for folks who work there.
This increase in euthanasia comes despite fewer dogs entering the shelter in 2023 than in 2019.
The heartbreaking difference, critics charge, is the shelter’s pandemic-era, appointment-centric visitation system, which persisted long after other shelters had opened up all the way.
Allowing would-be adopters to roam kennels with all available pooches on view increases the chance of life-changing encounters — the whole-booty tail wags, the tender licks, the goofy grins — that hijack hearts and form forever families, they say. To this end, Margot Boyer launched a petition demanding that OCAC fully open in 2022. It has garnered nearly 25,000 signatures, but even now, has not fully achieved its goal.
Rather than throwing the doors all the way open, Orange County stuck largely to pandemic protocol last year, preferring that people peruse pooch photos online, then make appointments to meet those animals in person. That reduces stress on the animals and prevents bites, officials said. “Concierge service,” they called it.
Critics countered that the system benefitted shelter managers, not animals or the adopting public. It’s easier to not have all those pesky outside eyeballs on your operations, they charged.
Over the past few…
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