Animal Wellbeing Commission Meeting – August 13, 2025
Animal Wellbeing Commission Meeting – August 13, 2025
The Animal Wellbeing Commission of Sacramento met on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, at 5:31 PM at City Hall. Commissioners reviewed updates from the city veterinarians, dog adoption rate trends, interim shelter improvements, the commission's policy role, the 2025 workplan, and the monthly shelter report. Public comment focused heavily on spay/neuter needs, euthanasia transparency, and the plight of animals belonging to unhoused residents.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes (June 11, 2025): Approved with minor edits.
- Follow-Up Log Adoption: Approved with minor edits, including a request to add cat population management to a future agenda.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Multiple speakers urged the commission to increase marketing of shelter animals on platforms like TikTok and NextDoor, citing millennial and Gen Z adoption trends.
- Speakers expressed strong support for expanding the Hope program for unhoused pet owners and called for better enforcement of spay/neuter efforts in river camps.
- Several commenters criticized the shelter for not publicly sharing euthanasia lists and alleged that volunteers were banned for posting such lists on personal social media.
- A speaker raised concerns that a $50,000 grant for spay/neuter from 2022 had expired unused.
- Another speaker requested that euthanasia numbers be included in the monthly manager’s report rather than quarterly.
Discussion Items
- City Veterinarian Presentation (Item 3): Dr. Abby Judge, Dr. Christina Hansen, and Dr. Vicky Smalley described their roles, the shelter’s medical team (3 staff vets, 8 RVTs, and volunteers), and reported performing nearly 4,000 spay/neuter surgeries and over 6,000 medical exams in the past year. Dr. Smalley detailed the Hope program’s field work, serving about 1,200 pets and providing nearly 1,300 vaccines so far in 2025. Challenges cited include limited space and staffing.
- Update on Dog Adoption Rates (Item 4): An ad hoc committee presented marketing data on large dog adoptions (average age ~2 years, average weight ~53 lbs, top breeds: pit bulls, shepherds, huskies). Millennials (average age 42) were the primary adopters, with most adoptions coming from the Pocket/Land Park, Del Paso Heights, Natomas, and Tahoe Park/Oak Park neighborhoods. The committee proposed partnering with real estate agents and boosting social media presence on Instagram and TikTok.
- Interim Improvements and Needs Assessment Update (Item 5): Chair Hefner reported that the city council approved $405,822 for kennel safety improvements (new latches, guillotine doors, concrete curb removal, shade structures). Wayfinding signage upgrades (funded by Friends of Front Street) are ~90% complete.
- City Attorney Presentation of Policy Review (Item 7): Deputy City Attorney Carson Van der Linden clarified the commission’s advisory role under City Code §2.86.020, emphasizing recommendations on strategies, policies, and programs (e.g., keeping pets with owners, quality care, low-cost spay/neuter, adherence to shelter vet standards). He offered to provide formal legal guidance on specific policy questions.
- 2025 Commission Workplan (Item 6): Commissioners debated priorities. Common themes included spay/neuter education and capacity, community outreach (brochures in multiple languages, attendance at neighborhood events), and advancing a potential breeding permit ordinance. Commissioner Bagley urged focus on mandatory spay/neuter ordinances to address the overpopulation “crisis.”
- Animal Care Services Manager’s Monthly Report (Item 8): Ryan Hinderman (Communications Manager) reported shelter statistics as of August 4: 165 dogs, 95 cats in shelter; 92 dogs, 398 cats in foster; foster-to-adopt numbers low. Upcoming spay/neuter events: Animal Balance days (Aug 22–23) with a goal of 200 community animals, and San Diego Humane Society visiting Sept 9–11. The shelter will remain open seven days a week 12–5 PM. A formal volunteer position for networking/social media now exists with about 8 active volunteers.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar approved as amended.
- Discussion items were reviewed and commented on; no formal votes were taken on Items 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, or the workplan.
- Motion passed unanimously to extend the meeting past two hours.
- Commissioner Hayes requested agendizing a presentation from Hope program coordinator Jenna Topper for a future meeting.
- Commissioner Morris suggested creating a social media page for the commission to promote shelter programs.
- A previous motion (from two meetings ago) for a draft ordinance on anti-breeding licensing was noted as still in progress with staff.
- The commission will continue refining the 2025 workplan priorities in upcoming meetings.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, good evening, and welcome to the Wednesday October, August, sorry, October, August 13th meeting of the Animal Wellbeing Commission. Commission meeting is now called to order. Will the clerk please call the role to establish a quorum? Here. Commissioner. Here. Commissioner Bellman. Here. Here. Commissioner. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. I think we're happy. Excellent. So all members of the public are welcome to address the commission as we're here to provide a forum for public discussion. I do want to remind folks and ask for your help in providing our making our meeting orderly. This commission does not, as we've discussed in the past, have the authority to hire, fire, or manage any city personnel. Employment decisions are not made by this commission. And while we welcome input on matters within our scope, calls for the dismissal of specific individuals are not appropriate for this forum and are therefore out of order. So please keep your comments relevant to the agenda and the powers and duties of this body. After this first speaker, we will no longer accept speaker slips for that item. We'll now proceed to with today's agenda, starting with the land acknowledgement and pledge led by Commissioner Abuchai. So please rise. And now for the pledge. Okay, thank you. Do we have any members who want to speak on consent calendar items? I have nobody in my queue. Going once, going twice, going three times on consent calendar items. I myself have two minor modifications to propose. Um first with regard to the minutes under item four. Um with regard to the act action taken, it uh the the motion that was passed was to recommend that the council support the findings of the audit, including the proposed MOU, and that the commission reserve the ability to provide further comments and recommendations pertaining to animal management. If we could make that adjustment, I would appreciate it. And then with regard to the follow-up log, there was a request at the last meeting by Commissioner Bagley that we agendize uh cat population management for a future meeting, and I'd request that we add that to the follow-up log as well. So um is there a motion and a second uh uh for the consent calendar as proposed to be amended. Um I see a motion from motion to accept the consent calendar with the amendments. I'll second. We have a motion from the vice chair and is there a second? Second, second from Commissioner Garcia. Uh all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed, and the ayes have it. Okay, so now we will present, move on to the discussion calendar. Item three is the presentation from our city veterinarians. I'm looking into the have we got two out of three? So we will uh we will do whatever is your preference. Would you like to go ahead? Would you like to wait?
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