Animal Wellbeing Commission Meeting Summary: October 14, 2026

The Sacramento Animal Wellbeing Commission met Wednesday, October 14, 2026, in the City Hall Council Chamber at 915 I Street, Sacramento. The agenda meeting time was 5:30 p.m.; Chair Jamie McDole called the meeting to order at 5:34 p.m. and adjourned it at 7:29 p.m. Twelve commissioners were present: Shannon Asquith, Hilary Bagley-Franzoia, Ignacio Barragan, Kellee Benedict, Samantha Christie, Brenda Contreras, Kathleen Garcia, Leah Morris, Paula Treat, Julie Virga, Aimee Wells, and Chair McDole. Denise Bell, Julia Hayes, and Itzel Martinez were absent. The meeting opened with a land acknowledgement and pledge of allegiance led by Commissioner Barragan and a recognition of outgoing commissioners Paula Treat, Aimee Wells, Brenda Contreras, and Ignacio Barragan for their dedication and service to the commission.

Consent Calendar

• The commission considered the Consent Calendar as one motion, moved by Commissioner Wells and seconded by Commissioner Garcia.
• The motion passed 11-1, with Commissioner Paula Treat voting no and three commissioners absent.
• Approval was granted for the September 9, 2026 Animal Wellbeing Commission meeting minutes and the Animal Wellbeing Commission Follow-Up Log.
• During discussion, Commissioner Wells asked that the follow-up log include an item on enforcing second-impound mandatory spay/neuter laws.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No public speakers addressed the Consent Calendar.
• On Discussion Item 3, public speaker Jared Fowler criticized the large dog adoption report. He argued that the report treated volunteer hours as free and unlimited, staff hours as scarce, and roughly $6,000 as too much money, while ignoring structural barriers such as landlord weight limits and breed bans affecting breeds like pit bulls, shepherds, huskies, and bullies. He also raised concerns about AI-written adoption bios, stating adoption bios can only be as accurate as the information on the dog, and asked who would be responsible if an AI-hallucinated bio led to harm. He called for real resources, possibly including city-level action on landlord restrictions and adequate shelter staffing.
• During public comments on matters not on the agenda, speaker Jared Beller endorsed the idea of post-adoption follow-up and support, but argued the city should conduct at minimum a representative sampling of adopters at periodic intervals and should follow up with rescue partners to know whether animals were successfully placed. He stated this should be done by paid city staff with new resources, not offloaded onto volunteers or already overworked staff. A second listed speaker, Amilda Martinez, did not appear.

Discussion Items

Strategies for Increasing Large Dog Adoptions and Rescue Partnerships

• Staff presentation was led by Ryan Hinderman, communications and customer service manager for the Front Street Animal Shelter. He explained that large dogs are the hardest to place due to restrictions on rental properties and other ownership barriers.
• Staff presented a color-coded list of possible strategies. One highlighted strategy was a pilot postcard with a free adoption coupon mailed to 1,300 recent new homeowners; the estimated print and postage cost was $625. Staff said the pilot would test whether this approach generates adoptions before expanding it.
• Commissioner Leah Morris presented research on Pet Academy, a text- and email-based adoption support service. According to the vendor, Pet Academy reported a 50% reduction in surrenders and a 92% rate of foster families feeling supported. Adopters receive 30 days of access to certified trainers and behaviorists, with an opt-out option. Commissioner Morris checked references at shelters in Texas and New York City and reported positive feedback. Pricing was approximately $2 per animal per year based on prior-year adoptions; a six-month pilot was roughly $10,000 in round numbers for dogs and cats combined, and a dog-only annual cost based on 3,380 dog adoptions in 2025 would be about $6,760, with a six-month pilot about half that amount. Pet Academy also offered sample social media and adoption contract language.
• Staff also reported meeting with Radio Laser, described as the largest Spanish-language radio station group in the area, which was interested in collaborating. Staff discussed holding an adoption event marketed heavily to Sacramento's Spanish-speaking community, with Spanish-speaking shelter staff available to support adopters.
• Commissioners generally expressed support for the postcard and Pet Academy ideas. Suggestions included translating materials into Spanish, placing postcards at veterinary clinics, targeting new homeowners while avoiding neighborhoods with high animal intake, and asking Pet Academy for a ready-to-use social media toolkit. Commissioner Barragan recommended creating public service announcement videos for local TV stations including Univision and Telemundo and noted a Pew Research finding that 84% of Latino and Hispanic people are active on streaming platforms. Commissioner Asquith asked about non-English availability and surrender-prevention pricing. Commissioner Treat suggested marketing to homeowners more broadly, not only recent buyers.
• The commission reviewed and commented on the item; no formal vote was taken.

Animal Care Services Monthly Managers Report

• Manager April Stevenson presented September 2026 statistics: 880 animals were taken in and 806 animals received outcomes. The live release rate was 90% for dogs and 80% for cats. Staff stated Sacramento was outperforming other municipal shelters in the region for dog live release rates; Elk Grove had higher cat live release rates, possibly because a nonprofit supports its neonate animals.
• Staffing updates: a new operations manager will start November 2; two animal care technicians have been onboarded and three more conditional job offers were extended; the rescue and behavior coordinator position closed with more than 50 applicants; the volunteer coordinator position was closing with more than 70 applicants.
• Spay/neuter funding updates: $50,000 was approved through CDBG, a federal Community Development Block Grant administered by the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, for spay/neuter services for unhoused residents. The $500,000 spay/neuter fund was still being matched with vendors and locations. A voucher program remains available for qualifying low-income Sacramento residents.
• Final Plea program timeline: the volunteer survey was completed with more than 100 volunteers responding; the shelter database contains over 200 rescues, many inactive for more than 10 years; rescue partner surveys are planned for November; the program will be finalized in December and presented in January.
• Second-impound data from July 1 through September 30, 2026: 434 dogs were redeemed; 274 of those were categorized as stray intake; 32 stray dogs were redeemed two or more times since July 1, 2024; 29 of those 32 were altered at their most recent redemption. Customer service staff received updated training, and a hearing process was solidified for intact animals on second redemption. Commissioners questioned the approximately 160 non-stray redemptions, saying the numbers seemed illogical, and staff agreed to double-check the report.
• Manager Stevenson reported that the volunteer coordinator had resigned, leaving about 80 onboarded volunteers still needing training. The shelter asked people to pause submitting volunteer inquiries for about two months to catch up, but emphasized the volunteer program was suspended, not terminated.
• Several commissioners expressed strong concern and frustration about the pace of using spay/neuter funds. Commissioner Verga stated that a prior $750,000 Hope program allocation resulted in only 43 dogs and cats being spayed/neutered. Commissioner Benedict advocated using self-contained mobile spay/neuter units immediately to bridge the gap. Manager Stevenson responded that vendor contracts and city processes take time, that Field Haven recently opened and is being considered, and that work is moving forward.
• The commission reviewed and commented on the report; no formal vote was taken.

Commissioner Comments, Ideas, and Questions

• Commissioner Barragan praised Manager Stevenson and stated he was optimistic about the shelter's future. He noted the shelter has about 800 volunteers and encouraged involvement in Manager Stevenson's nonprofit, Possibilities. He offered in-kind videographer services from his firm for PSAs and offered to leverage relationships with Univision and Telemundo.
• Commissioner Asquith pitched volunteer opportunities for the Animal Balance clinic scheduled December 4-6, covering tasks such as intake, kennel work, cleaning, and public support.
• The Chair noted a plan to produce a commissioner report for the P&PE committee, likely to be agendized in January, and added a follow-up item about 311 procedures and cross-jurisdiction routing based on a recent experience.
• Commissioner Benedict announced a Wags to Witches Halloween event on October 31, 1-4 p.m. at Drake's Barn, teaming with Front Street Animal Shelter for adoptable dog meet-and-greets.
• Commissioner Treat, in her last meeting, said she did not ask to be reappointed, stated she found the follow-up log meaningless and hoped that changes under new leadership, and thanked her fellow commissioners.

Key Outcomes

• Consent Calendar adopted 11-1, with Commissioner Treat opposed.
• The large dog adoption and rescue partnership item and the monthly managers report were both reviewed and commented on without formal motions.
• Staff will continue refining the new-homeowner postcard pilot, consider a Pet Academy pilot, and continue contract and vendor work for spay/neuter services.
• The follow-up log will be updated with items raised during the meeting, including second-impound spay/neuter enforcement and 311 cross-jurisdiction routing.
• The meeting adjourned at 7:29 p.m.