Many OC cities, including Anaheim, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Lake Forest, Orange, San Juan Capistrano, and Tustin don’t have their own animal shelter. They instead fund the county shelter, OC Animal Care. If you live in one of these cities or in unincorporated areas, OC Animal Care runs on your tax dollars. Dozens of press reports in the last three years put the spotlight on this shelter’s mismanagement, including a hard-hitting op-ed in 2024.
This year, there’s a ray of hope. County Supervisors Janet Nguyen and Vicente Sarmiento put improvements on the agenda in March. Supervisor Don Wagner spoke in favor of action, the rest of the Supervisors followed, and we’re seeing positive change. One important improvement: the number of Animal Care Attendants finally returned to pre-COVID-19 levels, correcting a long-standing deficiency. These attendants are the hard-working, conscientious staff that facilitate adoptions and take care of the animals’ daily needs. Meeting national standards on staffing is essential for delivering good service. To build on this, the OC shelter needs to fully and transparently implement its own Strategic Plan unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors.
Even simple, inexpensive problems persist. The shelter grounds were in good shape in 2018-2022, but now become mud pits if there’s even light rain. This is unacceptable. Dogs that may already spend 23.5 hours a day confined to kennels need safe outdoor areas to decompress, exercise, and get ready for adoption. Volunteers who contribute thousands of hours of unpaid labor deserve safe, functional spaces to work with shelter animals. Yet shelter management still prohibits walking dogs on sidewalks, a restriction left over from the 2023 hangar fire. Just like with pandemic restrictions, the county cuts services swiftly but takes years to restore them.
Do county bureaucrats realize how important shelter volunteers are? “Volunteers should be working in every single part of every shelter,” says Kristen Hassen, a nationally renowned expert, in an interview about troubled shelters. She calls for “a massive number of volunteers, fosters, and community members showing up to help” in animal shelters. OC needs to value and trust its most experienced volunteers. It must recruit new volunteers and help them improve their skills so they can contribute more. Instead, OC gives them mud pits for yards, crowded walkways, and no practical way to exercise the most active dogs.
County CEO Michelle Aguirre inherited a mess from her predecessor Frank Kim (who ran county government in the Andrew Do scandal period). Since Aguirre took over, there’s been progress. But the fact that she’s kept Dylan Wright (who was linked to the Andrew Do scandal) in charge of Community Resources raises concerns. Dylan Wright and his hand-picked unqualified shelter directors have repeatedly deceived the community.
Michelle Aguirre has an opportunity to turn a new page. The community wants her to succeed, starting with transparency on the shelter’s taxpayer-funded Strategic Plan. The county bureaucracy is secretive about whether it’s implementing it and how. Aguirre can earn community trust by issuing a public, itemized report on the Strategic Plan by the end of 2025 and quarterly progress reports in 2026.
Michelle Aguirre is not at fault for the shelter’s past failures. She thinks, perhaps, that listing how much work remains to be done is a bad look. But everyone knows the shelter has fallen behind relative to its own Strategic Plan. Skipping progress reports doesn’t erase this fact, it only reinforces suspicion about the county’s intentions.
A progress report is not about giving passing or failing grades. It’s about informing taxpayers what their county animal shelter is working on. If the shelter wants to put the past behind it and project a positive vision, it should tell us what steps it plans to take and when.
The cities’ 10-year contract with the county expires in 2026 and renewal discussions are already underway. Without clear progress reports on the Strategic Plan, cities should reject any renewal. Taxpayers deserve accountability—not another decade of promises without measurable results. If cities sign again without requiring transparency, residents will know exactly who to hold responsible.
Please submit public comment to city councils and the county Board of Supervisors. Tell elected officials that OC taxpayers are asking for prompt, transparent reporting on the Strategic Plan of OC Animal Care. What’s been completed? What remains? What’s the timetable?
Karen Vaughn is a long-time resident of Anaheim Hills, a former volunteer at the county animal shelter, and an advocate for transparency in local government.
Opinions expressed in community opinion pieces belong to the authors and not Voice of OC.
Voice of OC is interested in hearing different perspectives and voices. If you want to weigh in on this issue or others please email opinions@voiceofoc.org.