Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/oc-animal-shelter/)
Longtime animal rights activist and Laguna Woods resident Rose Tingle argues that the group charged with oversight for the OC Animal Shelter – the City Managers Association Animal Care Committee – lacks the needed expertise in animal welfare and lacks transparency. Tingle wants public oversight of animal shelters.
The following is a story by the Foothills Sentry newspaper, a Voice of OC media partner covering Orange, Villa Park, Orange Park Acres, Anaheim Hills, North Tustin, Silverado Canyon, and Modjeska Canyon. This story was published in the Sentry’s June 2016 edition. The Orange County Animal Shelter is structurally old, ramshackle and primarily concrete, but it is not, as many believe, a medieval warehouse for unwanted pets and strays destined to be euthanized. The shelter will overcome its physical shortcomings when it moves into its new home sometime next year, but it must still shake off misperceptions that it treats animals poorly, and then kills them after four days (the state-mandated waiting period). “Our goal is to find homes for animals, not euthanize them,” Dr. Jennifer Hawkins, shelter director, emphasizes.
Citizen complaints and concerns are ignored in favor of status quo. The majority city council members in Lake Forest commit taxpayer dollars for ten years without data or costs for OC Animal services or new shelter.