Fresno creates new animal services unit. Will bigger government bring better results? | Opinion
In July 2022, the city of Fresno opened a $20 million animal center near the airport with a mayoral promise to “do things differently” and “keep families and pets together.”
Fifteen months later, officials are taking ownership of that pledge by bringing the city’s animal services under the umbrella of City Hall rather than relying on an outside agency.
By a 6-0 vote, the Fresno City Council on Thursday approved a resolution to create an Animal Services Department responsible for operating the facility at 5277 E. Airways Blvd. after the city’s contract with Fresno Humane Animal Services expires Nov. 30. The new department will be funded by $6.7 million reallocated from the current budget and staffed with 77 positions, including 75 new hires that City Manager Georgeanne White hopes will be filled in the interim.
“This is something completely new for Fresno, but we’re doing everything we can to make it a seamless transition,” White said.
The city and Fresno Humane Animal Services partnered in July 2022 after the city’s relationship with Central California SPCA soured over council member complaints about the expense of the contract and the group’s euthanization rates.
Fresno Humane promised a more holistic approach of trying to reunite more lost pets with their owners and utilizing “no-kill” standards. (Dogs and cats in “no-kill” shelters are only euthanized when it’s the humane thing to do for the animal and not as a tool to control their numbers.)
However, the new arrangement was short-lived. In April, Fresno Humane board president Brenda Mitchell sent a letter to White and Deputy City Manager Alma Torres informing them the nonprofit would not be renewing its contract that was set to expire June 30. (A five-month extension was subsequently granted.)
“We want to assure you that our decision was not taken lightly, and it does not reflect the quality of the partnership we have shared,” Mitchell wrote. “Rather, it is based on the evolving needs and priorities of our organization.”
My understanding, based on conversations with numerous people involved with local animal rescue organizations, is that Fresno Humane was overwhelmed by the dual responsibility of operating both the city’s shelter as well as the Fresno County animal center at 1510 W. Dan Ronquillo Drive.
Lack of a vet creates backlog
A major hindrance has been the lack of a veterinarian, which forces all spays and neuters to be outsourced to other local agencies that provide low-cost services.
Fresno County doesn’t have a vet at its animal shelter, either, and neither does Clovis. This only compounds the problem, creating a backlog of dogs and cats in the area awaiting low-cost treatment. (It’s not just us. There is a nationwide shortage of vets.)
Despite a 10-month search, Fresno Humane was unable to recruit a veterinarian to the city’s animal center. That responsibility now falls to the city itself.
“We’re hoping that it being a city position, with the benefits and salary level that come with a city job, that we’ll be able to recruit a quality vet,” White told the council.
City Hall’s “mastermind of all things animals” (Council President Tyler Maxwell’s phrase) is Torres, a deputy city manager who has risen through the ranks since starting out as a summer youth intern more than 25 years ago.
Torres, according to White, volunteered for the assignment and has spent several months working at the animal center alongside the current staff while learning the ins and outs of its operations. Torres will serve as the shelter’s interim director until the permanent position is filled.
The city will also lean on partnerships with the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program, which provided $600,000 in grant funding for the new center, and the Best Friends Animal Society for organizational and best practices support, White said.
‘Adoption is just a band-aid’
In a separate interview, White acknowledged that the city’s success in running its animal shelter will hinge on the quality of the people they hire. Now that the council has given its approval, the jobs can be posted.
Over the past year, the city and Fresno Humane have drawn criticism from local animal rescue groups for “trying to adopt its way out” of the dog and cat overpopulation problem rather than focus their efforts on low-cost spay and neuter services.
Councilmember Luis Chavez, who has adopted multiple rescue pets, made similar points during Thursday’s discussion and suggested the city “start a conversation” over punishment for irresponsible pet owners.
“We’re not going to be able to rescue our way out of the challenge that we have, which is an overwhelming amount of loose dogs,” Chavez said.
Torres said the new animal center’s adoption rate was 17%. (The majority of stray dogs and cats are transferred to rescue.)
“We will work very hard to increase that, but I do want to remind the council that adoption is just a band-aid on a gushing wound,” Torres added. “Our goal here will be to tackle the root of the problem.”
For the first time, California’s fifth-largest city is in the animal services business. Will bigger government lead to better outcomes for the city’s pets and their human owners? That’s what we’re about to find out.
