Families found at OC Animal Care’s first day of expanded, daily public viewing hours

The dogs in the OC Animal Care shelter were jumping, barking, wagging their tails – putting on their best show it seemed – as members of the public filed in and out of the kennel area Wednesday, Jan. 17.

The county-run shelter resumed daily public viewing hours starting on Wednesday, allowing people to roam unescorted among the kennels and possibly make a connection with a new furry friend. The kennels contain dogs and cats who are available for adoption and can be taken home the same day, officials said.

Out of the 169 dogs at the shelter Wednesday, 99 were available for adoption, along with 16 adoptable cats out of the 87 currently under the shelter’s care, according to Alexa Pratt, public information officer for OC Community Resources. Most of the unavailable pets were on stray hold, she said. In California, strays have to be held for four to seven days, leaving time to be reclaimed by their owners.

“It could be a number of reasons why an animal is not ready to go home today. For example, as a municipal shelter, we house dogs who maybe their owner passed away or is arrested, so obviously those aren’t ready to go home,” Pratt said. “We also have animals that might need surgery or medical, behavioral evaluations that aren’t quite ready, and also animals that don’t meet the stray hold quite yet.”

The shelter closed to public viewing with the onset of the pandemic, but didn’t resume access to the kennels even as most coronavirus precautions were lifted. Instead, potential adopters were tasked with choosing pets they were interested in from an online database and scheduling a meet-and-greet; shelter officials have said the new system reduces stress on the animals from overstimulation, helps prevent visitors from getting bitten and leads to more successful adoptions.

But activists have been lobbying for a return to the previous shelter operations. They argue the appointment system limits important access to the animals and results in fewer being adopted. A grand jury last year shared the same concern in a report about the shelter not improving the potential for animals to find a home.

Diana Simdorn and her family looked online for a new pet after having recently lost their dog. They found one, asked the shelter about it, but before they could meet the dog, it was adopted by the pet’s foster family. Simdorn, of Anaheim, walked through the kennels on Wednesday with her husband, Randy, and son, Jay Stilwell, where they came across a dog named Kendra.

A kennel attendant brought Kendra out to a grass area to meet the family and sparks instantly flew – soon, adoption paperwork was being signed.

Bobby, a kitten at the shelter, also left with his forever family Wednesday. Deanna Peterson and her mother, Ginger, both from Mission Viejo, were on the hunt for a kitten who could keep them and their dog company.

Deanna Peterson said she’s been keeping an eye on the shelter’s pet database, crossing her fingers there would be adoptable kittens to see when she finally had the time to visit in-person. Looking through the kennels, the duo met several cats before deciding to take Bobby home.

Over the summer, the shelter piloted limited walk-through hours. The success paved the way for the new, daily walk-in schedule, which Pratt said was supposed to debut Jan. 1, but had to be pushed back because of the nearby Tustin hangar fire. The shelter closed to the public for several days following the fire and animals had to be moved indoors for air quality concerns.

The fire didn’t necessarily cause an uptick in the number of pets at the shelter, but because outdoor time was limited, the shelter reached out to the community asking for more pet fosters, Pratt said. About 100 animals were placed in foster homes, 20% of which have been adopted by the families, she said.

The expansion of people’s access to the kennels is a step in the right direction, advocates say, but the shelter has more work to do. Michael Mavrovouniotis, a former volunteer who has tracked the shelter’s data, including euthanasia, biting and adoption rates, said he would still like to see more staffing.

“None of this can really work well without adequate staffing, because at the end of the day adopters will still need to interact with the animal care staff who will supervise the one-on-one visits, which are going to happen both under the new system and more happening under the old system,” he said. “There needs to be enough staff to provide good service and provide easy visits for the public.”

Pratt could not confirm if there are vacancies at the shelter, but said OC Animal Care currently staffs 137 employees and 200 volunteers.

“What I would like to see is for them to open up the way it was, the way the shelter was designed to be open,” Margot Boyer, another animal advocate, said. “You spend all this money, $35 million on a property, and the public is only allowed in three hours a day? Open it up the way it’s designed to be.”

The shelter will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily for the scheduled adoption appointments – walk-in visitors will be offered the next open slot – and from 2 to 5 p.m. for walking through to peruse the external side of the dog kennels and the cat rooms. Kennel attendants will be stationed throughout the facility to answer questions and set up one-on-one meet and greets, officials said.