Gary, Finn and Flip are dead.
So are Lily and Audi and Vapor and Lucy, Cosmo and Percy and Rocky and Bear. More than 50 dogs have been euthanized at Orange County Animal Care since 2023 began, according to a tally kept by animal lovers — a tragedy they chalk up to grievous policies that make adoption more difficult than it has to be, with heartbreaking consequences.
The kill rate for adult dogs at the state-of-the-art, $35 million Orange County Animal Care shelter has nearly doubled since 2018, and the amount of time they spend behind bars has jumped 60%, according to a jarring and granular data analysis by then-volunteer Michael Mavrovouniotis (think Zorro with a spreadsheet), presented to the Animal Care Community Outreach Committee on April 26.
Part of the deadly problem: While other shelters have resumed pre-pandemic policies — Please come in! Walk through the rows of kennels! Look into our sweet beasties’ eyes! Fall in love! — Orange County keeps kennels with adoption-ready dogs off-limits to mere mortals.
Would-be adopters are supposed to peruse the website, choose a couple of animals to meet in person, and then visit with them by appointment. But what of the scores of others who might actually be a better fit? What of serendipity, chance, fate if you will — the unexpected tail wag, the loving lick, the display of silliness that seizes the heart?
More than 20,000 people have signed a petition demanding that the shelter abandon this system and open up fully to the public — the pandemic emergency order has been lifted, like, everywhere — but shelter officials insist they’re protecting the public.
They’ve said they don’t want people fighting over the most desirable animals. They don’t want people sticking their fingers through cage bars and getting bitten. Instead, they want staff to provide “concierge” service, more expertly matching animals to adopters.
We’ll note that none of these are big enough concerns to bar the public from strolling the kennels at other animal shelters in the region — appointments seem fine, but full access to the adoptable beasts seems vital — and there’s doubt about whether the concierge thing is working. More adopted animals have been returned under this set-up than before the pandemic, according to Mavrovouniotis’ data.
As “euth alerts” pop up crimson on the OC rescue portal — Randell, a black-and-white Siberian Husky, and Kora, a tan-and-black German Shepherd mix, were among those next up for the needle unless someone grabs them — animal lovers are saying “Enough!”
“OCAC is now full and they are killing dogs, cats, kittens for space, some animals do not have any chance of being adopted as they are never seen by the public,” reads Margot Boyer’s petition, which has been signed by the equivalent of a small city.
“Three years ago I adopted a senior chi(huahua) from this shelter. The dog had two massive hernias, and if I had gone to the shelter under the current system … I never would have seen or adopted her because I would not have wanted to deal with the surgery and did not want an old dog. However, I just happened to walk by her cage, she trotted up, wagged her tail and tried to lick me, so that was that!”
That can’t really happen anymore.
No work, no play?
The spike in kill rates and time behind bars for adult dogs is not the result of more incoming animals, Mavrovouniotis found. Adult dog intakes have actually decreased by 28% between 2019, the shelter’s first full year at its new location, and 2022.
It’s not simply that adopters can no longer view all available dogs in the kennels, or have to pre-select two per appointment from an online photo lineup. Playgroups for large dogs that helped socialize and exercise them in 2019 — things that are a staple in Los Angeles County shelters — have been suspended.
The result, animal advocates say, is a bunch of stressed dogs stuck in cages for way too long and branded as behavior problems, which too often seals their sorry fates.
And OCAC appears to be unaware of the decline in its critical metrics, Mavrovouniotis said. His analysis — drawn from deeply impressive public records requests for the shelter’s own data, along with his skill at programming and number crunching (Mavrovouniotis has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from MIT and was an academic at Northwestern University researching complex chemical reactions, process design, biochemical pathways, high-dimensional data analysis and artificial intelligence, then took those formidable skills to an investment management firm in Irvine, and is definitely not someone you want to argue with about data and statistics) — reveal many concerning trends:
- The return rate of dogs is slightly higher than in 2019, but much higher than in 2020 and 2021, and nearly double what it was in the old horror show of a shelter in Orange in 2016. Volunteers chalk this up to the lack of socialization and human interaction.
- The number of dogs adopted is down tremendously, from 4,247 in 2016 to 2,291 in 2022. That’s an increase, however, from 2020 and 2021, when dog adoptions didn’t break 2,000.
- Cat adoptions are also down from 2019, but up from 2016.
The number of dogs coming in with medical issues is low, but a great many are labeled as having behavioral issues and placed on the “Rescue Track,” Mavrovouniotis found. Only about half the dogs are available without some adverse classification, but it’s not clear exactly how that determination is made. “In the absence of a documentable assessment protocol, is this labeling reliable?” he wrote. “And if it is, what does it reveal about stress caused by long stays and inadequate enrichment?”
A recent snapshot: On March 29, there were 138 dogs available for adoption and 92 dogs in the Rescue Track.
“This is a staggering ratio,” he wrote. “OCAC needs to make its behavior assessment consistent, meet the dogs’ behavioral needs including socialization, and facilitate adoptions so that dogs don’t end up with long stays causing behavioral problems.”
Defense
We shall pause here to note that Orange County Animal Care has progressed lightyears since 2008, when fully half the dogs and three-quarters of the cats who passed through its doors never made it out alive. Chalk much of that up to California’s ban on the retail sale of dogs and cats in pet stores and greatly increased partnerships with local rescues and fosters.
The statistical portrait painted by OCAC at the April committee meeting touted an overall 94.2% “save” rate for dogs, and a 73.7% “save” rate for cats, in 2022. This is positive news that doesn’t necessarily conflict with Mavrovouniotis’ data; it’s the difference between the view from 30,000 feet and the view from the ground. Rather than looking at just one number, Mavrovouniotis compared kill rates from year to year, combined data to find the length of stay, and refined the analysis to see what’s happening to dogs that are not returned to owners and dogs of different sizes.
OC Animal Care does not euthanize animals for time or space, said OCAC spokeswoman Jackie Tran by email. It also does not turn away any stray, sick, injured or aggressive dog brought to its doors.
“The population of dogs received is unique and, at times, challenging, as they range from sick, injured, unsocialized or aggressive,” she wrote. “Additionally, as a municipal shelter that accepts a significant number of dogs with serious medical and behavioral issues, euthanasia is a sad, but sometimes necessary outcome. … The decision to euthanize an animal is one that is never taken lightly by our experienced team and is only used for animals who are a danger to themselves, the community, or who are irremediably suffering. It is critical we keep in mind the safety of the animal, shelter staff, and the community.”
Suffice to say the reception to Mavrovouniotis’ data crunch was not especially warm.
“While we cannot speak to the methodology Mr. Mavrovouniotis chose to employ when putting his information together, we thank him for his interest and dedication to animal welfare in Orange County,” she wrote. “As mentioned during the meeting, the Ad Hoc Committee plans to meet to discuss the information provided by Mr. Mavrovouniotis.”
OC Animal Care uses industry standards in entering, tracking and compiling shelter data, she said, and strives for complete transparency. Its data is published at www.ocpetinfo.com. In 2022, staffers handled more than 10,000 adoption visits, and are on track to do even more this year.
“The entire nation is facing an unprecedented pet overpopulation crisis that is influenced by unintended consequences post-pandemic and a looming economic crisis driven by inflation,” she said. “For the first time in four years, shelters across the country are reporting a larger gap in animals coming in the door in comparison to available families to adopt (as reported by Shelter Animals Count). Now, more than ever, it is critical for shelters, rescues, and animal lovers in the community to band together to help pets in need.”
The perception that OC Animal Care is in a virtual lockdown is wrong, she said: The shelter is open to the public seven days a week, with adoption visits from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It welcomes drop-ins as well as folks who schedule appointments. That allows trained kennel attendants to orchestrate visits between animals and adopters, and those kennel attendants can recommend different animals for consideration if the initial meet-and-greets don’t go swimmingly.
“Families often visit with multiple animals before making a final decision during their adoption visit,” she said. “Adopting a forever friend should not be left to impulse or appearance, and our staff are well-versed in counseling adopters to make the best choice for their lifestyle. This one-on-one experience reduces the stress on the animals, minimizes wait times, and protects the safety of our adopters, volunteers, and staff.”
So, no walking the kennels to peruse the available animals, even with that kennel attendant in tow. As someone with three dogs, one cat (was two until my 14-year-old OCAC kitty, Booties, left us) and two birds — definitely not all planned! — I’m not sure that serendipity is an altogether bad thing.
The community can help by adopting a new pet, Tran said. Shelter appointments/visits aren’t the only way: It has community partnerships and events like Pooches on the Patio, where folks can meet and greet the beasties. See its website for more info.
Mavrovouniotis remains unimpressed. Industry standards on data reporting are the baseline, not the maximum.
“The statistics on OCAC’s website show that, even with fewer intakes, the shelter has rising kill rates. On seeing that, any prudent manager’s reaction should be to analyze the data further, to find out why the performance has worsened. Did OCAC do that?”
OCAC receives fewer incoming animals than in the pre-pandemic period, yet is experiencing higher kill rates, higher return rates, longer stays and higher inventory — which leads to higher costs and declining level of care. “A thorough reassessment is in order,” Mavrovouniotis wrote. “We just analyzed the past. In early 2024, when we repeat this analysis, what are the 2023 annual data going to show?”
On Friday, as I prepared this story, Mavrovouniotis was fired as a volunteer for the shelter.
