Dead Line for Pets

For business owners and home buyers, location is important. For stray or unwanted pets in Orange County, it’s a matter of life or death.

Shelters serving some well-heeled South County cities can afford to keep animals almost indefinitely, pushing euthanasia rates down as low as 4%. By contrast, half or more are killed at shelters serving many North County cities, where there is room to keep pets for only a few days.

The gap is so wide that workers in Irvine’s shelter insist on proof that people dropping off pets are residents of the city--and not outsiders hoping to give their animal a better chance at survival.

“Because we are a municipal shelter, by law we can only take animals who come from Irvine,” shelter program coordinator Eliza Rubenstein said. “And we do verify that people are residents.”

Living conditions for animals also vary dramatically, officials say.

“The difference between these shelters is night and day,” said Jody Orr, a volunteer with Pet Pro Life Adoption and Placement, a nonprofit organization that adopts animals out of shelters in Orange County and matches them with foster families. “If you go and look at them, you’d be shocked at the difference in living conditions.”

Katie, a 2-year-old retriever with light brown fur and warm, golden eyes, is one of the unlucky. She was dropped off Thursday morning at the Orange County Animal Shelter in Orange by an owner who conceded the dog loved children but complained she didn’t like fireworks and could be destructive when left alone.

Shy and nervous, barely daring to come near the bars of her kennel, Katie could be among the six out of 10 animals at the shelter that are killed. If her owners had lived in Irvine instead of Anaheim, her life would be almost guaranteed.

The discrepancies are nothing unusual in the chaotic world of animal shelters. Those run by cities and counties are perennially underfunded and understaffed. The fault does not lie just with government, however.

Backyard breeders end up with thousands of sick puppies and kittens that are quickly abandoned. And while spaying and neutering pets would help to check overpopulation, many owners, for both personal and cultural reasons, are skittish about the procedure.

The problems are dumped on animal shelters, which most often are in out-of-the-way industrial areas--not very inviting for people wanting to adopt.

As a result, more than 600,000 dogs and cats are killed each year in California--more than 24,000 of them in Orange County, according to state figures. Of animals that enter the state’s shelter system, from Eureka to San Diego, 60% of dogs and nearly 80% of cats are put to death, some at the request of owners.

In Orange County, about 39% of dogs and 69% of cats were killed in 1998, according to state figures.

A new law that extends the time shelters must hold animals before they can be killed, while well-intentioned, is exacerbating the problem, say shelter administrators. That is because the law, which took effect July 1, also applies to animals that are not considered adoptable; instead of being immediately destroyed, they are now crowded into cages that would normally house adoptable pets.

Why the animal shelter system has been so neglected is more difficult to explain. Madeline Bernstein, vice president of the California Humane Society, surmises that many people have become desensitized to conditions.

“The shelters are usually overcrowded; they smell,” she said. “The dogs and cats have runny noses, droopy eyes. . . . And then the numbers are so staggering that most people feel overwhelmed.”

Additionally, most large shelters are run by cities or counties that have suffered years of under-investment, as have other public services, said Jennifer Wolch, a USC professor of geography and urban planning.

“There haven’t been any real advocates on the city council or board of supervisors to make animal services a budget priority,” Wolch sid.

The fate of abandoned and stray pets in Orange County depends mainly on where they are found, animal rights advocates say.

At one end of the spectrum are shelters such as the Irvine Animal Care Center, where adoptable pets are safe for months, aggressive adoption efforts are made and only 6% of animals are killed.

“We’re so lucky,” shelter program coordinator Rubenstein said. “These are things that most shelters would like to do, but aren’t able to if they don’t have the money.”

The Irvine center houses about 140 stray or abandoned dogs, cats and rabbits. Funded by the city and a local nonprofit organization, the center has handled 3,000 pets in the last 12 months.

Most pets are abandoned because their owners move, develop allergies or don’t have time to care for them, Rubenstein said. But she also has heard people say their dog didn’t match the color of their furniture.

The city of Irvine funds the Animal Care Center to keep each animal for 45 days. Then a nonprofit organization, Irvine Promotion of Animal Well-Being, picks up the cost, generally until the animal is adopted.

Each animal has a stall, with a shaded and a sunny area. The occupant’s name, history and characteristics are posted on the door.

The shelter has open spaces where dogs can run, and rooms for cats to climb on shelves and be petted by volunteers. An army of 300 volunteers feeds and cleans the animals.

Each is vaccinated and spayed or neutered before adoption, and most go through a behavioral training program. The center also makes aggressive adoption outreach efforts through veterinarians and pet supply stores. Some of the animals are featured on Irvine Pets and Co., a television program. Prospective owners go through an adoption counseling session to find the dog that will best fit their needs.

Small and young dogs are adopted quickly. Cats and bigger dogs are more difficult to place. Currently, the center’s veteran resident is Buddy, a 10-month-old retriever mix who has been there since May.

The Mission Viejo Animal Services Center has similar policies and kills only 4% of its residents.

“We do euthanize, but only animals that are too dangerous for adoption,” said John Gonzales, the city’s animal service supervisor. “We’re a small shelter and that’s the only reason we can provide this kind of service.”

By contrast, 59% are killed at the Orange County Animal Shelter in Orange, which serves 21 cities and unincorporated areas of the county. Of those, about half are destroyed at the request of their owners, officials say. Each year the county-funded shelter handles about 35,000 animals.

Licensed animals are usually retrieved by their owners within one or two days, said Mark McDorman, interim director for Orange County Animal Control. If no one claims them, they are put up for adoption for eight to nine days before being destroyed. Strays are kept five to six days.

“We always looked at [a week] as the minimum holding time,” he said. “Euthanasia is something that nobody likes, and could be greatly reduced if people spayed and neutered their animals.”

Facilities are designed for basic needs only. Dog runs are small and have little shade. Most cats stay in group cages and there are few toys for pets. Very few have information about their character posted on the kennel door.

McDorman said the center will move to a bigger, better facility within five years. He would also like to recruit volunteers who would be more knowledgeable and could match potential owners with ideal pets.

But he blames the public for the overpopulation problems.

“Owners have to recognize that [having a family pet] is a lifelong commitment,” he said.

The picture is similar at the Santa Ana Animal Shelter. The center keeps animals three days if they don’t have an owner and seven days if they do.

“After that, we do our best to keep them more, but it depends on how much room we have,” said Diane Day, a kennel worker at the center.

The shelter houses about 300 animals a day. About 50% are destroyed. Day said she has the most trouble getting big dogs and kittens adopted.

She also said the new law that requires keeping animals for a longer time has forced her to destroy more animals by requiring the shelter to find room for more unadoptable animals.

“I used to be able to go three or four days without putting an animal to sleep,” she said. “Now, I have to [do that] every day.”

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Location Is the Difference

For nearly 50,000 stray animals that end up in Orange County’s shelters every year, location is the key to life. Some shelters in South County can afford to keep adoptable animals indefinitely while those serving much of North County cannot.

Orange County Animal Shelter

1. Animals with identification kept for eight to nine days; others five to six days

2. Evaluation for adoptability

3. Adoptable animals kept three to four days

Others euthanized

4. About 60% of animals killed

Irvine Animal Care Center

1. Animals with ID kept 10 days; others seven days

2. Checked for adoptability. Adoptable animals spayed/neutered, others euthanized

3. Animals remain until adopted. City funds first 45 days; private donors fund rest of stay

4. About 5% of animals killed

50-50 Chance

Nearly half the animals that end up in all of Orange County’s animal shelters will be killed:

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Collected Euthanized 1993 Dogs 24,305 7,777 1994 Dogs 24,406 7,108 1995 Dogs 27,087 8,964 Cats 17,235 11,217 1996 Dogs 28,073 9,770 Cats 17,057 11,045 1997 Dogs 27,920 10,420 Cats 19,393 12,519 1998 Dogs 28,488 11,030 Cats 18,934 13,026

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Note: Data for cats, 1993 and 1994, unavailable

Sources: Orange County, Irvine Animal Care Center, California Department of Health Services