Embattled Orange County Veterinarian Quits Post

Orange County’s top veterinarian quit his job Tuesday, one day after being placed on administrative leave while the county investigates mounting problems at the animal shelter in Orange.

Dr. Richard H. Evans, who was chief of veterinary services in the Health Care Agency since 1992, submitted a letter of resignation to the agency, county officials said. He could not be reached Tuesday for comment.

“I think [Evans leaving] is probably in the best interest of the animals,” said Robert Newman, a Santa Ana lawyer who serves on the shelter advisory panel.

Evans, 53, quit in the face of an investigation that could have led to his firing. The county had expressed dissatisfaction with his work in recent weeks as an outbreak of feline distemper spread at the shelter, infecting dozens of cats, including some taken home for adoption.

Critics were incensed at Evans’ refusal to have all cats vaccinated and placed in separate cages as a precaution against spreading the illness. He had argued it was too costly and ineffective.

“I don’t know any other veterinarian who would not agree that separation and vaccination would not be a basic method that needs to be adopted,” said Dr. William Grant, a Garden Grove veterinarian who heads the advisory panel.

Evans’ department also had been widely criticized last year for killing cats by injecting a barbiturate directly into the liver without first giving the animal a sedative. The method has been found unacceptable by the Humane Society of the United States.

Critics of the shelter said the resignation gives the county an opportunity to straighten out the facility and create a more progressive environment for animals.

The county also has begun a search to hire a director of Animal Care Services to run the shelter. That position has been vacant since March.

Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer, who had been calling for reforms at the shelter, said the resignation was a good first step.

“The thing I care about most is the humane treatment of animals, and we are clearly not treating animals humanely at our shelter,” Spitzer said.

Spurgeon said a shelter director should be hired by April 1. The job will pay about $90,000 a year.

An interim chief veterinarian will be picked while a full-scale search is underway for a permanent replacement.

Costa Mesa veterinarian Joel Pasco, a newly appointed member of the shelter’s advisory board, said the shake-up is needed.

The shelter should make a better effort to find homes for strays and work more closely with the county’s many humane and animal rights groups, he said. The shelter has been under fire from the public and more recently from the veterinary community for being too slow to require mandatory sterilization for adopted pets.

“The highest priority needs to be placed on doing everything possible to ensure the best health care for every animal in the county’s care,” said Pasco.