County Hires Director of Animal-Care Services

A prominent Orange County veterinarian has been hired as the director of county animal-care services, officials said Tuesday.

The selection of Julie Ann Ryan Johnson, president of the Southern California Veterinary Medical Assn. and brand manager of Waltham Pet Foods, follows a report by the Orange County Grand Jury last spring sharply criticizing the staff of the county’s animal shelter.

“I’m really excited about the opportunity,” Johnson, of San Juan Capistrano, said Tuesday regarding the $106,000-a-year post she will assume Dec. 29. “My short-term agenda is to get oriented and find out more about the inner workings of the shelter. I’d like to get us out of crisis mode as soon as possible.”

Spokeswoman Pat Markley of the Orange County Health Care Agency, which oversees the shelter, said: “This is one of the final pieces to moving forward with a full program at animal-care services.

“[Johnson] has an incredible background between all of her veterinary experiences. She has great communications skills and is going to be a real asset.”

The grand jury’s report followed a tumultuous year, during which both the shelter’s director and chief veterinarian resigned.

The report accused the animal shelter’s staff of failing to follow its own policies regarding the treatment of sick and injured animals by not making daily rounds, inappropriately handling controlled substances and prematurely euthanizing animals. The report recommended that the county conduct a nationwide search for a shelter director to improve the facility’s “lack of leadership and direction” and improve employee morale.