Original 2015 email thread regarding OCAC with JVR Shelter Strategies, and forwarded to all city managers, mayors, and city council members from every city contracting with OCAC.

1.  saskia boisot sboisot@yahoo.com
Aug 18, 2015 at 4:52 PM
To: Mayor Tom Tait (Anaheim), ProTem Lucille King (Anaheim), Kris Murray
(Anaheim),
Dear City Council Member or Mr./Madam Mayor,
I am copying you in on an email exchange between myself and Dr. Jyothi
Robertson, the veterinarian who heads up JVR Shelter Associates, the
independent group recently contracted to evaluate the Orange County animal
shelter. I represent a group of concerned citizens called the No Kill Shelter
Alliance, collectively devoted to trying to effectuate changes in the absurd
euthanasia rates seen in Southern California shelters, and currently focused on
the Orange County animal shelter. Since your city contracts to this shelter for its
animal care services, I thought you would be interested in reading my exchanges
so far with JVR Shelter Associates. For your convenience, I have attached a
copy of their original report from March 2015, so that you are able to reference it
directly, and will leave you to draw your own conclusions. I would just take this
opportunity to state that I have been following events at this shelter for some time
now, and am personally appalled at the way business is conducted there,
particularly as it pertains to triaging dogs for euthanasia, and as I’m sure you are
probably aware, its track record for live outcomes among cats is a complete
disgrace.
Many thanks in advance for taking the time to reflect on this issue.
Sincerely
Saskia Boisot, MD
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To: Jyothi Robertson
Aug 17 at 4:25 PM
Dear Dr. Robertson,
Many thanks for your response to my recent inquiry. A few key points about it
stood out to me, which I felt required a little further expounding on. While I fully
appreciate what you say about the necessity for a temporal lag between when a
recommendation is made and actually implementing it, this particular
recommendation had previously been made to officials at the Orange County
shelter back in 2007 by your group, so I would contend that they’ve had more

2. than ample time to comply. And I can tell you that I myself was at the shelter on
Saturday, during the NBC “Clear the Shelters”, where I witnessed a shelter
worker quite flagrantly doing just this, in front of hundreds of people, so clearly no
effort whatsoever is being made to address the issue, despite what Dr. Hawkins
may say. Perhaps more shockingly though, I should like to add that, despite a
busy adoption day that had received significant media attention beforehand
(although none at this facility the day of), with 137 animals being adopted out in
total, and thereby leaving the shelter almost completely clear, shelter officials
elected nonetheless to proceed unabated with their routine Monday morning
euthanasia roster, that included killing 9 dogs; I’m hard pushed to believe all nine
were in such a condition as to require this as an act of mercy for untenable
suffering.
Although you say your group is not there to conduct an audit per se, the report
you issued was part of a document entitled “Performance Audit of Orange
County Animal Care”, so if not classified as such, then I would have to ask what
purpose it serves at all? It is my understanding that shelters across the country
fall under the purview of the American Veterinary Medical Association, so would I
be correct in assuming that they conduct semi-annual inspections, and if so, are
these available for public scrutiny? As a pathologist who works in the field of
laboratory medicine, including the hospital blood bank, our laboratory is forced to
adhere to very strict criteria of operation, and we are policed by multiple
regulatory institutions. As part of this, we are subject to frequent surprise
inspections, and if at the time of inspection we are not found to be in complete
compliance with these set standards, we are instantly cited for these deficiencies,
and are given a set period of time to correct the deviations, along with proof of
correction. While I might not expect quite the degree of stringency for shelter
operations, I would hope at the very least there is some protocol in place for
ensuring adherence to the accepted code of conduct, with a similar
organizational structure for accountability.
I will close by saying that, while I understand the sentiment of trying to effectuate
“positive change”, from what I have personally witnessed thus far, that term is a
complete misnomer when applied to this facility. The reason I chose to approach
you specifically in the first place was that I am aware that you also conducted a
similar assessment of the Irivine Shelter, where accusations of neglect had
previously run rampant. It was as a direct result of your report (and perhaps that
was not the only reason) that breaches of conduct and animal neglect and abuse
were exposed to the public, with subsequent big changes being forced, the most
notable of which was the resignation of the reigning shelter director. It is my firm
belief that similar infractions are pervasive at the Orange County shelter, and
therefore by extension, I would argue that similar consequences will be
necessary there too, in order to see the radical changes needed that would
benefit the resident animals, rather than the employees.

3. I hope you understand my persistence with this matter, since it is only with the
animals’ interest in mind.
Sincerely,
Saskia Boisot, MD
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From: "Hawkins, Jennifer" <Jennifer.Hawkins@occr.ocgov.com>
Subject: RE: Question regarding dog cleaning
Date: August 13, 2015 at 4:45:11 PM PDT
To: Jyothi Robertson <jvr@shelterstrategies.com
Hi Jyothi!
Yes, we are actively working to implement protocols whereby dogs would be
removed from the cage or separated by a transfer door from the area of
cleaning. As you know, this takes some staff and resources. Thus far, we have
initiated the hiring of 8 additional kennel attendant positions and have sought
quotes for repair of the transfer doors in the cages, as well as the needed front
and rear door repairs. We are considering everything from the "move-one-down"
method (which does pose some control issues regarding identification of each
dog--but we are working on that too!) vs a "buddy system". The buddy system
would use pairs of staff members to clean cages, one to hold the dog/dog leash
and the other to clean the cage. We hope to practice these methods and
determine which is most effective and efficient. We expect repair of the transfer
doors to take some time as Facility Operations takes issue with the entire
mechanism and is working on a method that will maintain functionality. So...long
story short--in spite of being delayed by HR and facility barriers, we continue to
work hard to align our practices with the ASV Shelter Guidelines.
Thanks for checking in!
Jennifer Hawkins, DVM
Director
OC Animal Care
561 The City Drive South
Orange, CA 92868
www.ocpetinfo.com
714-796-6417
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4. -----Original Message-----
From: Jyothi Robertson [mailto:jvr@shelterstrategies.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2015 3:12 PM
To: Hawkins, Jennifer
Subject: Question regarding dog cleaning
Hello Dr. Hawkins,
I recently received an email regarding cleaning protocols at OCAC and
recommendations that I made last year. I would like to know if there have been
changes made regarding the cleaning procedures for dogs in runs with and
without transfer doors. There were concerns at the time of my site visit that some
kennels were being cleaned with dogs still inhabiting them. Thank you for your
feedback.
Kind regards,
Jyothi
Jyothi V. Robertson, DVM
Owner and Principal Consultant
JVR Shelter Strategies
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On Friday, August 14, 2015 9:31 AM, Jyothi Robertson <jvr@shelterstrategies.com> wrote:
Hello Dr. Boisot,
I am currently about to begin maternity leave so this will be a brief reply, but
wanted to thank you for your email.
I am not familiar with the euthanasia practices/policies/statistics regarding OCAC
to comment on specific cases. As you mention, it was a limited consult that
focused primarily on medical protocols. That said, I was interested in following up
with the shelter director regarding that aspect which I commented on in my
report, specifically the cleaning protocols that you refer to. Please see my email
below and her response. Some of the policy changes take time, others can be
implemented more quickly. I will see if I can assist with implementation of any of
the recommendations I made, once I am able. Many consults often have an
implementation phase to them, but this was a very brief one-day site visit that
was conducted without follow-up. I do not “audit” shelters per se. My role is to
offer recommendations for improving shelters to move forward, rather than
investigating past events. The goal is to improve and create positive change.

5. On a different note, I want to mention that empty kennels do not reflect a
shelter’s capacity to care for the animals, and isn’t a factor used when
determining true C4C calculations. There are many factors involved in those
calculations which are based on reviewing past statistics and evaluating current
staffing levels, length-of-stay to outcome, etc. that all need to play a factor. As I
mention above, I am about to have a baby so I am taking some time away briefly
but I am very interested in helping shelters determine what their capacity is and
how to achieve what is best for the animals within that capacity. I am hoping to
have the opportunity to help Orange County in the near future in this regard as
well.
Thank you for reaching out to me.
All the best,
Jyothi
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On Aug 13, 2015, at 12:52 AM, saskia boisot <sboisot@yahoo.com>
wrote:
Jyothi V. Robertson , DVM
Chumkee Aziz, DVM
JVR Shelter strategies
Dear Drs Robertson and Aziz,
I am writing to you as the representative of a group of concerned citizens
that fall under the umbrella of the No Kill Shelter Alliance, who are
disenchanted, or perhaps more accurately disgusted, with current shelter
euthanasia practices in certain Southern California shelters, in this case
specifically pertaining to the Orange County shelter, which I know your
group did a partial audit of earlier this year. I have personally been
tracking events at this shelter for some time now, and it is quite apparent
that, aside from showing no compassion whatsoever for their resident
animals (and while this letter pertains to dogs, their track record for live
outcomes with cats is even more offensive), there is an alarming trend in
their euthanasia practices towards exclusive killing of large breed dogs,
with no effort whatsoever being made to adopt them out first. In short, the
shelter staff are making up excuses on a whim to take dogs off the
available list, and make them “rescue only”, and thereby condemning

6. them to a pathway that leads to inevitable euthanasia. Generally
speaking, some of these dogs may be at the shelter for all of four days
total, and then summarily executed. In that short space of time, the
rescues and networkers may only be given 24 hours notice before the
dogs are killed, which obviously is usually not enough time to coordinate
appropriate foster and rescue, and despite a lot of last ditch and heroic
efforts by the local rescue and volunteer community, the dogs end up
being killed regardless.
Although this problem is not unique to the Orange County shelter, I feel
they are definitely one of the worst offenders, even in comparison to other
high-kill Southern California shelters, such as Carson, SBC, and Moreno
Valley, to name but just a few. That being said, the specific reason I am
contacting you at this point in time, is because yesterday two particularly
egregious incidents occurred, one involving a 10 month old pit bull/boxer
puppy named Savannah (the white dog in the attached picture), the other
involving a 3 year old pit bull mix named Dante (the brown dog in the
attached picture).
Savannah was killed for behavior that unquestionably falls in the realm of
normal puppy behavior, but was deemed “bratty” by shelter staff, many of
whom have absolutely no formal training in animal behavior in the first
place. Like most of the dogs there, Savannah was a very young dog, with
a great zest for life and playing, who could have benefitted from a small
amount of socialization, but most certainly would have been highly
adoptable if given the chance. Savannah was placed on the euthanasia
list and killed in the space of less than two days.
While Savannah’s case is certainly beyond tragic, Dante’s case provides a
direct and tangible example of the shelter’s disregard for the
recommendations made by your group earlier this year, specifically not
spraying dogs down while they are in their kennel. Dante was placed on
the euthanasia list for trying to bite the hose that was doing just this, and
was executed yesterday. He too was young, vivacious, and highly
adoptable, a fact which can be attested to by any of the volunteers who
interacted with him. And his death was entirely a direct result of their
continued violation of a practice that is deemed antithetical to best shelter
practices. I am aware that the recommendation to not spray down
kennels with animals inside was made previously in 2007, at which time it
was ignored, and then once again earlier this year; currently this practice
(along with many others addressed in your report) continues on a routine
basis.
Since your group was contracted to conduct this audit, I would like to ask
you what accountability and recourse there is for the continued infractions
perpetrated by this shelter, and if the answer is none, then I would have to

7. ask the question “why even perform an investigation at all”. While I know
your group does not regulate shelters specifically, since you were
contracted to perform this audit, and came up with the recommendations
pertaining to the shelter’s adherence to what is considered a universally
accepted code of conduct within the shelter system, I thought you would
be able to address what can be done when said conduct is so blatantly
breached. I would also like to use this opportunity to ask you how we
might go about triggering a more full and comprehensive audit, one in
which you can clearly and specifically comment on the aforementioned
euthanasia practices, since I know this shelter clearly violates the central
tenet of exhausting all possible efforts before euthanizing an animal. In a
similar vein, many volunteers can testify to the large numbers of
perpetually empty kennels at this facility, so even that cannot be used as a
justifiable excuse.
In closing, and on a personal note, I would just say that as a human
physician myself, who has sworn to uphold the Hippocratic oath to do no
harm to my patients, I am left to wonder why those entrusted with looking
after our homeless pet population aren’t held to some similar standard.
I look forward to hearing your views on these matters.
Sincerely,
Saskia Boisot, MD