Dear Mayor Nassif, Mayor Pro Tem Cusack, Council Member Bishop, Council Member Emick, Council Member Leon, Mr. Robertson, Mr. Acevedo, and Counsel Rice: 

We, tax paying citizens and residents of Apple Valley, and our family, friends, and allies, continue to request change at Apple Valley Animal Shelter, based on the following objectively verifiable facts: 

1. AVAS does not permit walk-in adoptions and will not allow a member of the public to meet an animal without a pre-approved adoption application and meet-and-greet appointment.
2. AVAS is open only one weekend day a week and closes at 4 p.m. every operating day, Tuesday through Saturday.
3. AVAS does not scan their cat and dog intake for microchips, head to tail. 
4. AVAS does not make reasonable efforts to locate owners of lost pets, resulting in owned cats and dogs being placed on the euthanasia list and actually euthanized.
5. AVAS does not have a volunteer program for adults.
6. AVAS posts only about 40% of its cat intakes on its websites such that 60% of cats entering the shelter are never seen by the public.
7. AVAS does not do canine temperament testing or play groups.
8. AVAS hired an uncertified behaviorist who no longer evaluates dogs and has never evaluated cats.
9. AVAS mislabels its friendly, frightened cat intakes as feral, and its friendly, frightened dog intakes as aggressive. 
10. AVAS does not bring cats to any of its off-site adoption events.
11. AVAS’ only form of social media is a Facebook page that does not allow comments. 
12. AVAS does not employ an in-house veterinarian, only a registered veterinary technician who is also acting Animal Health Supervisor.
13. AVAS places medication in food bowls in kennels with multiple dogs and takes no action to ensure the correct dog receives the correct medication.
14. AVAS sprays cleaning solution into the air when walking through kennel areas instead of sanitizing the ground in front of kennels.
15. AVAS does not effectively quarantine animals showing signs of illness, resulting in canine parvovirus and feline panleukemia running rampant and killing multiple puppies and kittens in the summer of 2024.
16. AVAS does not report animals with clear signs of physical abuse to the proper authorities.
17. AVAS staff and their friends employ tactics such as doxxing, threatening, intimidation, and harassment against those citizens, rescues, fosters, adopters, and networkers who speak up for the AVAS animals. 
18. Animal Services Director Gina Whiteside is paid a multiple six-figure annual salary yet only shows up at the shelter to address public relations issues, and spends most of her time traveling and running her fashion photography business, The Fashion Life Tour / Pix by GG.
19. AVAS kennels unaltered male cats with unaltered female cats, and unaltered male dogs with unaltered female dogs. 
20. AVAS allows members of the public to adopt unaltered dogs and takes no action to ensure dogs are spayed or neutered post-adoption.
21. AVAS requires a $75 spay neuter deposit per animal from its rescue partners, and does not return the deposit even after its rescue partners submit their spay neuter certificates. 
22. AVAS does not offer any low cost spay neuter services to residents.
23. AVAS does not investigate or regulate the illegal sale of animals by backyard breeders in parking lots and streets, or on social media.
24. AVAS often euthanizes cats and dogs even when the facility has multiple kennels open and available.
25. AVAS removes adoptable cats and dogs from its websites when they are scheduled for euthanasia so they become invisible to the public in the hours when they need help most.
26. AVAS does not circulate a euthanasia list to its rescue partners.
27. AVAS does not provide any notice that an animal is scheduled for euthanasia other than removing the animal from its websites.
28. AVAS often euthanizes cats and dogs the same business day within hours of removing them from its websites.
29. AVAS euthanizes cats and dogs with pending adoption applications and rescue tags.
30. AVAS euthanizes cats and dogs if adopters and rescues are unable to pick up the cat or dog the same day, or charges a per-day “boarding fee” for next-day pickup.
31. In 2023, AVAS held a single off-site adoption event at which only a handful of dogs were in attendance, and no cats.
32. In 2023, the shelter was closed to the public  for all purposes, including adoptions, rescues, and lost pet retrievals for 124 days.
33. In 2023, AVAS euthanized 68% of dog intakes and 93% of cat intakes.

We believe that AVAS should be, and could be, killing less animals.

We believe that AVAS needs a change of management and/or policy. 

We, citizens and residents of Apple Valley, and our family, friends, and allies, request immediate replacement of the Animal Services Director, Animal Health Supervisor, Rescue Coordinator, and Behaviorist with qualified, competent, compassionate, professionals whose goal is to increase AVAS’ live release rate. 

Alternatively, if removal and replacement of key management and operations personnel is not an option, we request a major overhaul of AVAS policies and procedures that alter Facts 1 through 33 to achieve the goal of increasing its live release rate, that will be actually implemented and effectively enforced.

For example:

1. Launch a volunteer program for adults.
2. Post all cat intakes on websites.
3. Scan each animal for a microchip head to tail. 
4. Operate all forms of social media and permit comments to increase interaction and sharing, boosting visibility.
5. Hire an onsite veterinarian. 
6. Hire a qualified behaviorist. 
7. Implement a low cost spay neuter program.
8. Provide a euthanasia list to rescue partners with at least 24 hours’ notice of euthanasia and permit next-day pickup. 
9. Keep adoptable animals on shelter websites until adopted, rescued, or actually euthanized. 
10. Assess hefty fines to those illegally selling backyard bred animals. 

These are just a few examples of policies, procedures, and ways of operating utilized by countless other shelters and animal services departments in Southern California. We have been requesting changes like these at AVAS for a decade, perhaps longer, yet you continue to ignore and dismiss our concerns. We do not know why that is, but what we do know is that we are no longer standing for it. We will not be ignored, bullied, or intimidated into silence. 

We are the voices of the thousands of animals that have had the great misfortune of entering the doors of your shelter, and we will not be quiet. AVAS needs a change in management and/or policy now. 

Respectfully,

The taxpaying citizens and residents of Apple Valley and San Bernardino County, and our families, friends, and allies… and the animals of AVAS, past, present, and future