For years the Fairfield CT Municipal Animal Shelter has been approached by members of the community seeking to volunteer for the benefit of the shelter animals.  Volunteers have been reflexively dismissed with the rote claim of 'insurance and liability issues.'  However, it was more recently stated by the Chief Animal Control Officer that he doesn't want volunteers because they are 'a problem.'  

Fairfield CT is a dog loving...indeed animal loving...community and we demand more for our most disadvantaged animals.  We are ready, willing, and able to work cooperatively under the Animal Control Officer's oversight to jointly define goals, responsibilities and procedures to achieve those goals...for...the...animals.

Our town government needs to hear from us now.

If you are a Fairfield CT resident or taxpayer and you'd like to see the birth of an animal shelter friends group, please sign this petition. 

 

*For further background, please read the following:

Hi Animal Friends

A year ago a group of Fairfield animal advocates approached Fairfield Animal Control with an offer to enhance the lives of the dogs (and other animals) housed at the Fairfield Animal Control Shelter while reducing demands on staff.

Research had revealed that volunteers could immediately reduce workload for staff and improve animals’ daily lives, health, and adoption outcomes by providing:

1.        dog walking and socialization

       a.       A phone inquiry to the shelter admin revealed that there is no dog walking policy or              schedule and that dog walks are scheduled ‘at the discretion of the Chief Animal Control officer.’  

       b.       Fairfield Animal Shelter does not have outdoor runs on their kennels nor an outdoor play area.

2.        social media expertise and labor

       a.       Animal Control website directs people to Facebook to see adoptable pets, but the Facebook page was almost inactive. Comparisons with local municipalities’ Facebook posts in December 2024 revealed these post counts for comparison:

             i.               Bridgeport    40

            ii.               Fairfield         4

           iii.               Stratford        67

           iv.               Trumbull       35

             v.               Westport       20

       b.       Petfinder not used at all

3.        fundraising for the spay/neuter of animals BEFORE they leave the shelter.

       a.       Sterilizing BEFORE leaving the shelter is the best practice promoted by veterinary associations and animal shelter improvement associations.

       b.       Once an animal leaves the shelter there is no way to ensure that spay/neuter occurs. *While the state of CT has a well-intentioned spay/neuter voucher system, the demand is high and the monetary value is low. Vouchers for 2026 have all been claimed already, and the voucher value ranges from $80 for sterilizing a male cat to $200 for sterilizing a female dog. The pet owner must pay any difference in the veterinary fees and must use only participating veterinarians.

       c.       Rescues and municipal animal shelters across the state are pleading for a stop to backyard breeding and Fairfield’s failure to spay/neuter animals make Fairfield part of the problem.

       d.        Dogs in Connecticut ARE being euthanized because there are not enough loving homes for them.

Under the working name Fairfield Animal Shelter Friends, we were committed to an open dialogue with the Chief Animal Control Officer Paul Miller to learn his hopes and guidance for the betterment of the shelter, and to assess the ability of a dedicated group of volunteers to help with those needs. But from our very first contact with town officials, we were told ‘no volunteers’ because of ‘insurance and liability issues.’  However, Friends groups in Trumbull, Stratford, and Westport have worked out those concerns and it stands to reason that Fairfield could do it too. In furtherance of open dialogue and confidence building we offered to start with social media help and fundraising for spay/neuter – all could be done off-premises and eliminate the stated concerns about insurance and liability connected to direct animal contact.

After working openly and honestly with the town starting in October 2024, answering questions, providing research, distilling our proposals to writing, trying so hard for an open conversation, Paul Miller finally agreed to meet with us in February 2025. He told us then that he simply doesn’t want volunteers because they are ‘a problem.’  

We informed Paul that he and Fairfield’s Police Department have an open invitation from the animal control officers in Westport to learn how much more Westport Animal Control can do for their animals because WASA (Westport Animal Shelter Advocates) is involved. They offered to answer questions about partnering with volunteers. And there are other Animal Control officers locally who will talk positively about their Friends groups too. Paul didn’t indicate an intent to consider those offers.

Paul asserted that he would have his staff devote more time to social media. And more importantly - in my opinion - he pledged that all adopted dogs would (‘from now on’) be spayed or neutered BEFORE they left the shelter for their new homes because municipalities were newly able to use spay/neuter vouchers and the town of Fairfield would easily give him any additional funds he requested.  

Our group accepted these pledges in good faith. Feeling forced to walk away, we took some comfort in promises made.

One year later…

The Facebook activity is somewhat improved-8 posts this December compared to 4 posts last December- though one still can’t readily see animals available for adoption.

Are animals actually being sterilized before leaving the shelter, as promised?  That is unclear since the information is not being shared. I requested sterilization data earlier this year and it demonstrated that dogs were not routinely sterilized. Just this week I was informed that further 2025 data won’t be shared because it’s not compiled into reports and thus not accountable to FOIA requests.

I will pursue this data at a Police Commission meeting because we either need to give credit where credit is due or find a way to do better for the animals in Fairfield. For me this is a moral issue. I am very involved in animal welfare. My heart aches every day for the abuse and neglect our helpless animals endure. I simply can’t look away if my own town is not doing the best it can for the voiceless animals. I know that many, many of my fellow residents feel the same way.

Andrea Kerin