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Open up The OC Shelter

Viewing 1 dog or cat at a time with appointment at the 30 million dollar taxpayer funded shelter

10/31/2026

ASPCA Research Forum (2026)
[Fair warning: This is chockfull of graphs and numbers!]
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10/31/2026

Journal of Shelter Medicine and Community Animal Health, October, 2026
Distribution of length of stay and its variation by calendar period in animal shelters: Cumulative incidence of outcome types by calendar period in Orange County, California
https://jsmcah.org/index.php/jasv/article/view/185
Excerpt [the “C” in pre-C, early-C, late-C refers to the COVID-19 pandemic]:
OC was a very accomplished shelter pre-COVID, having moved to modern facilities in early 2018. In early-C, the configuration of county policies resulted in slow adoptions for longer resident dogs and an increased reliance on transfers. This was manageable in the favorable early-C environment: There were substantially lower intakes, high demand for adoptions (which got the fast and intermediate track dogs out quickly), and high capacity in rescue organizations, including fosters who were working from home. As a result, the census count remained within capacity, and the live release rate dropped only slightly.
But in late-C the environment was less favorable. Though intakes remained below pre-C levels, they rose relative to early-C. Rescues were saturated and had less capacity once some workers returned to their workplaces. In this environment, the COVID-era policies led to further accumulation of long residents and dramatically higher census counts. By October 2023 (i.e., a period subsequent to the late-C period studied here), some dogs were housed in temporary trailers in a back parking lot. Dogs with longer stays were facing worse outcomes.
A nearby fire on November 7, 2023, motivated national organizations to transfer approximately 100 dogs out of the shelter and community members to assist with adoptions and fostering. From 313 dogs in care on November 6; only 153 remained on November 30. This alleviated overcrowding and allowed programmatic improvements. In 2024-2025, the gradual restoration of visitor access, staffing levels, and volunteering averted the reoccurrence of the 2022-2023 impasse.

Introduction Length of stay (LOS) impacts shelter operations and individual animal welfare1,2. At steady state, the mean census count is the product of mean LOS and main daily intakes or outcomes. For a given shelter, LOS may change across calendar periods3. For a given period, LOS may differ from s...

10/31/2026

The Vacuum of Secrecy: How Neglecting Prevention and Hiding Data Fuel Animal Welfare Paranoia
[This column covers broader issues, but includes OC Animal Care in a list of examples.]
https://animalpolitics.substack.com/p/the-vacuum-of-secrecy-animal-shelter-transparency
Excerpt:
The Small Animal Vanishing Acts: In our exposé on Orange County Animal Care, we revealed how hundreds of rabbits, guinea pigs, and birds were transferred to an opaque intermediary with ties to reptile breeding, only for the public agency to claim it was “unable to locate records” regarding their final destination.

When institutions stop answering hard questions with verifiable data, suspicion rushes in to fill the void.

10/31/2026

https://fb.watch/KBboFouRNH/?mibextid=wwXIfr

10/17/2026

Dog Safety Alert: San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente

Dog owners, please bring your dogs’ water and food bowls inside. Ash from the fires can settle into outdoor bowls and contaminate them, which can make your dog sick.

A few quick tips while the air is smoky:
• Give fresh water and food indoors only
• Keep outdoor time short
• Wipe paws and coats after being outside so they don’t lick off ash
• Call your vet if your dog is coughing, vomiting, or acting off
Please share so your neighbors see this. Stay safe, everyone.

10/02/2026

https://www.10news.com/science-and-tech/cat-food-investigation-finds-heavy-metals-pesticides-and-plastic-chemicals?fbclid=IwZnRzaAUtBX1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBwZG9mBWZkaWQWUPgxaDfC90iA7NtQB343NMSfEZAnZ3NydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR6yf5Ad4cdfRI-d46wU-Ys1pV0d1S7BtHiz9jYOXpJ24TY2xneBJfVEO1qYNQ_aem__tBTVSTLYbmnGB-FZ4Vq9g

Nearly all tested cat foods contain toxic plastic contaminants, the herbicide glyphosate and heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic, according to a new investigation provided exclusively to CNN.

09/20/2026

09/19/2026

Sharing - Latest research paper appeared in the American Journal of Veterinary Research:
Guidelines for the prioritization of adoptable shelter animals for sterilization to reduce average length of stay: a mathematical model.

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