Hello,
Apple Valley Animal Shelter staff and management have proven they are incapable of managing the intake and oversight of the shelter in which they work. Per Apple Valley website:
All animals placed for adoption will be spayed or neutered before being released to their new families.
This is not the case for Nova, a Siberian husky intact female, that was adopted from Apple Valley Animal Shelter in April of 2023. She was back in the Apple Valley shelter in January 2024. She was immediately added to the pending euthanasia list because she was an adoption return.
Not only was Nova still intact when she was returned to the shelter, but she was PREGNANT. Fortunately, Nova was rescued, and then she gave birth. That's incredibly negligent and irresponsible of this shelter staff and management.
This policy -- that they don't adhere to -- also implies that the many 7-week-old puppies that they adopt out are spayed and neutered. For people who know animals, this is far too young to fix a puppy, and in general, they shouldn't be fixed until 6 mo old. In California, it is a misdemeanor to adopt out animals that are less than 8 weeks old. Apple Valley logs and kennel cards prove they have adopted out multiple puppies that are less than 8 weeks old.
Should this shelter staff and the oversight of your council be held accountable for that? As for new intakes, it takes days for the staff to upload only their intake photos and their kennel cards. Most of the time, behavioral notes are not done. If they are done, it has taken days upon days for the staff to work with these animals. The photos and videos are blurry, and Gina Whiteside is a professional photographer who is out in New York for fashion week.
These are the puppies and dogs that she has left behind for her staff to kill TODAY because they can't figure out how to save lives:
Becca #238066 - 3 yrs old, 57 lbs
Ace #238109 - 2 yrs old, 77 lbs
Dexter #238042 - 8 weeks old, 12 lbs
Digger #238043 - 8 weeks old, 11 lbs
Jazmine #238067 - 8 months old, 27 lbs
Dempsey #238081 (neutered) - 2 yrs old, 44 lbs
Augie #238076 - 2 yrs old, 60 lbs
Apollo #238038 - 2 yrs old, 40 lbs
Clancy #238127 - 1.5 yrs old, 48 lbs
Einstein #238129 - 1.5 yrs old, 41 lbs
Bell #238111 - 1 yr old, 48 lbs
Dottie #238026 - 3 months old, 17 lbs
Trina #238078 - 3 yrs old, 34 lbs
Keisha #238077 - 8 weeks old, 10 lbs
Some of them have only been available for public adoption for 1 day. They became available for euthanasia today, the same day that dogs can be rescued. This is not enough time. We found out they were pending euthanasia a few hours ago. We were not told. We had to ask which dogs needed help. Are they reaching out to three rescues before they add the dogs to the euth list like they are legally obligated to do? No.
Please remove Gina Whiteside from her position. She is not capable of prioritizing these animals over herself, and so they die. Gina Whiteside's staff do not spay and neuter animals like they claim. They illegally adopt out 7-week-old puppies. They do not do behavioral notes for dogs, and many that are pending euthanasia don't have them. The staff do not provide a euth list, which they could do if they were capable of managing the intake. I have to believe that it's possible for grown people to communicate to other grown people that they need help and that they need immediate exit for animals. It's ridiculous to do it in secret because it's easy.
It's your responsibility to fix this problem of over 10 years.
Thank you,
Amy Sjolund