Town of Apple Valley Town Council Public Comments
April 8, 2025
Public Comment 1
Dear Apple Valley City Council members and Animal Welfare and Rescue Organizations (included),
An additional dovetail:
In addition to the 12,000 plus followers of the Networking Apple Valley Animal Shelter Dogs - Volunteer Page,
who see the daily Euthanasia List photo grid with each dog's individual post linked in automatically come through their Facebook feed daily,
I forgot to mention that the
Apple Valley Animal Shelter Cat Network
Facebook site has over 2,600 followers who see what is happening to cats brought into the facility weekly
and the AVAS daily and weekly cat Euthanasia lists, with photos and profiles in a daily or biweekly spread group post,
come through their Facebook feed automatically each day.
Any cats that were not publicly posted online still get a profile and a CGI picture of a hypothetical cat or mother with kittens is included in the cat or family's profile.
This does not include the Instagram pages aƯiliated with the dog and cat volunteer networking sites, or any posts on YouTube, TikTok, or other social media in an attempt to network for AVAS dogs.
Some posts designate AVAS as "one of the highest - kill shelters in California." As AVAS https://www.applevalley.org/services/animal-services is publicly run facility that uses tax payer dollars,
all of its activities and transactions are a matter of public record, and subject to public records disclosure requests.
Transparency and honesty with the general public about their practices and what has happened to each animal brought into the facility, along with documentation of each animal brought into the facility, by California state law and Federal law, are all a matter of public record.
Their methods used for 'euthanasia' are a matter of public record, in example whether or not they use the heart stick method,
and if so, if anesthesia / sedation is first administered to make the dog or cat comfortable before the euthanasia chemicals are injected into the heart to stop the heart, and whether properly trained, licensed personnel administer the lethal dose so as to reach the heart rather than the lungs.
Whether proper sanitation is being done after a dog or litter of puppies leaves a kennel (i.e. using such methods as extremely hot water and bleach) to disinfect kennels and prevent the transmission of Parvovirus from one litter of puppies to another If Parvovirus is in the community, what geographic areas are dogs coming from if they test positive for Parvovirus on arrival, and if so, are they being properly quarantined and kept separate from other dogs so as not to transmit it to other healthy, adoptable companion animals in the facility?
What is their ability to test for viruses or internal parasites or run blood and stool sample tests, etc.?
Do their 'veterinary partners' come in to the facility to check on the animals or administer any on-site veterinary care?
How do they limit or prevent the transmission of upper respiratory viruses, and what are the treatment protocols if a dog presents with upper respiratory symptoms? If infection control is part of the reason they euthanize on such a large scale and so quickly (to keep their numbers down), then this furthers the argument that this facility is obviously inadequate and lacks the infrastructure to care for the overwhelmingly large number of animals being bifurcated to AVAS,
so therefore the solution is to open another large animal shelter that contains the proper amenities in the immediate vicinity to house the additional animals, if there is no other facility in the County that can take them safely without also simply killing them for 'space'. (clean, safe kennels, on site veterinary care, an area where sick animals can be quarantined, dog runs, an outdoor play yard for healthy animals only that do not test positive for viruses, a meet and greet room, and administrative oƯices where adoption and rescue applications can be reviewed and adopters can be interviewed).
Again, the funds could come from a luxury tax or other type of funding allocated for public welfare activities,
or if organizations like Best Friends, Humane WFA (formerly the Humane Society of the U.S.), the SPCA, or other large, accredited and certified animal welfare organizations or 501c3 Rescues are looking for a location in the outskirts of Los Angeles, CA to create a new animal rescue facility, then Apple Valley, CA in the high desert may be the ideal place to commandeer a building and the land around it to convert to an additional 'no kill' animal shelter in this locality to house additional animals while they await placement with adopters, community fosters, or transfer to other rescue centers jn California, and throughout the United States or even Canada via volunteer rescue transport or other reputable rescue transport services and organizations such as Wings of Rescue, Race for Life Rescue, and Rescue Express.
Killing healthy, adoptable dogs and cats is simply not the answer.
As well, with regard to cats, as I am both a dog person AND a cat owner, I was horrified to learn that many healthy cats being brought in to AVAS who may in fact be adoptable,
(in some cases with some socialization if needed) or could make good barn cats or ranch cats,
are simply being labeled as "Feral" if they were "picked up as a stray" and euthanized in mass,
without even being posted for the public or given a chance to be adopted or taken by Rescues for rehabilitation and rehoming or placement in the appropriate environment.
In some cases, if a cat makes a better 'barn cat' or ranch cat, they could receive all needed spay/neuter and vaccination services,
and then a rescue could send them to live on a ranch as a barn cat, as long as they have proper shelter and stay warm in the winter.
My cat who just passed in 2023 came from a rescued litter of kittens we bottle fed and we had to socialize him.
It was worth it, as he turned out to be a great cat and part of our family for nearly 12 years, and was a gorgeous long-haired fluƯ ball, who mellowed out into a great lap cat in the end.
I have learned through cat ownership that cats are the equivalent of a dog.
They are very intelligent and insightful, and they can also be very aƯectionate once they bond with you.
And they are amazing creatures, who establish a roaming territory and have an internal 'homing device' in their brains that allows them to find their way home at the end of the day.
As well, they have ways of communicating with you and letting you know what they want.
And, it's like having dog that goes out and walks itself, then comes home later, and is small, unobtrusive, very cute, with soft fur,
who doesn't bark - -just meows and purrs.
Cats bury their poop in the garden or use their litter box. Other than scooping the litter box, I never have to shovel the yard anymore.
They are very neat and clean themselves.
No one complains saying "Your cat was in my yard", or "your cat pooped in my yard".
The cat we have now is one we found in the middle of a two lane road out in the country near some horse ranches when he was 6 weeks old.
We took him to the vet and the local animal shelter where he was treated and rehabilitated, and after a few days we adopted him back out of the shelter.
Our older cat worked with him and they were like brothers until our older cat died in our front garden in Spring of 2023 of natural causes.
Our younger cat mourned him, but eventually came to terms with it and went on to become our new adult cat as he matured.
While no two cats are the same and the first cat can never be replaced (like with children) we love our second cat very much, even if his mother may have been a barn cat and we have to discourage him from scratching on things occasionally. However, like with any child, no one is perfect and he is worth any loose fibers in the carpet we may get.
As with the first cat, though I feel sorry for the mice in our vicinity, we have very few mice or moles in the house or on our property, if any.
He is up to date on all of his shots, checkups, and got neutered as a kitten by the shelter, so problem solved there.
We have some friends, however, who have a cat who is pregnant for the 7th time.
I just about blew my stack when I found out she was pregnant again.
I have been talking to them, especially their teenage sons who are friends with mine, about getting their cat spayed for two years now.
I contacted animal rescue groups and animal control about it, but did not give out their names.
The animal control animal rescue personnel and spay/neuter organization all gave me a list of resources to give them and oƯered to take her if needed I passed this information along to their family, and mentioned to the kids that this is not good stewardship of God's creatures, as they are involved in a bilingual church My friends are Ukrainian immigrants, and the parents grew up in a small village outside Kiev.
While I appreciate what they are going through in light of what is happening in Ukraine right now, they now live in suburban U.S.A., and it is cruel not to get their cat spayed.
There are un-neutered feral cats roaming the area near their home, and they keep letting their cat get out and get pregnant again.
I am so frustrated.
Thank you for reading my comments, if you are contending with some of the same issues with overbreeding in your area.
This is why enacting emergency ordinances to ban breeding and buying, enforce spayneuter, and oƯering low cost / free options to low income pet owners is so important, along with requiring mandatory licensing and microchipping for all pets, free or low cost to those who qualify along with low cost or free basic preventive veterinary care for qualifying area residents who are low income as well, including vaccinations and parasite control.
Mobile veterinary clinics staƯed by veterinary student interns and residents under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian may be part of the solution to oƯer free or low cost vet services to low income residents, and encourage them to be compliant if new spay/neuter ordinances were enacted, or enforcement began (in the event laws are already in place that are not being observed.)
Also, again, getting the word out in the community about any emergency bans or spay/neuter ordinances in multiple languages via multi-lingual flyers, commercials, news stories on the local news or in the local paper, online Ads on web sites, word of mouth, and bilingual individuals sharing about it at community centers and local places of business, including AVAS, would make a diƯerence in making sure everyone is aware and can be compliant. For anyone who is not in the U.S. legally, they would need to designate a close family member or family friend they trust to register as a dog or cat's legal owner on their behalf for the purpose of mandatory licensing and microchipping along with spay/neuter and vet services.
That is my opinion.
Having worked in community health with people from diƯerent nationalities as well as refugees, I am not in agreement with Trump's sweeping deportation policies. However, I do agree that if anyone wants to immigrate to the U.S. and become part of the fabric of our country, they need to behave responsibly, and adapt to our culture and society, and that includes responsible, compliant pet ownership that does not involve over breeding and does involve spaying and neutering all dogs and cats in their possession, and getting them basic vet care they need, even if it is done through a family member of family friend who is a legal U.S. resident.
I also do not have a problem with criminals involved in dog fighting rings or illegally breeding guard dogs (who are often simultaneously involved in other illegal activities as well) being deported IF it can be proven that they were indeed involved in these activities, and not just 'allegedly'.
Thank you for reading my latest comments for today,
Beth Hunt, dog lover who has a long history of dog ownership, who is now a cat owner who loves cats just as much, as cats are very intelligent and are wonderful, loving, sentient beings.