Town of Apple Valley
Town Council Meeting
January 13, 2026
Public Comments
Team please vote yes on the barn cat referendum.
Regard
Ryan Podsiad
District 4
The barn cat program is a great idea!!!! Please vote yes on the program.
Sincerely,
Valerie Lesh
District 3
Apple Valley Town Council,
The practices at this shelter need to change. In October, a healthy tortoiseshell kitten named Zucchini (254964) was euthanized, while a willing adopter was in touch with AVAS staƯ. A public records request revealed a staƯ note made by Kristin Hall on 9/24/2025 about this tiny kitten: “There is hostility in her heart”. It is diƯicult to understand why the Animal Health Supervisor could make such a biased, unprofessional note in this kitten’s file, and one might wonder if this bias contributed to the decision to euthanize with a willing adopter available. Another member of the shelter staƯ, Kathleen Buharp, continues to handle the cats and kittens with no gloves on for PPE; she should be wearing PPE to prevent/minimize the spread of contagious conditions between animals. The Animal Behaviorist, Autumn Cotton, does not meet the minimum requirements listed on the Animal Behaviorist position description, with a work history in the food service industry, and no formal education in animal behavior.
It is well known that many cats and kittens admitted to the shelter never make it to the adoption floor, are not shown in the adoptable animals section of the town’s website, and are labeled feral, fractious, or diƯicult to handle.
It is universally known in the animal control and rescue community that cats scared in an unfamiliar environment may present as feral, but when removed from an unfamiliar shelter environment and placed in a quieter environment, they do not present as feral. The Apple Valley Animal Shelter staƯ should know this. One might wonder if too many cats at AVAS are labeled as “feral”, “fractious”, or impossible to handle, as a way to avoid having to provide shelter for these cats as they are oƯered for adoption. Instead, these cats and kittens are euthanized for convenience, without ever being oƯered for adoption. Other cats perish while kept in small cages along the wall in the “green rooms” or “cat receiving” area where the public is not allowed, volunteers are not allowed, and photography is not allowed. Please, Apple Valley Town Council, AVAS needs to do better.
Sincerely,
JeƯ Lane
Hello Council Members,
I am speaking today as a deeply concerned citizen and animal advocate who has been following the Apple Valley Animal Shelter’s operations for years — and the latest intake and outcome statistics make it painfully clear that nothing is improving.
Instead of a shelter, Apple Valley is running what amounts to a disposal system for living beings — and the community’s pets are the ones paying the price.
1. Families Are Being Blocked From Finding Their Pets
Despite state law guaranteeing public access to search for lost animals, residents are routinely prevented from walking through the shelter, denied the ability to identify missing pets, and made to jump through hoops just to get information.
Preventing people from reclaiming their own animals is not just outrageous — it is unlawful.
2. Animals — Including Owned Ones — Are Being Killed Wrongfully There are repeated reports of:
The WRONG animal being euthanized
Animals mislabeled, hidden, or never posted
Pets killed before an owner even knows where to look
This is not a mistake here or there. It is a pattern.
3. TNVR Funding Is Being Ignored
Apple Valley advertises participation in a taxpayer-funded TNVR program.
Yet the monthly numbers show something entirely diƯerent:
Cats that should be trapped, neutered, and returned are instead funneled into the shelter pipeline — and killed.
This turns a lifesaving program into a kill funnel.
4. Rescue and Adoption Are Actively Discouraged
Unlike modern shelters that partner with rescues to save lives, Apple Valley:
Limits adoption hours and opportunities
Rejects or delays rescue transfers
Fails to post animals in a timely and accurate manner
Makes fostering nearly impossible
Every barrier costs animals their lives.
A Real Example — Cat #256628
This month’s casualties includes a senior cat, intake #256628.
This cat:
Was never given a name
Was never posted publicly
Was not held for any meaningful period
Was euthanized the same day she arrived
No chance for a family to find her.
No chance for the community to save her.
Just quietly killed — and logged as another statistic.
This is not humane care.
This is not transparency.
And it is certainly not what the public expects of a municipal shelter.
Your Numbers Prove the Failure
Looking at your own figures:
Foster placements: zero
Return to owner for cats: zero
High rates of euthanasia labeled as “health” or “unadoptable,” with no independent verification
When cats are rescued/adopted and were labeled as unadoptable/feral, most end up as friendly and loving very shortly after leaving the shelter Little to no TNVR happening at all
Cats dying in the building instead of leaving alive
These are not outcomes of a compassionate or competent system.
You Already Know This Is a Problem
The shelter is currently facing litigation due to these practices.
The town is aware.
And yet, the public continues to watch animals — including family pets — be killed unnecessarily.
What Must Change — Immediately
Let the public walk through the kennels to identify lost pets Photograph and post every single animal upon arrival
Stop same-day and fast-track euthanasia
Remove barriers to rescue and fostering
Implement TNVR as intended
Bring in oversight if current leadership cannot or will not comply Every day you delay means preventable death.
Apple Valley has the ability — and the obligation — to fix this.
There is no excuse for the continued killing of lost, adoptable, and community animals behind closed doors.
Thank you.
Michael Matuszak
A concerned citizen