Apple Valley City Council
June 23, 2026

TOWN OF APPLE VALLEY
TOWN COUNCIL JUNE 23, 2026

PUBLIC COMMENT
Greetings Council,
First, be it known, I have never spoke before a council or addressed you in email form.

However, I have to say what is on my mind.

I have been a resident of Apple Valley for now 16 years. I have worked hard to renevate an older home and quite proud of the work I have completed. I know I have made an old dilapidated home into something I am proud to call my own. I invested many dollars, work and time into making my hopes and dreams become reality.

Long story, I have endured too many set backs, even before moving to Apple Valley. I can expound on those things if required, but that is now why I am writing.

I see that on June 23, 2026 your council will be hearing and maybe voting on authorizing yet another rate increase. I understand that it is and takes many dollars to fund the trucks, the landfill and Lord knows those drivers work hard and diligently. God Bless them all ! I'll cut to the point, I am a single person, I only set out my trash every other week and even then hardly fill my trash barrels. I am on a fixed income (not very much but I give God the glory for HIS blessings).

My point is , if I only use the service only half the time and provide recyclable material for your redemption, isn't possible to get a CREDIT for "minimal" use of your service . My refuge (I am single) and don't have much waste and many other neighbors completely fill their barrels to the point there overflowing, why oh why should I have to pay for that same service when in FACT I don't and can't utilize it to the point it would JUSTIFY the "current" rates. NOW YOU WANT TO RAISE THE RATES .......AGAIN !
I use the Household recycle center when necessary and always cognizant to what should go into each barrel. Just thought I would propose that a prorated service be provide for those who DO NOT produce much SOLID WASTE (as you call it).

That is all I have to say. May the Lord open your minds and hearts to those who are struggling and HE may keep you all well !
Thanks in advance,
Sincerely
Mark S. Kaylor
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully
Simone Kelham
(Adopted a cat from AVAS March 2026)
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Leonor Delgado
Hello this is Lexi Ramirez emailing you with the urgency and regard to change outdated AVAS policies. Our focus should be helping fosters, adoption and rescue placement for the felines not taking away from them. You need to do better!! Fix the broken system and help felines find a good home and find a foster home. They’re all just babies in dire need of our help. Thanks.

Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens. For instance, I am a Los Angeles county resident and have been wanting to foster to help out given how these poor cats are so quickly removed from the website and euthanized.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
 Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
 Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.  Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help.  Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement.  Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
 Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record. This whole situation is heartbreaking and I just ask you to look inside your heart and imagine what it’s like for these cats who quite frankly don’t stand a chance from the very second they enter the shelter. It must be terrifying for them and it’s even worse that they genuinely could have found a loving home if shelter operations were better and up to the standard of care that they should be at.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I ask that you take this seriously and ask yourself what kind of person you would want to be— someone who saves animals and listens to those who speak up for those who can’t, or someone is clearly aware of injustices yet chooses to just watch from the sidelines.

Respectfully,
Laura Gomez
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Janet Feldman
I recently attempted to save a cat on the euthanasia list at this shelter. I already have 6, but this cat's story pulled at my heartstrings because the shelter had taken her 3 kittens from her and euthanized them, leaving her alone.

I reached out to try and find a rescue to save the mother only to find that this shelter not only euthanizes cats without enough time to find placement, but also makes it unnecessarily hard for rescue to get these animals out in time. Apple Valley Animal Shelter has an extremely bad reputation in the rescue community. That could be changed with some changes.

I have attached a picture of the cats in question so it puts a face to this. These 4 cats deaths were preventable.

Amy Bedell
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Shanshan Zhao
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce life saving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Sherry Wu
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Davin Stager
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Alison
*Remove restrictions that prevent rescue to rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
* improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
* Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. * Simplify spay/ Neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. *Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues
* receive timely response when they oƯer help for urgent animal.

From
Ji Montgomery
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Elizabeth Neubrand
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Jaclyn Romero
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Ping Wang
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Adilynne Leaf.

Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
 Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
 Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.  Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help.  Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement.  Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
 Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
A Concerned California Citizen
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Diana Guerrero
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter, while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Marisol Rubio
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Teri Goodwillie
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully
Guadalupe Guardado
I am submitting this public comment for the record due to ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies which dangerously limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Day after day, we see urgent cats at the shelter who are all in dire need of help. Despite this, willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help save the lives of those ostensibly in the care of the powers that be at this facility.

A primary concern is that the shelter foster program is limited to Apple Valley residents despite nationwide evidence showing that this is a woefully outdated policy. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and proven capable of saving lives in need.

Another major concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls.

This option is made all the more important due to the fact that the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can take up to two weeks. For urgent cats who have been given 72 hours to live, they do not have the luxury of waiting 2 weeks for a cumbersome bureaucracy to perform the taxpayer-funded job they were hired to do. At every other facility I have ever worked with, rescue partner applications are reviewed much more quickly, usually within one or two days. Apple Valley Animal Shelter must improve both response and review process so that rescue placement is not delayed when lives have been given a deadline and help is trying to save them.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at any other facility I have worked with. When two established rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden but rather facilitated. Preventing rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter, which is especially dangerous during the busiest times of the year for facility and rescue groups alike.

Another concern is the over-reliance on rigid documentation requirements in a reckless manner that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand and approve of the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical, particularly when lives are at stake.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter must be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a ridiculously specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who can pass away without warning (see "fading kitten syndrome"), reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate. As it stands, these outdated documentation demands seem intended solely to hinder the rescue process and make it harder for cats to make it out of the facility alive.

Animal services and animal rescue have all come a very long way, especially in recent years. Please look to facilities outside of the area for inspiration, and enable change in the current system so that lives can be saved and the Apply Valley Animal Shelter can be viewed as a model inspiration, not a name synonymous across social media with the worst of rural country death traps. Volunteers and motivated residents are all ready and willing to help save these forgotten and heartbroken lives, we just need the cooperation of both council and facility staƯ to make these goals a reality.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions preventing rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two established rescues are willing to coordinate placement. • Improve and streamline the rescue partner application response process so that rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals. • Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help -- there is a large pool of caring fosters nearby who are denied the opportunity to save lives simply because they happen to live just outside of an invisible line. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so that paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over outdated internal bureaucratic restrictions.

These barriers are by far the most frustrating obstacles which reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place wholly unnecessary pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Richard Hamel
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
With great zealotry, I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Dr. Claudia Cataldo
Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescue’s often do not have two weeks to wait. Apple Valley Animal Shelter is giving limited time to save lives.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process, so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals. Provide a public list of approved Rescue partners on AVAS website and post list inside the Shelter. • Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Traci Elizabeth
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter. Animals deserve a chance, and these laws are not helping.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Angela Stubbs
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I, Connie Stinson, am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats. This is near and dear to me.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help. I personally have had diƯiculty adopting cats, they were killed even when I made plans to come and adopt at later times.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens. Anyone willing should be accepted, after proper documentation.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent. Hire more volunteers if they need help.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter. It seems an unnecessary block to more adoptions thru rescues.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical, not excessive.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Connie Stinson
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment because animals are dying — not because there was no one to save them, but because Apple Valley Animal Shelter's own policies are slamming the door in the face of every person trying to help.

This is not bureaucratic ineƯiciency. This is a preventable crisis, and your shelter is at the center of it.

I want to tell you about a cat named Mutti.

Mutti was a mama cat who arrived at Apple Valley Animal Shelter with three kittens.

Rescuers mobilized immediately. They had fosters ready. They had resources. They had the will. What they didn't have was an approved rescue partner status — because that process can reportedly take up to two weeks at AVAS. By the time anything could be sorted out, Mutti's three kittens were gone — euthanized, one by one, while people with empty carriers and full hearts sat on the other side of a bureaucratic wall. Then Mutti herself was killed.

Three kittens. Their mother. All dead. All preventable.

And the shelter's response? More paperwork.

This is what your current policies produce.

Here is what is happening inside Apple Valley Animal Shelter that you need to answer for:

FOSTER PROGRAM CLOSED TO MOST WILLING HELPERS
The shelter's foster program is reportedly limited to Apple Valley residents only. This means that caring, qualified fosters who live minutes away — just across a town line — are turned away while urgent cats and kittens sit in cages. There is no defensible reason for this. It is not a safety measure. It is a gatekeeping policy that costs animals their lives.

RESCUE APPLICATIONS TAKE UP TO TWO WEEKS — ANIMALS DON'T HAVE TWO WEEKS For an urgent cat or a litter of neonatal kittens, two weeks is a death sentence. Every other day matters. Many shelters review rescue partner applications within 24 hours. AVAS takes up to fourteen days. Cats are dying in that gap.

RESCUE-TO-RESCUE TRANSFERS ARE FORBIDDEN
This is perhaps the most indefensible policy of all. When two established rescues are willing to coordinate a placement — when the animal has somewhere to go — AVAS says no. No transfer. No courtesy pull. No pathway out. Other shelters across California allow and encourage rescue-to-rescue coordination because they understand that the goal is to save lives, not to control process. AVAS has it backwards.

PAPERWORK TRAPS ARE BEING USED TO STRIP RESCUES OF THEIR PULL RIGHTS Documentation requirements at AVAS have reportedly become a weapon. Rescues are losing their pull rights over formatting technicalities — because the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name didn't appear in a specific way on a spay/neuter certificate. For medically fragile kittens who die in foster care despite round-the-clock heroic eƯorts, rescues are being punished for outcomes that were never in their control. This is not accountability. This is sabotage of the very people doing the shelter's job for free.

I am asking — no, I am demanding — that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to make the following changes immediately:
• END the policy blocking rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls. When two rescues are ready to coordinate placement, get out of the way. • OVERHAUL the rescue partner application process so that urgent animals can be placed within 24–48 hours, not two weeks.
• OPEN foster eligibility to qualified fosters regardless of whether they live within Apple Valley town limits.
• ELIMINATE documentation trap policies that strip rescues of pull rights over formatting errors or outcomes beyond their control.
• ENSURE that willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses — not silence — when they step forward to help.
• MAKE lifesaving the shelter's first priority, not administrative self-protection.

Animals are dying at Apple Valley Animal Shelter while the people who would save them are being turned away, delayed, or disqualified on technicalities. The community knows it. The rescue network knows it. Now this Council is on record knowing it too.

Mutti and her kittens deserved better. Every animal currently sitting in that shelter deserves better.

This comment is submitted for the permanent public record.

Demanding better,
Michael Matuszak
Dear Mayor Nassif and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter, while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review processes so that rescue placements are not delayed when animals are in urgent need.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so that fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted to document these concerns in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Chris Schulze
What was done to mama mutti and her little ones is beyond horrendous. I can only hope it lives with those who make decisions and sparks some change.

Sincerely,
Jessye cohen-dan, LCSW
Dear Mayor and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review process so rescue placement is not delayed when animals are urgent.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements in a way that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted so these concerns are documented in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Craig Free
Dear Mayor Nassif and Town Council Members,
I am submitting this public comment to document ongoing concerns regarding Apple Valley Animal Shelter policies that appear to limit foster and rescue placement options for cats.

Community members continue to see urgent cats at the shelter, while willing fosters, adopters, and rescues face barriers that make it harder to help.

One concern is that the shelter foster program appears to be limited to Apple Valley residents. This restriction prevents nearby non-resident fosters from helping, even when they are willing and able to provide care for urgent cats or kittens.

Another concern is the restriction on rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls. This pathway is important because the rescue partner application process at Apple Valley Animal Shelter can reportedly take up to two weeks. For urgent cats, rescues often do not have two weeks to wait.

At many other shelters, rescue partner applications can be reviewed much more quickly, sometimes within one day. Apple Valley Animal Shelter should improve its response and review processes so that rescue placements are not delayed when animals are in urgent need.

Rescue-to-rescue transfers and courtesy pulls are also allowed at many other shelters.

When two rescues are willing to coordinate placement, this type of transfer should not be forbidden. Blocking rescue-to-rescue placement reduces options for cats who may have no other pathway out of the shelter.

Another concern is the use of rigid documentation requirements that may result in rescues losing pull rights. We understand the need to track spay/neuter compliance and animal outcomes. However, documentation requirements should be reasonable and practical.

Standard veterinary proof of spay/neuter should be accepted without unnecessary formatting demands, such as requiring the AVAS animal ID, cat name, and rescue name to appear in a specific way on the certificate. For medically fragile kittens or neonates who pass away, reasonable documentation should also be accepted, including veterinary records or written rescue outcome documentation when appropriate.

I respectfully request that the Town of Apple Valley direct Apple Valley Animal Shelter to:
• Remove restrictions that prevent rescue-to-rescue transfers or courtesy pulls when two rescues are willing to coordinate placement.
• Improve the rescue partner application response process so rescues can be reviewed in a timely manner, especially for urgent animals.
• Review and update foster eligibility rules so that fosters outside Apple Valley can help. • Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation requirements so paperwork technicalities do not become barriers to rescue placement. • Ensure willing adopters, fosters, and rescues receive timely responses when they oƯer help for urgent animals.
• Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid internal restrictions.

These barriers reduce lifesaving options for AVAS cats and place additional pressure on residents, rescuers, fosters, and volunteers.

This comment is submitted to document these concerns in the public record.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,
Tony Bryce
To Whom This May Concern:

We kindly ask the following:
 Remove restrictions on rescue-to-rescue / courtesy pulls  Allow fosters outside Apple Valley to help
 Improve rescue application response time
 Simplify spay/neuter and outcome documentation rules
 Prioritize lifesaving placement over rigid policies
 Allow ALL cats and dogs to have exposure, do not hide any animal out of public view or behind closed doors. Every animal deserves a chance to be seen and live  Prioritize TNR instead of euthanasia
 Keep bonded pairs together
All life matters and deserves a chance to live, I think if there were more advertising on buses, public spaces, events, radio, etc there would be more awareness about city shelters and animals who need loving homes.

Thank you,
Lisa Goodman