TO: NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES
AND EDUCATION
COMMITTEE
FROM: Jon Cicirelli
SUBJECT: Animal Care and Services
2025-2026 Annual Report
DATE: September 30, 2026
Approved Date:
9/30/2026
RECOMMENDATION
Accept the annual report on the Animal Care and Services Division's accomplishments for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 and an update on the transition of the Division from the Public Works Department to the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department.
BACKGROUND
This annual report provides an update on the activities of the Animal Care and Services (ACS) Division, a division of the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department (PRNS). ACS moved to PRNS from the Public Works Department effective August 1, 2026. This realignment was determined to be a better fit with PRNS due to the community-facing nature of PRNS and ACS programs, existing work between Park Rangers and Animal Service Officers, combined work on homeless encampments (and the hundreds of pets found there), and PRNS Neighborhood Engagement programs.
ACS is made up of four units; Shelter Operations, Medical Services, Field Operations, and Administration. ACS leads the local efforts to care for unwanted, lost, found, and unclaimed domestic pets in San José, Cupertino, Saratoga, and Milpitas, and to ensure rabies compliance and licensing requirements are met by pet owners. All cats and dogs who come into the care of ACS receive vaccines (including rabies), sterilization surgery, a microchip, and if they require it, medical care at the Division’s Animal Care Center on Monterey Road. Exotic, wild, or farm animals that come into care are transferred to rescue partners who specialize in those species. ACS utilizes the Asilomar Accords1 definitions to categorize and report the treatment and outcomes of animals in its care. 1 Asilomar Accords: Definitions | ASPCA
NSE AGENDA: 10/08/2026
ITEM: (d)2
Neighborhood Services and Education Committee
September 30, 2026
Subject: Animal Care and Services 2025-2026 Annual Report
This report details the activities of the fiscal year 2025-2026 (July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026), unless otherwise indicated.
Analysis
Overview
Animal Care and Services (ACS) continues to serve as one of the highest intake municipal shelters in Northern California, managing more than 11,000 animals annually while maintaining strong live outcome pathways. Fiscal Year 2025–2026 reflects relatively steady intake levels, with a shift toward more dogs entering the system, and continued progress implementing audit recommendations, improving medical practices, and expanding community support programs.
Despite significant systemic pressures, including housing restrictions, limited veterinary access, and increased service needs related to homelessness, ACS maintained strong live outcome levels and made measurable operational improvements.
Key Performance Indicators for ACS
Total intakes: 11,219;
Live outcomes: 8,820 (adoption, rescue/transfer, return-to-owner, return-tofield); Live release rate: 86.22% (one of the highest among large municipal shelters in our region based on their published data and Best Friends’ data); Significant intake shift: +547 dogs; –539 cats compared to FY 24-25; Average daily population: 366 animals (23% decrease); and Length of stay:
o Dogs: Average 15 days; Median 8 days;
o Cats: Average 10 days; Median 5 days.
Shelter Operations
Intake:
Overall intakes are essentially flat year-over-year; composition shifted toward more dogs and fewer cats. The increase in dogs (4 months old or over) and puppy (less than 4 months old) intakes is attributed to the following:
+18% in confiscated dogs (+57 more dogs and 1 less puppy compared to FY 24- 25);
+57% owner-surrender dogs and +106% owner-surrender puppies (86 more dogs compared to FY 24-25 and 49 more puppies);
Neighborhood Services and Education Committee
September 30, 2026
Subject: Animal Care and Services 2025-2026 Annual Report
Of the owner-surrendered dogs in the bullet above, Field Services brought in 51 more dogs and 33 more puppies than last year; and
+18% stray dogs and +22% stray puppies (348 more dogs 75 more puppies).
Chart 1: Animal Intake 5 Year Trend
Systemic Factors Affecting Shelter Operations
Housing restrictions disproportionately affect larger breeds (e.g. German shepherds, Rottweilers, pit bull type dogs, mastiffs, Dobermans, huskies, Akitas), resulting in prolonged length of stay. National veterinary care shortages and prohibitive cost of care continue to limit access to veterinary care and may contribute to an increase in the number of sick and injured animals ACS is seeing, especially for cats and kittens.
Homelessness and encampment activity creates ongoing demand for coordinated Field, Medical, and Shelter services across the city -- a likely contributor to the increase in dog impounds.
Outcomes:
Live outcomes remain strong across adoption, rescue partners, return-to-owner, and return-to-field pathways;
Feline outcomes remain affected by the high number of Unhealthy/Untreatable (U/U) intakes, indicating the shelter is caring for a very high-risk population; Neighborhood Services and Education Committee
September 30, 2026
Subject: Animal Care and Services 2025-2026 Annual Report
mostly medically fragile stray neonates and kittens, along with senior cats arriving in advanced medical decline.
o 41% of kittens and 34% of cats are U/U (32% kittens and 26% cats FY24- 25 were U/U, an increase of 9% and 8% respectively);
o U/U conditions include chronic renal failure, unweaned kittens, FeLV, Medical Emergency (hit-by-car, attacked, etc.), panleukopenia; and o Save rates for U/U: 89% for kittens and 10% for adult cats.
Chart 2: Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Animal Outcomes
Agency Comparison:
ACS compares favorably with other Bay Area large shelters with a dog Live Release Rate of 95% for dogs and 80% for cats.
San Francisco Animal Care & Control does not accept kittens under four weeks of age. Instead, they are referred to San Francisco SPCA Community Cat Program.
Oakland Animal Services only takes in kittens that are eating on their own unless they are sick or injured.
Neighborhood Services and Education Committee
September 30, 2026
Subject: Animal Care and Services 2025-2026 Annual Report
Chart 3: Fiscal Year 2025-2026
Animal Outcomes by Large Regional Municipal Organization Medical Services
Surgeries: 7,230 spay/neuter; 348 other surgeries (7,578 total, 8.4% increase);
Trap/Neuter/Return surgeries: 2,000, a 13% increase, including a shift of 646 SNR surgeries, and 163 via contracted services through partner; and Public-owned pet surgeries: 490.
Neighborhood Services and Education Committee
September 30, 2026
Subject: Animal Care and Services 2025-2026 Annual Report
Chart 4:Total Surgeries – 5 Year Trend
Field Services
Total calls: 19,065 (includes follow-up calls for all priorities) Priority 1 calls: 2,537 (Emergencies such as aggressive dogs at large, animals causing a traffic hazard, first responder assists, sick or injured animals) Priority 1 response: 97% compliance, average response time 29 minutes, target is within 1 hour.
Priority 2 calls: 3,834 (Urgent but not an immediate safety concern. Ex: bite investigations where animal is not at large, reports of animal welfare concerns) Priority 3 calls: 5,319 (Non-Emergency, can be held over to the next day such as deceased animals, reports of animals running at large with no aggression, owner surrenders)
1,820 more calls than FY 24-25 (65 fewer Priority 1 calls and 1,855 more Priority 2/3 calls)
Increased workload from:
o Encampment abatement operations (example: Columbus Park—60 animals)
o Emergency Interim Housing sites (approx. 650 animals across 21 sites) Added graveyard shift reducing backlog of deceased animal pickups from ~300 to ~20.
Neighborhood Services and Education Committee
September 30, 2026
Subject: Animal Care and Services 2025-2026 Annual Report
Chart 5: Completed Calls by Priority FY 2025-2026
Additional Program Areas:
Emergency Interim Housing Program Expansion
New Program Manager coordinating medical, sheltering, and field support. Rolling out free vaccination clinics; establishing tracking systems for residents’ pets.
Licensing, Revenue & Community Investment
Continuing transition to DocuPet pet registration and safety platform; full stabilization anticipated within one year of launch;
o Soft launch 12/8/2025
o Learning curve for pet owners for online licensing
o Data importation and jurisdictions fine-tuning between platforms Total revenue: $3,366,981.
Gift Trust Fund
Donation revenue: $446,222 which is less than FY 24-25 due to a $200,000 bequest in that year.
Guardian Angel Program (GAP) donations: $104,975
General Donations serve as main funding source; allocations support medical care, facility needs, and GAP when designated funds run short.
Neighborhood Services and Education Committee
September 30, 2026
Subject: Animal Care and Services 2025-2026 Annual Report
Chart 6: Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Gift Trust Fund Revenue
Volunteers & Community Engagement
Volunteer Program
Active volunteers: 233
Volunteer hours: 37,377
Foster volunteers: 1,010
In-person orientation model adopted for stronger engagement.
Community Engagement
15 community events; 17 shelter events.
Social media growth (Instagram +2.5 K; sustained 33K on Facebook). New partnerships (Habbas Law, Pet Food Express, Best Friends Animal Society, Liberty Dogs, San José Mineta International Airport) expanded adoption success and outreach.
Established and held three Community Forums
Neighborhood Services and Education Committee
September 30, 2026
Subject: Animal Care and Services 2025-2026 Annual Report
Organizational Highlights
Adoptions: 4,131 (largest live-outcome category)
Rescue transfers: 2,710 (22.6% increase)
Added 48 new Rescue Partners
Public spay/neuter: 490 owned pets (130% increase)
TNR: 2,000, a 13% increase, including a shift of 646 SNR surgeries. 52% Decrease in Shelter-Neuter-Return (SNR) due to intentional shift toward community-based TNR that reduces shelter population impact. 689 SNR surgeries FY 25-26 versus 1,333 FY 24-25. SNR will continue to be an option as needed. As indicated, TNR is preferred as it does not impact shelter capacity-forcare.
Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Summary and Key Takeaways
Strong progress continues with the completion/implementation of audit recommendations and modern sheltering best practices. Additionally, Citywide social service systems (housing, encampments, veterinary access and cost of care) continue to directly influence the ACS workload. Expanding the strategic intake program on preserving capacity for animals with the greatest immediate need while increasing community-based support solutions would position ACS as a resource center for the community; providing guidance, supplies, and support rather than solely a place to surrender animals.
Fiscal Year 2026–2027 Goals
Expand spay/neuter capacity to 4 days per week in October 2026, and to 5 days per week by the end of 2026;
Fully process and track all EIH dogs and cats;
Increase rescue partnerships;
Expand grant funding;
Grow volunteer program, including foster volunteers;
Complete transition to DocuPet;
Transition and restore licensing levels;
Strengthen community pet safety net structure and
Form a Community Advisory Group by the end of the calendar year.
With continued investment in spay/neuter capacity, expanded community partnerships, and strengthened administration, field, and shelter operations, ACS is well-positioned to advance modern, humane, and sustainable animal welfare practices with a humananimal bond lens to build a stronger San José.
Neighborhood Services and Education Committee
September 30, 2026
Subject: Animal Care and Services 2025-2026 Annual Report
COORDINATION
This memorandum has been coordinated with the City Manager’s Budget office and the City Attorney’s Office.
/s/
Jon Cicirelli
Director of Parks,
Recreation and Neighborhood Services
For questions, please contact Monica Wylie, Deputy Director of Animal Care and Services at [email protected].