TUSTIN, Calif. (June 7, 2023) – Earlier today, the Orange County Grand Jury released a report containing their review of OC Animal Care. The report will be reviewed, and a formal response will be prepared by the County Executive Office within 90 days. While OC Animal Care cannot comment on the report at this time, the agency would like to thank the Grand Jury for their interest in the animal shelter and highlight recent successes.
2022 OC Animal Care Highlights & Successes
- OC Animal Care cared for 14,687 animals and is one of the largest municipal shelters in Southern California.
- The shelter’s overall save rate was 82.06 percent, with a dog save rate of 94.16 percent and 73.63 percent for cats.
- OC Animal Care counseled over 10,000 adoption visits (both pre-scheduled and walk-in) matching potential adopters with furry friends, contributing to the shelter’s low dog return rate of 11.6 percent.
- To highlight animals in need of adoption, OC Animal Care began waiving adoption fees for dogs 25+ pounds in December 2022. This initiative has encouraged more families to adopt medium and large size dogs compared to the same months the previous year.
- Every Saturday, big dogs showed off their large and loveable personalities at Pooches on the Patio, a meet & greet style adoption program.
- The Family Furst Drive-Thru Pet Pantry distributed over 85 tons of donated pet food to help keep over 9,000 pets at home with their families.
- Over 2,000 of the most vulnerable pets, such as nursing moms and underage kittens, were placed in foster care with dedicated foster volunteer caretakers. Through partnership with sister shelters and rescue agencies, over 5,000 pets were placed.
- OC Animal Care’s Field Operations responded to 48,811 calls from the community related to rescuing stray, sick or injured animals, investigation of animal cruelty, neglect, or potentially dangerous/vicious dogs and barking dogs and rabies control and providing 24/7 support to residents in our community.
- OC Animal Care's call center answered over 114,000 calls, with over the phone services provided in English, Spanish and Vietnamese daily excluding County holidays.
- The in-house clinic performed over 4,500 surgeries to spay/neuter and improve pet health, including but not limited to wound care, mass removals, enucleations, hernia repair, dental care and more.
Events in recent years have provided an opportunity for OC Animal Care to get creative with programming. Many successful pilot programs were created and implemented, allowing OC Animal Care to continue its operation.
OC Animal Care is consistently evaluating and updating programs to meet the needs of the community which it serves. The shelter is excited to launch summer initiatives, including additional pilot programs, to expand how it supports people and pets.
For more information on ways the community can support the animals at the shelter, please visit ocpetinfo.com/get-involved or OC Animal Care’s Amazon Wishlist.
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About OC Animal Care
OC Animal Care is the largest municipal animal shelter in Orange County. It services 14 cities and the County unincorporated areas and takes in over 14,500 animals each year. OC Animal Care provides refuge and care for animals, fosters the human-animal bond and promotes safety in our community. For more information about OC Animal Care, please visit ocpetinfo.com.
Press Release in Spanish
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