The entrance of the Palo Alto animal shelter, which is operated by the nonprofit Pets In Need, on June 15, 2021. Photo by Daniela Beltran B.
Pets In Need, the nonprofit organization that runs Palo Alto’s animal shelter, has issued a statement it hopes will help mend its relationship with the community now that a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge has ruled three of its workers were not negligent in the heat-related deaths of seven puppies last year.
In an Aug. 9 statement, Pets In Need said the nonprofit organization is satisfied with the court’s decision to grant the three workers who faced misdemeanor charges access to a diversion program requiring two of them to perform community service and a stipulation that all three not have any other legal issues for six months. They are also eligible for criminal-record expungement.
The court’s decision “will allow our community to close this regrettable chapter and continue to focus on our nearly 60-year mission of providing loving and lasting homes for at-risk animals in the Bay Area and beyond,” the Pets In Need statement said.
“Aug. 2, 2021 was a tough day for the entire Pets In Need community, and we are firmly committed to ensuring that an incident like that never happens again. In the past year, PIN has consulted with veterinary experts from the U.C. Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program to carefully audit and update our transport, animal care and housing protocols to reflect best practices. These are critical for us to meet animal care responsibilities that include proper nutrition, proper hydration, proper enrichment and behavior care, and proper medical care,” the organization stated.
Pets In Need has also improved staff resources and training, and it has appointed new managers for the shelter, for adoptions and for volunteers, and new directors of shelter medicine, shelter operations, finance and human resources.
