Animal shelter investigations ::
County and civil grand jury audits and reports of animal service departments, as well as news investigations exposing taxpayer-funded shelters that hide bite histories of dogs up for adoption.
Audits and reviews of shelters
- Complaint for Injunctive Relief and Restitution, Biggi v. Wagenen, County of Riverside, Superior Court of the State of California County of Riverside, Case No. [not yet assigned], November 25, 2024 | Related press release
- First Amended Complaint, Woodruff v. Gettis, Riverside County Department of Animal Services, Superior Court of the State of California County of Riverside, Case No. CVPS2405127, November 4, 2024| Related Kristen Hassen contract
- Revised Austin Animal Center Animal Shelter Audit, by City of Austin Office of the City Auditor, Austin, Texas, January 2025, Revised Exhibit 3, Pg. 5, Originally published September 2023 | View highlights | Related article
- Austin Animal Center Animal Shelter Audit, by National Center for Animal Shelter Evaluations, Austin, Texas, September 2023 | Related article
- Review of San Bernardino Department of Animal Services, by San Bernardino County Civil Grand Jury, San Bernardino County, California, December 2023, Pg. 17.
- Audit of Dangerous and Aggressive Dogs Investigation and Determination Process, by Office of the City Auditor, Dallas, Texas, August 2022 | Previously: Audit of Dallas Animal Services Operations, by Office of the City Auditor, Dallas, Texas, December 2016.
- Audit of DeKalb County Animal Enforcement, by Office of Independent Internal Audit, DeKalb County, Georgia, July 2020.
- Audit of the Orange County Animal Services Division Dangerous Dog Compliance Program, by Orange County Comptroller, Orange County, Florida, June 2018.
- Review of San Francisco Animal Care and Control, by San Francisco County Civil Grand Jury, San Francisco County, California, June 2018.
- Review of Humboldt County Animal Control, the City of Eureka Animal Control, and the City of Fortuna Animal Control, by Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury, Humboldt County, California, June 2018 | Read responses
- Follow Up Review of Multnomah County Animal Services, by Office of Multnomah County Auditor, Multnomah County, Oregon, June 2018 | Previously: Review of Multnomah County Animal Services, by Office of Multnomah County Auditor, Multnomah County, Oregon, February 2016.
- Animal Services Division Organizational Review, by Fairfax County Police Department, Fairfax County, Virginia, June 2016.
News investigations of shelters
- 5-Part Series: How "No-Kill" Polices of Best Friends Animal Society Endanger Public Safety, Create Legal Liabilities, and Leave Shelters in Shambles, by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), April 2025 (peta.org).
- Seattle Animal Shelter accused of safety issues, retaliation, by Jaelynn Grisso, Cascade PBS, May 24, 2024 (crosscut.com).
- Part I: Ex-employees say North Shore Animal League hid dangerous history of some dogs, by News 12, March 9, 2020 (longisland.news12.com).
- Part II: Concerns arise over lack of laws required at NY shelters to reveal dog bite history to adopters, by News 12, March 11, 2020 (longisland.news12.com).
- Goldstein Investigation: Local Animal Shelter Isn't Telling All About Some Dangerous Dogs Up For Adoption, by David Goldstein, CBS Los Angeles, November 18, 2019 (losangeles.cbslocal.com).
- Part I: N4T Investigators: Dangerous Dogs?, by Sam Salzwedel, KVOA, July 11, 2018 (kvoa.com) | Related video
- Part II: N4T Investigators: PACC refuses interview, by Sam Salzwedel, KVOA, August 3, 2018 (kvoa.com).
- Part III: N4T Investigators: County faces lawsuit after adoption from PACC bites woman in face, by Sam Salzwedel, KVOA, October 22, 2018 (kvoa.com).
- Director resigns post at Albuquerque Animal Welfare Department, by Colleen Heild, Albuquerque Journal, December 6, 2017 (abqjournal.com).
- Part I: Multiple dog attacks inside Fairfax shelter, by Andrea McCarren, WUSA-TV, August 11, 2016 (wusa9.com).
- Part II: Pet killed by shelter dog in front of owner, by Andrea McCarren and Erin Van der Bellen, WUSA-TV, August 11, 2016 (wusa9.com).
- Bay Area man attacked by adopted pet, shelter plans changes for dangerous dogs, by KTVU-TV, August 1, 2016 (ktvu.com).
- Part I: Are Austin's no-kill shelters adopting out dangerous dogs?, by Brian Collister, KXAN-TV, February 26, 2016 (kxan.com).
- Part II: An Investigation into Austin's no-kill shelters, by Brian Collister, KXAN-TV, February 27, 2016 (kxan.com).
- Complaint: Dangerous dogs being released by city, by Colleen Heild, Albuquerque Journal, March 31, 2015 (abqjournal.com) | Statement of Jim Ludwick
Mandatory bite disclosure laws
DogsBite