SANGER – As residents continue to be concerned with a high presence of stray animals in the city, community members gathered to discuss the problem with dogged determination.
On Sept. 22, Grace Community Church hosted a public discussion focused on local animal control led by Chief of Police John Reynolds. Over the course of the meeting, community members were presented with animal control statistics, got an early look at future departmental improvements and shared their own experience with stray animals in their neighborhoods.
The meeting was organized in part by resident Jeanne Adams, who has lived in Sanger for around 15 years and has been involved with volunteer groups like TNR’n (Trap, Neuter, Return’n) Sanger Cats. Adams has been in contact with Reynolds for the past few months, and said the goal of the meeting was to unify those in the community who are working to address the stray population.
“I realized that there were people out there dealing with the issue, but it didn’t seem like we were working together,” Adams said in an interview. She added, “Last night was an opportunity to bring people together that have dealt with these issues here in Sanger. Everyone talked together, and I think we made progress.”
Beefing up animal control
To open up the meeting, Reynolds gave attendees a presentation that highlighted animal control statistics from January through August of this year. According to the presentation, the city’s animal control division received 1,390 calls for service in that period and had a total intake of 360 animals, with the overwhelming majority of those being dogs.
In that same period, 22 animals were reclaimed by owners, 14 were adopted and 31 were euthanized. Despite the number of euthanizations, the city shelter was designated as a “no-kill” shelter by national nonprofit Best Friends Animal Society, meaning it maintained a 90% save rate for the period of June 2025 to May 2026.
Reynolds told attendees he hopes to positively impact these stats through a two-to-three-year Animal Control Services Strategic Plan, which places emphasis on: shelter operations, volunteer engagement, rescue partnerships, public outreach, facilities improvements and more.
“For adoptions, we’re hoping that with volunteer opportunities and working with our volunteers, that number can skyrocket,” Reynolds said. “We’d like to see deceased animals decreased, maybe dogs intaked increased but then shipped out as well through rescue transfers.”
One bit of relief that will soon be coming to the animal control division is a new kennel technician, which Reynolds said will allow the city’s two animal control officers to spend more time in the field rather than at the shelter. According to Reynolds, there are currently six applicants for the position, and interviews could start as early as the week of Sept. 28.
Another addition that will soon be coming to the department is a new animal control vehicle, made possible through a $120,000 Measure R allocation approved in the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget. The new vehicle will be able to carry six animals, and will be equipped with a hydraulic lift.
Upon hearing this, one attendee questioned if $120,000 on a new vehicle is a wise investment when that money could instead be used for up to three $40,000 salaries for animal control staff, especially when a reported 31 animals were euthanized in eight months.
In response, Reynolds clarified that the $120,000 from Measure R is a one-time allocation under this fiscal year’s budget and is not guaranteed next year, making the new vehicle an investment that can last years beyond a single budget allocation. If that $120,000 is hypothetically allocated elsewhere in next year’s budget, the police department would then have to lay off those three people, Reynolds said.
Furthermore, Animal Control Officer Addy Hernandez spoke up to say that because the city does not have a veterinarian, the shelter offers euthanization services to owners who cannot treat their sick or injured animals, which contributes to the number of shelter euthanizations.
“Sometimes the euthanasia numbers are really high because we provide those services, because we want to make sure that these dogs or these cats are being taken care of as far as humane euthanasia,” said Hernandez to attendees. “It doesn’t mean that we’re euthanizing 20-30 healthy dogs that could be put up for adoption.”
One of the final reveals in Reynolds’ presentation was a series of plans and concepts for a future remodel of the animal shelter. Renderings showed refreshed kennels, revamped utility rooms and public areas, and two exercise areas for dogs. Reynolds added that a future budget request will also bring an HVAC system to the facility.
Although Reynolds believes the shelter remodel will be a positive force for volunteer retention and general quality of service, he noted that the project will be taken on in phases and over the course of a few years.
So, what can be done?
After Reynolds’ presentation, attendees spent the next 40 minutes asking questions and sharing their own observations of local animal control. A point made by many attendees was that although the city has been doing its best to address the city’s dog population, more should be done to address the cat population.
Local resident Luisa Ayala spoke up during the discussion to share that she is one of a few people in town who voluntarily does door-to-door trap, neuter and return (TNR) work. Ayala expressed a deep sense of frustration, saying that despite new litters regularly popping up and cats continually dying on the streets, volunteers get “a lot of hate” from owners.
“We’re so overwhelmed, we see (cats) die and we face people who refuse to let us spay and neuter their cats,” Ayala said. She later added, “We’re trying to prevent the suffering because we’re the ones holding the kitties when they die, and we lose it, because what else are we going to do?”
Reynolds suggested that individuals who refuse spaying and neutering could be considered irresponsible breeders and warrant code enforcement, but Hernandez clarified that the city’s municipal code is “really outdated,” and does not have a section for irresponsible breeding. Hernandez suggested that this is an area the city can look into to tighten the leash on irresponsible pet owners.
The rest of the evening’s discussion focused heavily on TNR work, and on educating the public of how spaying and neutering cats can greatly reduce the number of kittens that are born to wander the streets. Meeting organizer Jeanne Adams encouraged attendees to leave their emails on a sign-in sheet if they are interested in joining, or learning more about, volunteer groups like TNR’n Sanger Cats.
Once the meeting came to a close, Adams and other organizers passed out flyers with information on how community members can help address animal overpopulation. Options included: applying to be a foster home through Sanger Animal Control, donating supplies to the shelter or at Grocery Outlet, learning how to properly TNR and, of course, adopting.
Reflecting on this first community gathering, Adams said she hopes to organize future meetings that are more targeted to some of the points raised by attendees, and build a more robust TNR community within Sanger.
While the night made it clear that there is a lot of work that will have to be done to chip away at the problem, Adams is hopeful for the road ahead if residents maintain their passion.
“I’m looking forward to having lots of help, and I think last night there was a lot of ‘Oh, you’re doing that too?’ and ‘Oh, you want to be involved?’” Adams said. “This momentum is going to grow, and I’m very grateful for that.”
Those who wish to stay up to date on future meetings or find other ways to get involved are encouraged to join local Facebook groups such as “Sam’s Lost Pets of Sanger,” “Sanger Animal Control,” “CenCal Paw Saver” and “TNR’n Sanger Cats.”
