Cloverdale approves response to Sonoma County Grand Jury report on animal services

Cloverdale’s City Council on Aug. 27 adopted a resolution responding to the 2024–25 Sonoma County Grand Jury report on animal services. The vote to adopt the city’s response was 5-0. City staff and the police chief described the city’s contract experience with North Bay Animal Services (NBAS), saying most cities at a recent city managers’ meeting reported general satisfaction with NBAS’s field and response services, though the grand jury report made findings on inconsistent vaccinations, shelter maintenance and incomplete data collection. The chief said he toured NBAS’s facility, saw no concerning conditions, and discussed the report’s findings with the shelter operator. The meeting record shows the chief urged clarity if a county-wide task force is reconvened: council members and staff said they would participate but requested information on task-force membership requirements, expertise, time commitment and the development of a standardized inspection checklist for shelters if the task force is formed. Staff also said NBAS currently operates from Petaluma and that when NBAS retrieves an animal, residents may need to travel to NBAS’s facility to reclaim pets; the city uses social media and temporary on-site holding to mitigate that burden where possible. The resolution formally adopts the city’s written response to the grand jury findings and was approved 5-0. Staff said they are concurrently negotiating the NBAS service contract with added accountability measures (time-on-call reporting and response-time documentation) and will seek to clarify administrative processes to address the grand jury’s recommendations.