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Newman animal services reports rising intakes, vaccine outbreaks and limited spay/neuter vouchers; resident seeks shelter timeline
Summary
Animal services staff reported rising cat and dog intakes, parvovirus outbreaks and limited voucher availability for spay/neuter. A resident asked the council to place an animal shelter update on a future agenda and requested clearer procedures for getting items on the agenda.
Mary Arreas Romo, a Newman resident, asked the council during public comment on Jan. 28 to place an item on a future agenda with updates and a completion timetable for the city’s animal shelter project.
“I was wanting to be placed on next month's agenda to discuss the animal shelter, its updates and its deadline on when it will be completed,” Mary Arreas Romo said, giving her Newman address and asking for clearer application instructions after an emailed request was denied for format problems.
City staff told Romo that the public works director and the chief of police are working on site plans and that the city will follow up in writing with a schedule once designs and cost estimates are available. Staff said courtyard design work is expected in the next three to six months to create space that would allow expansion at the current facility.
Bree (animal services staff) gave the council annual intake data for the shelter and described operational challenges. Bree said intakes rose from 135 cats and 135 dogs in 2022 to 309 cats and 263 dogs in 2023, and were 281 cats and 267 dogs in 2024. She told the council the shelter has seen parvovirus outbreaks that increased medical expenses and that kennel layout gaps make isolation and cross‑contamination difficult.
Bree said the department has held two free microchipping clinics and obtained a grant for free ID tags and collars to help return animals to owners. She said limited spay/neuter vouchers are available to seniors and low‑income residents; vouchers reduce typical veterinary costs but still require co‑payments (Bree cited a sample voucher price of $175 to use at True Blue).
Bree described other priorities including securing a fenced play yard to reduce injuries and pursuing low‑cost spay/neuter funding to curb backyard breeding. She said adoption and rescue placements declined from 2023 to 2024 and attributed some intake increases to neighboring Stanislaus County agencies reducing intake capacity.
Council members asked about outreach and communication; Bree said the shelter’s Facebook page, flyers and clinic outreach are primary methods and welcomed council assistance sharing posts and working with the local newspaper.
Staff and council said they will continue to coordinate on design, funding and a written schedule for the shelter project. No formal council action or funding appropriation took place at the meeting.
