San Diego Humane Society outlines expanded services, data and code changes in Imperial Beach update

San Diego Humane Society officials told the Imperial Beach City Council on March 18 that the agency has expanded animal-services coverage since a renewed contract began Oct. 1, 2025, including 24-hour dispatch, extended humane law enforcement hours and a community veterinary program for low-cost services.

Director of government relations Julianna Tetlow said the shelter's first full quarter of service to Imperial Beach (FY26 Q2) logged 87 animal intakes, and the agency recorded about 42 outgoing outcomes (adoptions and transfers) for animals originating in Imperial Beach. "For FY26 Q2 ... our intake was 87 animals," Tetlow said, and she noted the figure is close to pre-pandemic levels.

The nut graf: the report gave council concrete service metrics, described a new field partnership with the fire department that speeds reunifications, and flagged legal and administrative limits in Imperial Beach's animal-control code that staff and the Humane Society say must be updated to allow effective citation and dangerous-dog procedures.

Jace Huggins, chief of humane law enforcement, described response priorities and field work, saying the organization triages calls with life-safety calls first and that the agency now handles felony- and misdemeanor-level investigations as part of its contract work. He described a partnership with the fire department that allows quick microchip scans and reunifications in the field: "Imperial Beach is the only contract city where we have a partnership with the fire department to assist with lost and found," Huggins said.

Councilmembers pressed for operational details. Tetlow said the Humane Society now provides 24-hour dispatch and extended officer hours, has conducted roughly 50 park or beach patrols in the quarter and sold 111 dog licenses in Q2. She also outlined spay/neuter and clinic activity: 16 community spay/neuters, 48 shelter spay/neuters required for outgoing animals, 33 rabies vaccinations, 28 distemper vaccinations and seven microchips in the quarter.

On legal authority and enforcement, Cortez Martinez, chief administrative officer, acknowledged gaps in the city's municipal code after the city attempted to issue a citation that was returned for lack of authorization. Martinez told council that staff, the fire chief and the city attorney are working on code language and will return with proposed updates in roughly 60–90 days.

Huggins and Tetlow described program work to manage free-roaming/community cats through trap-neuter-return (TNR), and Tetlow urged pet owners to microchip animals to ease reunification. On the question of marine animal response, Humane Society staff said the organization handles seabirds and some non-marine wildlife but not marine mammals, which are handled by NOAA/Marine Mammal authorities and SeaWorld as the regional responder.

Councilmembers voiced support for the partnership and sought clarity on funding and logistics. Tetlow said license fee revenue offsets city animal-services costs and that the Humane Society offers multiple license terms and coordinates outreach clinics that may include on-site licensing. Council and staff discussed a separate potential grant to refurbish temporary kennels used by the fire department for short-term reunifications; Huggins said he had informally suggested a figure of about $10,000 as an upper bound but that no formal grant amount has been finalized.

What's next: staff will return with municipal-code updates to authorize the enforcement tools discussed and will work with the Humane Society and fire department on possible kennel improvements and community-outreach clinics.

"We have extended HLE officer hours, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and we've also added significant details to our quarterly and annual reports," Tetlow said. "Our dispatch coverage on holidays and the microchip partnerships have made reunifications more efficient."