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Residents press council on Trenton Animal Shelter practices; city director says steps taken
Summary
A resident described adopting a dog that she said was released with surgical staples and said shelter policies and the time-stamp list pressure adoption; the department director said staff reviewed the case, the city paid the foster's vet bill and the shelter is taking steps to enforce procedures and reduce errors.
A Trenton resident told City Council she had a traumatic experience adopting a dog from the Trenton Animal Shelter and urged the city to strengthen foster-program transparency and spay/neuter enforcement.
Amanda Chan, who said she lives at 257 Jackson Street, described adopting a two-year-old dog she named Stella after the shelter advised the couple that the dog faced euthanasia because of overcapacity. Chan said the dog was released to them with surgical staples still on her stomach from a surgery performed months earlier and that the shelter did not provide medical records before adoption or explain medical follow-up procedures. "They nor did they release medical records to us because they claimed at the time that foster parents do not have access to medical records unless we adopt her," Chan said. Chan also said the shelter's repeated time-stamp lists create pressure to adopt or foster quickly and called for expanded foster networks and clearer processes.
During civic comment, Council Vice President Williams asked Director Mercopelli (the department director) to respond. The director said the city reviewed Chan’s case, paid the foster’s vet bill after Chan sought outside care, and reminded animal-control officers and shelter attendants to follow procedures. The director also provided a current shelter census, saying the most recent report (from the previous day) listed 27 dogs in the main shelter, 17 dogs in an annex and 8 cats.
Why it matters: Residents described operational failures that they say increase the risk of animal welfare problems and press community resources. Council members urged stronger foster-program policies, better disclosure of animal medical histories, and broader outreach to rescue networks and volunteers to relieve capacity pressure.
Next steps: The director said staff will continue to refine procedures and follow up with council; councilmembers indicated they would ask staff for additional information about shelter processes and foster-program limits.
