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Resident urges transparency at OC Animal Care after dog ‘Hermes’ was euthanized; council says it will follow up
Summary
A Tustin resident told the council she believes OC Animal Care euthanized a traumatized dog named Hermes too quickly and flagged discrepancies in intake/outcome numbers; councilmembers acknowledged the concern and said staff will follow up and noted existing oversight mechanisms.
During public comment, resident Louise Anderson urged the Tustin City Council to seek greater transparency from OC Animal Care after a three‑year‑old dog named Hermes was euthanized on May 29 following less than three weeks in the shelter. Anderson said she has videos documenting the dog’s calm interactions and cited a discrepancy of 172 animals in the shelter’s published intake/outcome figures, arguing the discrepancy calls for a meaningful review of behavioral euthanasia decisions.
“Hermes cannot speak for himself,” Anderson told the council, adding she believes the dog showed fear rather than aggression and should have been given more behavioral support or rescue outreach.
Councilmembers acknowledged the concern. Council Member Fink said the city has adopted an animal care contract and that staff had reported the shelter’s policy is to euthanize only for medical reasons; he said the city would continue to look into the matter and noted there is an existing community outreach committee for the animal care department with members from each supervisorial district. “They do tell us that they do not euthanize animals there unless there's a medical reason for it,” Fink said; he said staff would pursue follow‑up and offered to speak further with Anderson after the meeting.
Separately during public comment, a resident named Leslie asked council members to review materials opposing the city’s use of a ‘flock’ system software; she provided five information packets and invited council feedback and later provided an email for follow‑up. John Gray, another commenter, raised unrelated concerns about an Enhanced Health Group rehabilitation program and asked police and code enforcement to investigate nuisance behavior he described near Sycamore.
Councilmembers directed staff to follow up on the animal‑care concerns and noted a community outreach committee meeting and other avenues for review; Fink said the next meeting of the animal care community outreach committee is July 22. No formal council action on animal care occurred during the meeting.
