OC Animal Care, an agency that has faced much criticism the past few years for its shelter policies, has a new director, but one who is already familiar with animal welfare in the county.
County officials announced Wednesday, April 10, that Monica Schmidt has been selected to lead the department, following nearly a year of serving as its interim director. Along with running the county’s shelter in Tustin, the department provides animal control services for 14 contract cities an in unincorporated areas.
Schmidt joined OC Animal Care in 2020 as its assistant director. She started filling in as director in May when the previous director took a leave.
“Schmidt has over 16 years of high-volume shelter experience and has played a critical role at OC Animal Care since 2020,” OC Supervisor Don Wagner said in a statement. “Her industry knowledge, leadership and passion for animal welfare have been evident throughout her tenure, making her the most qualified candidate for the position.”
Animal advocates in recent years have challenged several of the animal shelter’s policies, including restrictions on visitors walking among the kennels without an appointment and strategies for addressing street cats and animals with behavior problems. There were also complaints about under staffing.
Schmidt said it’s important to have an open-door policy. Everyone has different opinions about how the animal shelter should be run, she said, and her job is to bring a variety of community members to the table to find solutions.
“We as OC Animal Care are just one piece of the puzzle to caring for animals in our community,” Schmidt said. “Where do our goals overlap? Where do they align? How can we work together and find those commonalities and find a way to really focus on the animals who need all of us?”
The shelter closed public viewing at the onset of the pandemic, but didn’t resume access to the kennels even as most coronavirus precautions were lifted. Instead, potential adopters chose animals they were interested in from an online database and scheduled a meet-and-greet.
Officials have argued this method was reducing stress on the animals, preventing bites and leading to more successful adoptions. Critics said fewer animals were being adopted, leading to more euthanizations.
In January, the county-run shelter resumed daily public viewing hours after much pushback from advocates, allowing people to roam unescorted among the kennels during select hours each day. Appointments are still available.
Some activists have said it’s a step in the right direction, but they would like for the public to have access to the facility at all hours.
“We wanted to balance the community’s interest in having an opportunity to walk through kennel areas and view animals, with programming that we also know has been proven to help get pets a forever home in the fastest way possible,” Schmidt said. “Our adoption surveys show that people who are adopting are very happy with the one-on-one time and the individualized service that they’re getting whenever they come.”
Schmidt said she hears the community’s concerns and as director, she wants to find ways to improve the public’s experience while also getting more animals into loving homes.
As for staffing, Schmidt said filling positions across all industries is extremely difficult right now. OC Animal Care currently has 20 vacant positions.
“I think that animal agencies, not just animal care, but every animal shelter, every animal worker, every animal lover has faced compassion fatigue at some time in their career. There’s always going to be a need for dedicated staff,” Schmidt said. “It’s always a top priority to fill any open position that we have that we’re able to fill, and we’ll continue to do so.”
Advocates have also been vocal about the shelter’s choice several years ago to cease its Trap, Neuter and Return program, which took in stray cats to be spayed or neutered and vaccinated, before returning them to the outdoors.
“It’s the understanding of the county that we are not able to facilitate a TNR program for legal reasons at this time. Like everyone else, I look forward to some sort of resolve to the TNR questions that are out there, whether that be through active litigation across the state that is ongoing, or whether that be through some sort of legislative initiative,” Schmidt said. Several surrounding shelters have versions of a TNR program and some critics argue the county is misinterpreting legal threats that were made in the past.
“I think we all can agree that TNR is absolutely something that is a benefit in the animal welfare community. We just have to make sure that we’re following guidance legally as well,” Schmidt added. “Once there’s a resolve, I look forward to us being able to come to the table and have conversations about that.”
Schmidt said she has been hands-on since taking over as head of the department last year, so her role won’t change much now that the title is permanent. However, she does have plans for expanding programming and working with community members to find ways to get more pets in homes, she said.
“I think that anytime you go from interim to that permanent position, it opens up that avenue to continue to have critical conversations with a variety of different stakeholders,” Schmidt said. “It means that we’re going to continue to provide the amazing programming we’re already providing for our community, but we’re also going to continue to look for ways to launch critical pilot programs.”
Schmidt said while working in animal welfare, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s about supporting people and pets, meaning she wants to develop programs that not only get more animals adopted, but that can also continue to support families with resources such as the pet food pantry and microchipping events.
Later this month, the department will launch a “Foster-to-Adopt” pilot program, Schmidt said, as a way to turn foster families into forever families. Next month, the shelter will host another free microchipping event for residents so they can always be reunited with lost pets.
“We don’t all have to agree 100% on how the shelter operates 100% of the time. It’s about finding common ground to work together and finding common ways to encourage the community to come in and help animals by adopting, fostering, volunteering,” Schmidt said. “There are so many ways people can get involved, and at the end of the day, that’s what the animals need.”