After Sacramento Animal Shelter Audit, Woman Shares Personal Story of Neglect and Mistreatment

SACRAMENTO A new report by a third party is showing that the Front Street Animal Shelter in Sacramento has some major problems.

CBS13 was the first to report on some of the issues that have been found, such as posting incomplete public data and not keeping track of steps taken to avoid rabies. People have been calling our office with their own stories about problems at Front Street since then.

When Ravin Espino saw Ghost for the first time on Front Street, it was love at first sight.

“He was just an absolute fluffball, just so adorable,” she told me.

He said it was a problem trying to adopt him in November, though.

She said that after the adoption fees were paid, the shelter lost track of him.

“They couldn’t find him and they actually gave me almost a different puppy,” he said.

Then Ghost had to be kept while he got care for an intestinal illness. He was still sick when she finally brought him home.

“He was unfortunately having diarrhea everywhere,” he said.

After reading our story last week about how a new independent audit found major problems at the shelter, Espino got in touch with CBS13.

It doesn’t surprise her that one of the problems was found to be bad management.

“It definitely starts at the top because you can’t have a well-run ship if the captain is not following orders or rules,” she stated.

Phillip Zimmerman, who is in charge of animal control, said that he was glad to see the report. He also said that the shelter is too small and can’t grow.

“When you’re over capacity, you’re short-staffed, you’re just trying to get through the day, the managers and supervisors are putting out fires,” he said.

The city inspector has put out a list of 31 suggestions for how to make the shelter work better.

“Some of them have already been put into action,” said Farishta Ahrary, the city auditor. “I expect that they will be working towards implementing these as time and resources allow.”

Espino said that more money and people could help make things better for dogs like Ghost.

“I definitely think the city council should be giving more money to those animals in need,” she stated.

Ghost is seven months old now and is fully better. On Tuesday at city hall, the audit reports will be given to a committee of the city council.

About The Author