Animal Rescues For Change

06/10/2026

🛑 Please sign this petition to demand the reinstatement of experienced long time San Jose animal shelter volunteers Chris Chiappari and Amie Jan, who were recently fired after videotaping animals on the euthanasia list—lifesaving work they had performed for years. Please help protect the rights of volunteers to advocate for shelter animals without fear of retaliation.
We are also calling for revisions to the new April 2026 Volunteer Agreement and Volunteer Handbook. These policies give shelter management broad authority to dismiss volunteers without a meaningful review or appeal process. The new rules also restrict animal photography and videotaping, communication with rescue groups, sharing animals on social media, and public advocacy—lifesaving activities that volunteers had been carrying out for years.
These restrictions risk making vulnerable and euthanasia-listed animals less visible while depriving rescue organizations of critical behavioral information needed to evaluate, place, and save them.
Your signature will send a clear message to San Jose leaders: reinstate Chris and Amie, revise the Volunteer Agreement and Handbook, and protect transparency, rescue collaboration, and lifesaving volunteer advocacy—not silence them.
Please sign and share. The animals cannot speak for themselves, but we can speak for them.

Reinstate Fired Senior SJACS Volunteers. Protect Lifesaving Advocacy.

06/09/2026

🛑 Chico May Be Euthanized Today. The Volunteers Who Tried to Help Dogs Like Him Were Fired.

For years, shelter volunteers filmed euthanasia-listed dogs to give them a chance.

A chance to be seen.
A chance to be shared.
A chance for a rescue, foster, or adopter to step forward before it was too late.

Now, according to new shelter rules, volunteers can reportedly be terminated simply for taking and sharing those videos.

At the same time:
▪️ The shelter does not routinely publicize many euthanasia-listed animals through its own social media channels.
▪️ Rescue groups often learn about urgent dogs only through volunteer networking efforts.
▪️ Dogs spend most of their time confined in kennels, with volunteers often providing the only walks, enrichment, and human interaction available.
▪️ Many animals experience prolonged stays under stressful conditions.
▪️ Public low-cost spay/neuter assistance has largely disappeared.
▪️ Shelter intake has become increasingly restricted.

These are not signs of a system getting stronger. They are signs of a system under severe strain.

The volunteers being removed were not simply taking videos.

They were:
🐾 Walking dogs
🐾 Socializing dogs
🐾 Networking dogs to rescues
🐾 Training new volunteers
🐾 Giving animals a chance to be seen before a euthanasia deadline

Many donated thousands of hours over many years, entirely free of charge.

The public deserves answers:
Why are experienced volunteers being removed?
Why are dogs losing one of their few connections to the outside world?
Why are animals being euthanized while the people trying to help them are being pushed out?

A shelter facing overcrowding, restricted intake, declining prevention programs, and growing euthanasia concerns needs more transparency and community involvement—not less.

If you are concerned, please contact City and Shelter officials today.

Ask them to:
✅ Give euthanasia-listed animals a fair opportunity to be seen by the public and rescue community.
✅ Restore terminated volunteers to their positions and maintain meaningful collaboration with experienced volunteers.
✅ Establish transparent volunteer policies.
✅ Create a Community Advisory Commission.
✅ Restore investment in prevention, including affordable spay/neuter services.

The animals cannot speak for themselves.
The community must.

Official contact information below.:
Deputy Director, Animal Care and Services, Monica Wylie [email protected]
Parks, Rec, Neighborhood Services, Jon Cicirelli [email protected]
District 1, Councilmember Rosemary Kamei [email protected] 408-535-4901
District 2, Councilmember Pamela Campos [email protected] 408-535-4902
District 3, Councilmember Anthony Tordillos [email protected] 408-535-4903
District 4, Councilmember David Cohen [email protected] 408-535-4904
District 5, Councilmember Peter Ortiz [email protected] 408-535-4905
District 6, Councilmember Michael Mulcahy [email protected] 408-535-4906
District 7, Councilmember Bien Doan [email protected] 408-535-4907
District 8, Councilmember Domingo Candelas [email protected] 408-535-4908
District 9, Vice Mayor Pam Foley [email protected] 408-535-4909
District 10, Councilmember George Casey [email protected] 408-535-4910
City Manager, Jennifer Maguire [email protected]
Deputy City Manager, Angel Rios [email protected]
Mayor, Mayor Matt Mahan [email protected] 408-535-4800

06/08/2026

🚫 No Spay-Neuter. 🚫 No Public Advisory Commission. 🚫 No Answers. 🚨 Now Volunteer Firings.

Several experienced SJACC volunteers with years of service, advanced training, and thousands of donated hours have recently been removed.

This comes as San Jose's animal crisis continues to deepen.

Over the past several years:
✂️ Public low-cost spay/neuter services have largely disappeared
🚪 Shelter intake has become increasingly restricted through managed-intake policies
📞 Community members report growing difficulty obtaining help for animals in need
💔 Euthanasia concerns continue to be raised publicly
📊 Questions about data reporting and transparency remain unanswered

More than a year ago, the creation of a Community Advisory Commission was discussed and publicly supported during City Council meetings. Yet no commission exists today.

Meanwhile, advocates, rescuers, volunteers, and community members have spent years asking reasonable questions about:
✂️ Prevention and spay/neuter funding
🚫 Public low cost spay-neuter programs eliminated
🔎 Shelter transparency
🚪 Intake policies, intake reduction
📊 Data reporting changes
💔 Euthanasia practices
🐾 Long-term overpopulation solutions

Those questions deserve answers.

The volunteers being removed were not simply walking dogs.
They were:
🤝 providing daily human interaction to animals confined in kennels for months
🐕 socializing and enriching dogs' lives
📣 networking animals to adopters and rescues
📝 helping evaluate dogs
🎓 training new volunteers
🌉 serving as a bridge between the shelter and the community

As the crisis grows, the public deserves clarity:

❓ Why has public spay/neuter capacity collapsed?
❓ Why are intake restrictions increasing while communities report growing numbers of animals needing help?
❓ Why has a Community Advisory Commission still not been established?
❓ Why are experienced volunteers leaving or being removed?
❓ What is the City's long-term strategy to address overpopulation?

The community is not asking for perfection.
The community is asking for transparency, accountability, collaboration, and a seat at the table.

A growing crisis requires more partnership—not less.

If the response to difficult questions is removing the people who ask them, that does not build public trust. It undermines it.

06/08/2026

Did We Solve the Problem—Or Just Move It Online?

Over the past decade, numerous states have restricted or banned the retail sale of commercially bred dogs and cats in pet stores, including California, Maryland, Illinois, Maine, New York, Washington, Oregon, Vermont, and others.

The goal was noble: reduce puppy mill sales and improve animal welfare.

But a fair question remains:

Did we reduce irresponsible breeding—or did we simply move the marketplace online?

Today, animals are sold everywhere:

📱 Facebook
📱 Instagram
📱 Craigslist-type platforms
📱 Messaging apps
📱 Websites and anonymous online marketplaces

And unlike traditional retail environments, it is often difficult—or impossible—to determine:

▪️ Who bred the animal
▪️ Where the animal came from
▪️ Whether the seller is licensed
▪️ Whether taxes are being paid
▪️ Whether animal welfare standards are being followed
▪️ Whether the animal is healthy, vaccinated, or properly socialized

In a traditional retail setting, breeders, suppliers, records, and animal sources could at least be traced and inspected.

Today, many of the same sellers—and likely many more—appear to be operating online with little visibility and limited accountability.

Meanwhile:

🐾 Shelters increasingly overcrowded
🐾 Rescues are overwhelmed
🐾 Euthanasia lists continue to grow
🐾 Communities continue struggling with overpopulation
🐾 Animals continue to be produced in large numbers

During ARFC's FTC petition campaign calling for accountability and transparency in online animal sales, we received significant feedback from the public raising this exact concern.

Many people pointed out that while pet store sales were restricted, the underlying market did not disappear. Instead, it expanded into online spaces where oversight is often far weaker.

This raises an important policy question:

Have we actually reduced animal suffering, or have we simply pushed the marketplace into a less regulated environment where accountability is harder to achieve?

As we await the FTC's review of our petition, we believe this conversation is worth having publicly.

If the goal is truly to reduce overpopulation and cruelty, the discussion cannot stop at pet stores.

It must also include:

✅ Online seller accountability
✅ Breeder traceability
✅ Identity verification
✅ Consumer protection
✅ Meaningful enforcement
✅ Affordable spay/neuter access

Otherwise, we risk creating the appearance of progress while the underlying problem continues to grow out of sight.

What are your thoughts? Have pet store bans reduced overpopulation in your community—or has the market simply moved online?

06/02/2026

🚨 Public Forum or Public Relations? San Jose Residents Still Waiting for Answers.

San Jose Animal Care & Services held a community forum after growing public concern about shelter operations, animal outcomes, data transparency, Return-to-Field practices, rescue support, and declining public services.

We appreciate that the forum happened. Public dialogue matters. But many of the community’s core questions still remain unanswered.
Among the questions raised by residents, rescuers, volunteers, and advocates:

▪️ San Jose’s Return-to-Field (RTF) numbers increased from 5 animals in 2021 to 1,607 in 2025.
What written policy now governs which cats are eligible for RTF?
Does the policy include
- minimum age,
- health condition,
- temperament,
- release location,
- and caretaker requirements?

▪️ Public shelter data appears to show kittens as young as under 2 months old included in RTF outcomes.
What is the shelter’s minimum age standard for returning kittens outdoors, and who signs off when juvenile kittens are released after shelter custody and monitors their wellbeing?

▪️ Why are friendly stray cats and kittens being turned away, or taken into shelter custody and later returned to the streets instead of being placed for adoption or rescue?

▪️ Questions were also raised regarding handling practices for ringworm-positive kittens and disease management protocols.

▪️ Public low-cost spay/neuter services for owned animals dropped from approximately 6,000 services per year to near zero and have not been meaningfully restored.
What funding plans, vendor partnerships, or RFPs does the City have to restore affordable public spay/neuter access?

▪️ If public spay/neuter access remains limited while intake is restricted or managed, what is the City’s actual plan to prevent more accidental litters and growing community overpopulation?

▪️ When residents are asked to hold found animals instead of the shelter taking physical custody, or even registering found animals, how does SJACS track:
- vaccination status,
- spay/neuter,
- microchip scanning,
- rabies-risk monitoring,
- and final outcomes?

▪️ Questions were raised regarding GAP Fund reimbursements.
The City’s own webpage states the program reimburses rescue groups for eligible expenses, including medical care and spay/neuter for shelter animals.
Local Rescue Groups have submitted multiple reimbursement requests related to SJACS animals, including vaccination and spay/neuter costs, but reportedly no response.

What is:
- the official reimbursement process,
- the timeline for review,
- the responsible contact,
- and how are rescue partners protected from being left covering eligible expenses without communication?

▪️ Why are rescue transfers declining while rescues remain overwhelmed?

▪️ Why are there empty adoption kennels while communities continue reporting abandoned animals and friendly cats being returned outdoors?

▪️ Why were public spay/neuter metrics removed from annual city reporting?

▪️ Why have communities been requesting a formal public animal services advisory committee for years, yet no clear structure, public agenda process, or accountability mechanism currently exists?

The public was told there were time constraints, that staff would try to get through questions, and that unanswered questions could potentially be addressed later or resubmitted by email.
But this is exactly why follow-through matters now.

When residents, rescuers, taxpayers, and volunteers raise serious concerns, the response cannot simply be:
“Check the dashboard.”
“Wait until next month.”
“Trust the process.”

The community needs direct answers.
Not broad reassurance.
Not selected talking points.
Not numbers without explanation.
Not “we’ll get back to you” with no public tracking system.

If the City truly wants to rebuild trust, the next step is simple:
➡️ Publish the submitted questions
➡️ Publish complete written answers
➡️ Show the underlying data behind those answers
➡️ Clarify what will change, by when, and who is accountable

That is transparency.

Because animals do not benefit from vague promises.
Rescues cannot operate on unclear answers.
And the public cannot verify accountability if questions and answers remain scattered, private, or unfinished.
A public forum is a beginning.

Now San Jose needs follow-through.

We encourage you to read ARFC reports below and take action: Contact your city officials and SJACS management
Ask for data transparency
Demand clear standards and accountability:

Deputy Director, Animal Care and Services, Monica Wylie [email protected]
Parks, Rec, Neighborhood Services, Jon Cicirelli [email protected]
District 1, Councilmember Rosemary Kamei [email protected] 408-535-4901
District 2, Councilmember Pamela Campos [email protected] 408-535-4902
District 3, Councilmember Anthony Tordillos [email protected] 408-535-4903
District 4, Councilmember David Cohen [email protected] 408-535-4904
District 5, Councilmember Peter Ortiz [email protected] 408-535-4905
District 6, Councilmember Michael Mulcahy [email protected] 408-535-4906
District 7, Councilmember Bien Doan [email protected] 408-535-4907
District 8, Councilmember Domingo Candelas [email protected] 408-535-4908
District 9, Vice Mayor Pam Foley [email protected] 408-535-4909
District 10, Councilmember George Casey [email protected] 408-535-4910
City Manager, Jennifer Maguire [email protected]
Deputy City Manager, Angel Rios [email protected]
Mayor, Mayor Matt Mahan [email protected] 408-535-4800

https://www.animalrescuesforchange.org/san-jose-deepening-animal-welfare-crisis-arfc-report-2026

https://www.animalrescuesforchange.org/san-jose-animal-services-under-scrutiny-as-data-gaps-and-policy-shifts-raise-concerns

https://www.animalrescuesforchange.org/san-jose-s-spay-neuter-gap-is-shifting-the-burden-to-residents-and-rescues

https://www.animalrescuesforchange.org/san-jose-s-expanding-return-to-field-policy-is-putting-vulnerable-cats-at-risk

__________________________________________________
📧 Questions? [email protected]
We are a coalition of 100 + California Rescues advocating for public spay/neuter funding, stronger backyard breeder laws, and full shelter transparency.
🚨Rescues, Spay Neuter, welfare providers: Join our Team of Californian Animal Rescues and Welfare Providers for more impact: https://animalrescuesforchange.org/join-the-mission/
🚨Supporters: Sign up for email updates and action calls: https://animalrescuesforchange.org/contact/

PLEASE SHARE OUR POSTS, to spread awareness. Thank you.

05/28/2026

Please help rescues who had transferred dogs to Miranda , to identify if their dogs are accounted for. If you had adopted dogs, please share photos to pages listed in the post .

Share adopted animals from Miranda’s Rescue.
Send a photo, name, and adoption year.

Connecting stories. Providing answers. Bringing peace of mind.

05/27/2026

‘UPDATE: If any rescue or shelter has dogs at Miranda‘s currently or sees a dog here they want to take in please DM me.

I was able to go to Miranda’s yesterday and get footage of all the dogs there to try and help network them. Hopefully this gives people some clarity and helps shelters, rescues, and owners come up with a plan to get their dogs out because that needs to happen immediately.

There was no sign of Blu, but we will not stop searching until he is found.’