Long meetings. Tedious dialogue. Sitting on a government commission is thankless. The city’s Animal Wellbeing Commission is no different. Commissioners serve because they want the best outcomes for Sacramento’s homeless pets. The last thing volunteer commissioners need is a city spokesperson publicly accusing them of harming the animal […]

Always a dog lover, Sacramento resident Gary Cooper didn’t think much about cats until a Maine coon mix planted himself on Cooper’s doorstep 20 years ago. After several months of leaving food for the young feline and watching him roam the neighborhood and scrap with another cat, Cooper scooped up the stray and brought him inside to join the […]

Professional, polite and well-spoken, Julie Virga is a powerhouse. She’s relentless, determined and uncompromising. She doesn’t mince words or pull punches when advocating for Sacramento’s dogs and cats. She requests meetings with city officials, sets agendas and gets attention. A Sacramento native, Virga has rescued, fostered and […]

The dais seat reserved for the head of Front Street Animal Shelter has been occupied by someone else at the past two Animal Wellbeing Commission meetings. Front Street Manager Phillip Zimmerman has been absent. Apparently, he’s not ill or out of town. He’s a lame-duck leader who chooses not to attend. Zimmerman posted on social media he plans […]

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The dog’s graying muzzle proves she’s no youngster. She’s been bred so many times her swollen nipples hang down. The cat’s scarred face is evidence of too much time on the street. He’s wary of strangers but warms up quickly. No aggression. No medical problems. The post ‘Sadvertising’ appeared first on Inside Sacramento.

Buttercup lives on a 3-foot tether in a homeless camp near Downtown. The tan, mixed-breed dog is 3 years old. She’s had three litters—24 puppies. Buttercup is one of three dozen dogs who have lived and died in a lineup of tattered tents off Highway 160 over the last three years. In that time, 155 puppies were born. Forty-nine died, 65 were […]

Kennel floors covered in excrement. Beds and blankets crusted with diarrhea and vomit. Water bowls lined with green slime. Animals languished in squalid and inhumane conditions without relief under the leadership of Staycee Dains, then-general manager of Los Angeles Animal Services, according to reports from a national animal welfare […]

Under Philip Zimmerman’s leadership over the last five years, the city’s Front Street Animal Shelter has ignored spay/neuter laws, increased euthanasia, turned away unaltered stray animals and let hundreds of animal control service calls go unanswered. A recent city audit also cites a lack of a community spay/neuter program, overcrowded […]

It’s not complicated. High-volume spay/neuter is the most effective way to stop the influx of unwanted dogs and cats. Lacking such a program, Front Street Animal Shelter has big problems. In the five years since Phillip Zimmerman took over as Front Street manager, the city’s homeless animal population has exploded. Stray dogs and cats […]