Washoe County Regional Animal Services (WCRAS) told its advisory board on May 16 that animal intake fell in the third quarter of fiscal 2025 even as field service calls and bite investigations increased, and that staffing gaps are affecting coverage and response times.

Cheyenne Schul, director of WCRAS, said the department took in 635 cats in the quarter (a 17% decrease) and 1,298 dogs (a 5% decrease), and that dogs now leave the shelter on average in 7.4 days while cats average 5.6 days. "We welcome the decreases in animal intake," Schul said during the presentation of routine quarterly statistics.

Those declines came alongside several operational notes the board discussed. Field officers picked up 621 animals and reunited 271 of those in the field — about 44% — saving intake and care costs, Schul said. Of animals brought to the shelter by good Samaritans, 755 were logged and 237 (31%) were reunited after impound. WCRAS also reported that many transfers out of the shelter continue to go to the Nevada Humane Society (NHS); Schul said NHS received the lion’s share of transfers in the quarter.

The board reviewed outcomes and euthanasia statistics. Schul said 35 cats were euthanized in the quarter (34 for poor quality of life and one for severe aggressive behavior) and 50 dogs were euthanized (42 for behavior, seven for poor quality of life and one for lack of rescue resources). She explained that "no rescue resources" in some cases means there were not partner resources available to provide the extended rehabilitation a dog would need, not that a dog was necessarily otherwise healthy and adoptable.

Field services staffing and call volume were a focus. WCRAS said it has 14 animal service officers and four supervisors; with one officer on maternity leave, one on modified duty and one recent hire, shifts sometimes fall to three officers, the department said. The report said the quarter produced a significant jump in bite investigations; Schul said the department could not point to a single cause for the increase and noted that each bite investigation requires significant follow-up, quarantine and paperwork.

The board also heard updates on WCRAS operations and partnerships. Schul said she and Nevada Humane Society leadership have been revising a transfer agreement and that assistant county manager Dave Solero and NHS board president Nancy Wenzel are working on the document. Chair Naomi Duer told staff the transfer agreement "has been hanging over us for several years" and urged those working on it to finalize it quickly: "Don't know that we can go past another 3 months without having that finalized."

Medical and outreach updates were included in the director’s report. WCRAS said it now has an in-house veterinarian, Dr. Slayton, added lab equipment (microscope, centrifuge, chemistry and hematology analyzers and a SNAP test reader) and installed a new X-ray machine. Assistant director Tammy Wines Jennings described services that include return-to-field surgeries and rescue partner surgeries; Quinn Sweet, program coordinator, reported outreach efforts including 553 vaccinations given and several pet-food distribution events. Sweet also described a partnership that repackages donated pet food into smaller bags and places them in community "karma boxes."

Votes at a glance: The advisory board unanimously approved the minutes of its Feb. 21, 2025 meeting. The motion to approve was made by Miss Angiola and seconded by Miss Broussard; the clerk recorded the motion as passing unanimously.

Board members asked staff to continue refining staffing and response metrics, to share the status of the transfer agreement when revisions are ready, and to return with more detailed breakdowns of outreach and microchip/licensing impacts.

Ending — Next steps: WCRAS staff said they will bring the revised transfer agreement to the board when it is ready and continue to provide quarterly statistics. The advisory board tentatively scheduled its next meeting for Aug. 1 at 9 a.m.