Merced County has a surge in unwanted dogs and cats. How residents and groups are trying to find solutions

When Sharon Lohman started as a volunteer at the Merced County Animal Shelter in 2004, the vast majority of dogs, cats and other animals never made it out of the facility alive.

Lohman remembers being alarmed by what she saw. “We just did an adoption event,” she said. “But it didn’t help drop the euthanasia rate at all, and the euthanasia rate was almost 80% at that time.”

She knew there had to be another way, and decided to do something to lower the number of animals euthanized in Merced County.

Today, Lohman is the founder and president of the nonprofit organization New Beginnings for Merced County Animals. The group, founded in 2004, flies and transports unadopted animals to other states where there is a higher likelihood they will find new homes. 

Organizations like New Beginnings – in coordination with government agencies and other groups – are playing a key role in actively reducing instances of euthanasia and securing new homes for thousands of animals.

The number of euthanized animals has decreased over the last few years. Data from Merced County shows out of 6,155 animals in 2021-22 over a period of one year, 29.38% were euthanized, which roughly amounts to just over 1,800 animals. 

In comparison, in 2008-09 out of 9,112 animals that passed through the shelter,  43.88% were euthanized – nearly 4,000 animals. 

Although the decrease in the percentage of animals being euthanized is encouraging, challenges remain because the size of the animal population continues to grow. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many animals end up at shelters as their owners return to the workplace – and it’s a nationwide problem.

Lohman said she never thought the situation would be worse for abandoned animals than it was 20 years ago. She says there are so many unwanted litters of puppies, rescue groups cannot handle it alone.

“During COVID, everybody was able to place their animals (in homes),” Lohman said. “When people started going back to work, people were breeding their animals like crazy because everybody wanted a puppy.”

Lohman said the organization transports anywhere from 2,400 to 6,000 in a year, by van and by plane. “Most of the animals are sent to the (Pacific) northwest,” Lohman said. 

Many animals go to Washington state because they have many spay-neuter programs there.

Cynthia “Cindy” Kelly, the president of the Merced SPCA, also told The Merced FOCUS the ever-expanding population of animals that need homes is a serious problem. 

According to the record from SPCA that Kelly provided, this past year the group had 75 foster kittens, the highest number ever.  While that may not seem like a high number, the organization only has 15 volunteers, most of whom wear several hats as trappers, caretakers and now foster owners.

“We were left with no choice in 2023 except to foster the many kittens that were dumped into our colonies by pet owners who had not spayed their cats,” Kelly said. “We couldn’t stand the thought of these kittens being euthanized because they had no room for them at our local animal shelter, so we made the decision to start fostering as well.”

Other agencies doing their part

The Merced County Sheriff’s Office, which oversees the animal shelter, has taken a “strong stance” in trying to limit the number of animal euthanizations, according to public information officer Michael Domingue. 

Part of that strategy includes working with groups like New Beginnings and educating the public about the issues associated with animals being abandoned.

The Sheriff’s Office is participating in a “trap-neuter-release” program for feral cats. The cats are humanely trapped with box traps, brought to a veterinarian to be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, ear-tipped (the universal sign that a community cat has been neutered and vaccinated), and then returned to their outdoor home.

“This program allows the Sheriff’s Office to capture strays, spay or neuter them, and release them in the area where they were thriving,” Domingue said. “But it stops the mass reproductions of unhoused or uncared-for felines.”

Kelly said her group is also doing its part to make a positive impact. Merced SPCA also partners with New Beginnings in addressing the problem. 

“We believe that by spaying and neutering cats, we are reducing the population in such a way that there are fewer strays being transported to our shelter and possibly facing euthanasia in Merced,” Kelly said. 

The Merced SPCA began in 1969 as an oversight agency for farm animal welfare in Merced County. 

SPCA has had many organizational restructurings over the years. In 1980, the Merced SPCA began its advocacy efforts to prevent animal cruelty in Merced County, and in 1994, the SPCA opened its no-kill shelter on Childs Avenue.

In 2016, after the SPCA’s shelter was closed due to repairs that were needed, the organization turned its focus to implementing a trap-neuter-release program locally.

“We’re always trying to stay ahead of the problem,” Kelly said. “We (trapped, neutered and released) just under 1,000 cats in 2023, and that prevented the birth of around 22,500 unwanted kittens in just one year.”

“Community outreach and education has a huge impact on the reduction of euthanasia rates in Merced,” Kelly said. 

She said SPCA attends events, local government meetings, and anywhere else they are invited to educate the community about the importance of spaying and neutering.

Even more plans on the horizon

Given the scope of the problem, Lohman says her organization’s next step will be starting a spay-neuter clinic here in Merced County.

Lohman said her organization is currently looking for a building to lease. She hopes to treat the problem of the ballooning animal population directly, rather than just addressing the symptoms.

“We hope to have a building by June 1 in the Atwater/Merced area, and we will start from there,” she said.

The new clinic will have four to five staff members, including skilled animal nursing professionals who have completed a board-approved veterinary technology program, have passed a national and state licensing examination, and passed a background check.

Kelly said her organization also plans to launch an education campaign in the spring, taking information about spaying, neutering pets and pet care into our schools.

She believes that starting as early as possible with children will make a difference in animal advocacy in the future. 

“Our primary mission is to make Mercedians understand that our homeless animals should be treated with respect and cared for,” Kelly said. 

Where to adopt animals in Merced County and other resources

Jovi Zhaozhou Dai is a data reporter with The Center for Public Integrity in collaboration with the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative.