City and Police Staff work on New Efforts to Improve Pet Care

Members of the Costa Mesa city staff, including police and animal control officials, have stepped up efforts to improve conditions for pets in the city as well as pets who are lost and end up in the city’s animal shelter in Huntington Beach, run by the Orange County Humane Society.

Costa Mesa and Garden Grove contract with the humane society to support pets. To improve on conditions, the humane society is leasing a space on Hamilton Avenue in Huntington Beach where Costa Mesa and Garden Grove animals will be sheltered. The humane society is submitting plans to the city of Huntington Beach to make further modifications and improvements to the new leased space. In addition, Costa Mesa animal control officers under the guidance of Police Lt. Vic Bakkila are conducting daily inspections at the current facility. Also, the humane society is currently updating its website.

In addition to the shelter improvements, the city has formed a new staff Costa Mesa Pet Committee, which is focused on improving the lives of animals through the following:

• Increasing and enforcing pet licensing.
• Promoting adoption from our local shelters and rescue groups.
• Enhancing pet friendly facilities such as the Costa Mesa bark park.
• Encouraging the community to be responsible pet owners by providing them with information about the benefits of spaying, neutering and vaccinating their pets.

The pet committee is comprised of various staff from many departments. Staff includes, McKenna Ewing, Dan Baker, Kelly Shelton, Jennifer Christ and city CEO Tom Hatch, Animal Control Officer Anna Rodriguez, Mathew Schmelzle from the Finance Department, Cecily Renteria from Parks and Community Services, Julie Schall from Human Resources with Brad Long and Tony Dodero working on communication and public affairs.