Palo Alto: Animal shelter employees charged in puppy deaths

PALO ALTO – Prosecutors have charged three Palo Alto animal shelter employees with animal cruelty and neglect in connection with the deaths of seven puppies earlier this year.

The Pets In Need Palo Alto Animal Shelter employees – identified by police as a 36-year-old Fremont woman, a 40-year-old East Palo Alto woman and a 45-year-old San Carlos woman – drove to the Central Valley on Aug. 2 to retrieve extra animals other shelters could either not accommodate or had been unsuccessful in adopting out, Palo Alto police Acting Capt. James Reifschneider said in a news release.

Reifschneider said such trips were routine and the employees on this one picked up a total of 27 dogs, including seven Labrador-pit bull puppies. The puppies were from the same litter, roughly three to four months old and about nine pounds each.

The animal shelter’s 2019 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van lacked air-conditioning in the cargo hold and the employees did not provide water to the dogs during transport, Reifschneider said. Temperatures that afternoon in the Central Valley, he added, topped 100 degrees.

According to the employees, none of the dogs appeared to be in distress when they checked on them during a stop for gas in Los Banos, Reifschneider said. However, the puppies were unresponsive when they arrived at the animal shelter in Palo Alto.

“The employees immediately summoned assistance from veterinary staff, who attempted to resuscitate the puppies without success,” said Reifschneider, adding that the other dogs survived.

Reifschneider said detectives presented the case to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, which filed two misdemeanor charges – animal cruelty and neglect – against each of the employees. On Monday, a judge signed arrest warrants for the employees and detectives on Tuesday cited and released the employees.

Pets In Need has operated the Palo Alto Animal Shelter under contract with the city of Palo Alto since 2019. The employees in this case work for Pets In Need, not the city.

“Pets In Need has been saving animals and conducting rescue runs for over 50 year,” the nonprofit organization said in a statement to this news organization. “This was a tragic incident that has saddened the entire Pets In Need family. We recognize the trust placed in Pets In Need by our donors, staff, volunteers and supporters, and appreciate the community’s support during this very challenging time.”