Animal welfare advocates are calling for urgent reforms after the death of a dog at San Jose’s Animal Care Center on Monday—a tragedy they say could have been avoided.
The incident unfolded when shelter attendant Courtney Ferro responded to a medical alarm blaring from a kennel. Inside, she found Lola, a dog left unattended with an intravenous (IV) line still in her leg and a slip lead—a type of tightening leash—constricting her neck.
“I pulled the dog out frantically and managed to loosen the lead a bit, but a section was still twisted tightly around her neck,” Ferro recounted. Despite the efforts of another employee who helped remove the lead, Lola was already in critical condition.
“She was lethargic, dull, unresponsive to sound and movement. Her breathing was slow and shallow,” Ferro described.
According to shelter staff, repeated attempts to contact a supervisor went unanswered. An hour passed before an animal control officer was reached. By then, Lola was barely hanging on. She was eventually transported to an off-site veterinary hospital, but it was too late. Lola died shortly after arrival.
“This is heartbreaking,” Ferro said. “It shows how desperately we need proper overnight medical care and better oversight.”
Lola’s death comes just six months after a damning city audit exposed severe deficiencies at the San Jose Animal Care Center, urging more than two dozen corrective measures. Yet advocates say little has changed.
“I’m horrified but not surprised,” said Rebekah Davis Matthews of Sustain Our Shelters, a local advocacy group. “We’ve witnessed these systemic problems for years.”
Matthews, a former shelter employee, criticized the lack of medical supervision, emphasizing that Lola should never have been left with an IV in place overnight, nor placed in a kennel with a noose-like slip lead still secured around her neck.
In response to the incident, the San Jose Department of Public Works, which oversees the shelter, issued a statement:
“We are saddened by the passing of Lola on Monday, May 12. Our hearts go out to all who care about animals and to the community member who found Lola in dire condition and brought her to the shelter for help. An internal review is currently underway to understand the circumstances that led to this heartbreaking outcome.”
However, Matthews insists words are not enough. Sustain Our Shelters now plans to file a formal complaint with the State Veterinary Medical Board, contact the District Attorney regarding Lola’s death, and call for the immediate resignation of the shelter’s director.
Advocates say this tragedy is a stark reminder of the urgent need for reforms to prevent more preventable deaths within San Jose’s animal care system.
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