A bill inspired by a puppy that was mistakenly euthanized aims to reduce the euthanasia of strays and seek solutions to crowding in California pet shelters.
AB 595 would require California animal shelters to provide a public notice — usually a description of the animal and a photo — on their website at least 72 hours before euthanizing a dog, cat or rabbit. Information on adopting the available animals also would be required.
Inland Empire Republican Assemblymember Bill Essayli, who represents Norco, the Temescal Valley, Lake Elsinore, Menifee and parts of Corona, Eastvale and Riverside, announced the legislation in February.
His husky, Zoe, who he adopted from San Bernardino, attended the announcement in front of the Corona Animal Shelter.
“We’re here today because our animal shelters in California are facing a crisis,” Essayli said at the conference. “They’re overcrowded, underfunded and understaffed. Every adoptable pet deserves the chance to find a loving home.”
The bill’s inspiration is a 3-month-old terrier named Bowie, who was euthanized in Los Angeles County after a rescue group, Underdog Heroes Rescue, put in a request to adopt him in December from a Baldwin Park animal shelter.
Shoshi Gamliel, owner of Underdog Heroes Rescue, spoke at the February conference and said her group had sent a written commitment to rescue Bowie. But when the organization called the shelter, Bowie had been euthanized, Gamliel said.
Bowie’s story outraged the public. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors called for a five-year plan from the county’s Department of Animal Care and Control to decrease animal euthanasia.
Under Essayli’s bill, shelters could post a public notice in less than 72 hours, but only if they document why and if those documents are accessible to the public.
In 2022, 8% of animals taken in by California animal shelters were euthanized — a 1% increase from the previous year, according to Shelter Animals Count, a database for shelter data.
Also, the California Department of Food and Agriculture would be required to conduct a study on crowding in California animal shelters, how the issue can be addressed and explore the idea of a statewide database for adoptable dogs and cats.
If the bill becomes law, the study would be submitted to the legislature and made public by Jan. 1, 2026.
While two groups favor the bill, almost 100 are against it, according to a bill analysis.
Judie Mancuso, founder of Social Compassion in Legislation, a Laguna Beach-based nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting animals through legislation, supports the bill.
It would help animal shelters save animals from euthanasia, Mancuso said.
As for the study, Mancuso said: “we feel that this report is very necessary,” to find a solution to animal shelter crowding.
“We are in a crisis and we need to be addressing this issue in any way we can,” she said.
Many, from city and county animal service departments to rescue groups to humane societies, oppose the bill.
Jill Tucker, chief executive officer of California Animal Welfare Association, a nonprofit organization supporting animal welfare, is against the bill.
In an email, Tucker said, “we understand that this bill sounds like a great idea or ‘no brainer,’ animal shelters are opposed to this bill because from a process/reality perspective, it will increase euthanasia rather than decrease it.”
Many shelters are over capacity and doing what they can to save animals, Tucker said. Because most shelters are legally bound to accept animals, space must be made for new animals, which causes animals to be euthanized sooner than the proposed 72-hour posting timeline to make room for incoming animals — which would increase euthanasia, Tucker said.
“While well-intended, a bill like this will not change outcomes, nor will it change the societal issues causing the shelter overcrowding,” Tucker said.
The proposal is in the Appropriations Committee, which reviews the fiscal impacts of bills.
“I just want to make sure what happened to Bowie doesn’t happen again, because his death was unnecessary,” Essayli said.
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