Lawsuit Targets Riverside County Animal Services Department & Its Director, Erin Gettis

A Petition for Writ of Mandate and  Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief was filed Tuesday August 20th 2024 in Riverside County Superior Court by four long-term residents of the
County who, collectively, have spent over a half-century devoting  countless hours to animal advocacy and welfare, animal rescue, shelter management, animal safety and no kill policies.
The lawsuit was filed against Riverside County Department of Animal Services (“RCDAS”), its Director, Erin Gettis, and the County of Riverside. Attorneys Walter T. Clark and Dan C. Bolton represent the
Petitioners in the case.

The purpose of this litigation is to end the inertia, inaction and inhumanity at RCDAS, and to remove the current Director with a proactive, compassionate leader who works with the community and
rescue organizations rather than taking the easy approach. As Mr. Bolton states: “Dogs and cats deserve to go out the front door to a new beginning, not the back door to a rendering facility or landfill.”

In 2023, Best Friends Animal Society, a nationally respected organization with particular expertise in shelter statistics, stated that RCDAS facilities killed more animals than any other reporting shelter in
the United States in 2022. Indeed, 24,000 animals have been killed in the last two years at RCDAS—roughly 1,000 each month.

The provisions of the Hayden Act, enacted over 25 years ago, are  codified throughout various Codes and state: “It is the policy of this state that no adoptable animal should be euthanized if it can be
adopted into a suitable home.” And, even animals that are not  technically “adoptable” should not be euthanized “if they could become adoptable with reasonable efforts.”

The Hayden Act is derided by the Director of RCDAS—who had no previous experience in animal safety, shelter management, or overseeing a $39,000,000 budget before being hired—as “legalese”
and chooses to ignore its clear mandate. The disturbing results of this approach are disdain for the health and safety of animals in the custody of RCDAS, disinterest in working with the community and
rescue organizations to place animals in homes, inertia in moving to adopt no kill policies, and a haphazard focus on killing, rather than saving, dogs and cats. This must stop.”

Mr. Clark notes: “This is a ground-breaking case that seeks to overhaul Riverside County animal services through comprehensive court-ordered relief consistent with the Hayden Act as well as the
substantive recommendations of local animal advocates who have fought tirelessly for change.”

Photos of a dog and kennel at a Riverside County Animal Shelter Aug 2024.

Photo Courtesy of Walter Clark Legal Group, Rancho Mirage CA