(UPDATE: Man Comes Forward)Do You Recognize This Man Caught on Camera Abandoning Two Dogs at the Ukiah Shelter?

Officials at Mendocino County’s Animal Care Services are asking the public to help identify a man who they allege pounded on their facility’s doors, became “irate” at staff, and later abandoned two dogs in the area of the shelter. 

This incident comes following months of Animal Care Services warning the public that unless dogs were rehomed their staff would be forced to euthanize healthy dogs due to high occupancy in their kennels.

A press release issued by Animal Care Services states that on Friday, January 12, 2024, Shelter staff attended to a man seemingly “pounding” on the facility’s main doors.  When staff reminded him their facility was not open to the public until 12:00 p.m., he allegedly “became irate and departed the premises.” 

Approximately 20 minutes later, the shelter’s surveillance cameras captured the man returning to the area, abandoning two dogs, and driving away in his truck. 

The man sought by Animal Care Services is described as a white male adult in his early 30s. He appears to be wearing an orange or light brown hat and brown hoodie. He is associated with a black Ford truck with California plates of [?????].

Staff were able to secure the dogs and are now attempting to “establish contact” with their owners. 

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Animal Care Services is asking the public to use this email link to help identify the man caught on camera last Friday and assured tipsters their role will remain confidential.

The press release included a line implying the potential of criminal consequences stemming from the event. That line read: “Anyone who willfully abandons an animal is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $1000 and up to 6 months in jail. CA Penal Code Section 597s.”

We have reached out to Richard Molinari, the Director of Mendocino County’s Animal Care Services, and asked if he intends to file criminal charges on the individual who abandoned the dogs. We will update the article when we have heard back.

This man’s abandonment of two dogs comes amid Animal Services’ campaign to keep the public abreast of the growing possibility that they could be forced to euthanize healthy dogs due to overcrowding in their shelter on their website. 

Their most recent update published on November 25, 2023 states, “The Animal Shelter will most likely be put in a position to euthanize healthy dogs to free up dog kennel space in order to take in more stray dogs from the community.” 

The post goes on to recognize the financial burden of pet ownership. “A large amount of the population in Mendocino County is facing economic hardships due to many variables”, the post reads. 

Mendocino County Animal Care Services, the entity tasked with upholding animal welfare, states it “understands why residents are not choosing to adopt a dog, surrender a dog or not reclaim an impounded dog.”

Animal Care Service’s Euthanasia Totals data bundled with the updates offers little clarity on whether any dogs have been put to sleep to free up space in the shelter. The data is a simple bar graph ranging from November 2016 to June 2023 describing all animals euthanized at the shelter during that time. 

Animal Service’s “Statistics” page provides data from November 2023 indicating that “12 total animal(s) [were] euthanized”. It is unclear how many were dogs, cats, or other animals. 

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We have reached out to Richard Molinari, the Director of Mendocino County’s Animal Care Services, to sort out whether any dogs have been euthanized as a result of overcrowding. We also asked him whether he would file criminal charges against the man caught on video abandoning the dogs. As of publication, we have yet to get a response.
If the story of these  pups waiting for a loving home tugged at your heartstrings, fill out Animal Care Services’s Online Adoption application

UPDATE 11:13 a.m.: This morning, Mendocino County Animal Care Services Director Richard Molinari provided us an update on his agency’s investigation into the abandoned dogs.

Staff has found the dogs originated from the Laytonville area and are known wanderers. The man seen on surveillance camera last week likely picked up the wandering pair and drove them to Ukiah Shelter for safekeeping. 

The man’s identity remains unknown and Molinari said staff would like to speak with him “and inform him that he just can’t pick up dogs in the Laytonville area and then dump them at the Animal Shelter.”

Molinari did say that he would not pursue animal abandonment charges against the man calling it a “weak case”. When he initially went public with the dog abandonment, Molinari included the blurb about the animal abandonment misdemeanor for educational purposes making “the public aware they just can’t dump animals outside the animal shelter.”

Staff did track down the owners of the animals, Molinari told us. Using social media posts, Animal Shelter staff recognized the dogs from a Laytonville woman’s Facebook post, asked if she knew who the owners were, and were able to get connected. 

Staff learned from the owners that the two pups are avid escape artists and find themselves unable to keep the dogs from leaving the property. As a consequence, the owners will likely proceed with surrendering the dogs to Animal Care services.

Molinari is confident the shelter will quickly get these two pups a home. He said, “Based on what we know and that the dogs are very friendly the dogs may be in a better position here at the Animal Shelter than with the owner that fails to properly keep them contained.”

We inquired how the shelter was able to intake surrendered animals at a time when euthanasia was being considered to free up kennel occupancy. 

We learned that despite repeated critical moments where shelter capacity was close to 100% and euthanasia was imminent, Animal Care Services were able to offload enough animals to partnering agencies or recruit community members to foster or adopt dogs to stave off euthanasia. 

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Molinari and his team are running the shelter at a constant 95% capacity, a high-wire act that requires staff to adjust course based on the uncontrollables that come through the door that day.

Consider helping their efforts and adopting by filling  out this Animal Care Services’s Online Adoption application

UPDATE 7:00 p.m.: The man in the surveillance footage released by Animal Care Services spoke with us at length today. His version of events is dramatically different from the narrative put forward by Animal Care Services. 

We have provided Animal Care Services with the man’s contact information so the parties could dialogue and find a resolution. We will continue pursuing the story and update readers accordingly

The Director of Animal Care Services told us today that he  will not be charging the man caught on surveillance with any crime. The allegations of abandonment are steadfastly denied by the accused. With no criminal implications nor public safety concerns present, our newsroom’s duty to circulate his image has been nullified. We have decided to black out the man’s identifying features such as his face and his license plate. 

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