Town Council receives completed Operational Review for Yucca Valley Animal Shelter

Tuesday night’s meeting of the Yucca Valley Town Council included a presentation of the completed Operational Review of the Yucca Valley Animal Shelter. The review was announced at a Council meeting in March, following an increase in public concern about practices and policies administered by the shelter. Town Staff presented interim reports at meetings on April 1 and May 6.




Deputy Town Manager Shane Steuckle presented the majority of the report along with Town Manager Curtis Yakimow. Stueckle began the presentation with data taken that day: the shelter currently has 101 dogs spread between 33 kennels in the impound building and 26 in the Adoptable Building. He noted that this was the shelter’s highest number of dogs as of yet.




Shelter data from June 3, 2025



Stueckle and Yakimow presenting the report.



The report then highlighted actions the Town has initiated to improve operations, many of which have already begun implementation. These include reaching out to rescue groups, scheduling low-cost spay/neuter clinics, biweekly updates of animals on Petfinder, utilizing local and social media, hosting special adoption events, and coordinating with County resources. Yakimow emphasized the importance of data collection and new software for improving operations. Staff initiated the creation of a Council subcommittee to meet quarterly on Animal Care and Control issues; Council Member Jim Schooler and Mayor Jeff Drozd both volunteered to serve on the board. The meetings will be open to public participation and begin in August or September of this year.




As has been the trend with recent Town Council meetings, the item garnered much public interest and comment. Several attendees questioned the fact that the report contained little new information since the update on May 6. Others again raised concerns about shelter management and emphasized the need for continued accountability, as expressed by Pioneertown resident Susan Herring.




“We appreciate your input and your feedback. As Curtis indicated, this is the start of the review. I can assure you that for many people in the community, even though we will not necessarily be in the audience here, we will be watching. If we don’t see things happening, we will be back.”




Attendees show support during public comments. The two-sided signs have a green “thumbs up” on one side, and a red “thumbs down” on the other.



Human Resources and Risk Manager Debra Breidenbach-Sterling then presented the Council with a review of the Town’s Administrative Volunteer Policy, as it would apply to a volunteer program at the shelter. Breidenbach-Sterling explained that Town Staff had surveyed over ten shelters in the Inland Empire region, the vast majority of which conduct background checks for volunteers; the two that did not were the Palms N Paws Shelter in Twentynine Palms and the Joshua Tree No-Kill Shelter. Town Staff recommended that the Council implement the policy with background checks and a minimum age of 18 for volunteers.




This item also had over ten public comments, the majority of which were critical of background checks and the minimum age requirement of 18. Attendees noted children as young as seventh grade can volunteer in other Town areas such as on the Youth Commission, and that educating the youth earlier about the importance of spay/neuter programs and microchipping will help foster responsible future pet owners.




The Council voted to approve the requirement of background checks but reduced the age requirement to 16 with parental or guardian consent; all members seemed open to allowing younger volunteers with adult supervision in the future. The program is expected to roll out in mid-July or August.