Just Released: Salina Animal Services Assessment Finds Systemic Failures in Leadership, Drug Controls and Animal Care

A new operational assessment of Salina Animal Services found systemic failures involving leadership, staff training, controlled substances, sanitation, disease control, facility conditions and animal welfare.

The 81-page assessment, conducted by the National Center for Animal Shelter Evaluations, concluded that the problems were not isolated to one department or one practice. Instead, the evaluator described them as structural and pervasive, affecting daily operations across the shelter.

The assessment also found that several major deficiencies identified in a 2018 review remain unresolved and, in some areas, have worsened.

Leadership, Management and Staff Training

Leadership and oversight are among the central issues identified throughout the report.

The assessment states that Salina Animal Services was operating without the level of leadership, technical expertise and supervisory oversight needed to safely and effectively manage a municipal animal shelter.

The evaluator said employees appeared dedicated and willing to care for animals, but were not receiving consistent training, direction or professional guidance. The report states that the lack of structured leadership resulted in unsafe practices, inconsistent workflows and reliance on informal methods rather than established procedures.

At the time of the assessment, both the Operations Superintendent and Animal Services Manager were on administrative leave. Other positions were vacant, including an administrative assistant, an Animal Control Officer and a temporary or seasonal dog walker. The report said those vacancies significantly reduced operational capacity and contributed to deficiencies in sanitation, workflow and oversight.

The shelter also had only one active volunteer permitted to work on site at the time of the assessment.

The report states that staff frequently did not have clear direction about procedures or responsibilities.

During the assessment, employees gave conflicting information about who was responsible for updating the shelter's policies and procedures. At least three staff members said someone was working on updates, but each identified a different person.

The evaluator also reported that no one appeared able to clearly explain who was in charge during some daily operations.

That lack of leadership was particularly evident during a parvovirus outbreak.

According to the report, staff did not know how to respond after parvovirus was confirmed, there was no adequate written response plan, employees did not consistently use proper personal protective equipment and supervisors failed to identify improper disinfectant dilution.

The report also documented unsafe animal handling, including an employee attempting to change protective shoe covers while controlling two dogs and an Animal Control Officer transporting an unsecured dog in the passenger seat of a vehicle.

The assessment concludes that without effective leadership and training, Salina Animal Services cannot achieve its stated operational goals.

Controlled Substances and Drug Records

The report identified major problems involving controlled-substance storage, documentation and oversight.

The evaluator found missing bottles, unaccounted volumes, incorrect balances, undated corrections and records showing impossible dosage totals.

According to the assessment, those discrepancies violate DEA regulations and Kansas Board of Pharmacy requirements and create risks involving drug diversion, inaccurate inventory and regulatory enforcement.

One example involved a bottle of Fatal Plus, a euthanasia solution. Its log showed an ending balance of 0.6 milliliters, but the next entry stated "END OF BOTTLE."

The report states that any remaining amount must continue to be recorded until the bottle reaches zero.

Midazolam records also contained several discrepancies. Bottle numbers M220, M221 and M222 were missing from the records, while another one-milliliter vial showed a total of 1.33 milliliters of documented use.

The report says those issues create a substantial risk of diversion, miscounting and regulatory action and recommends a full controlled-substance audit by an outside expert.

The evaluator also found problems with security.

A medication room containing tranquilizer rifles was found unsecured. Staff initially said only two people had access to the room, but the evaluator later determined that five employees had access.

The report said the rifles themselves were not classified as traditional firearms by the ATF, but the immobilization drugs used with them are federally regulated controlled substances.

The assessment described the unsecured room and equipment as a serious safety and operational failure.

Parvovirus Outbreak and Sanitation Failures

Sanitation and disease control were described as among the most urgent operational risks identified during the assessment.

During the evaluator's three-day visit, both the detergent and bleach containers connected to the shelter washing machine were empty.

According to the report, the containers remained empty throughout the visit. That meant towels, blankets and other laundry were being rinsed with water rather than properly cleaned and disinfected while a parvovirus outbreak was underway.

The evaluator also documented a senior staff member carrying fecal samples collected for giardia and parvovirus testing from a kennel area to the front desk.

The swabs were then placed on the customer-facing countertop. The report states that the employee was not wearing full personal protective equipment, increasing the risk that parvovirus could be spread through the facility.

Once parvovirus was confirmed, the report states that staff did not have clear procedures for responding.

An improvised protocol required employees to repeatedly change shoe covers at several points in the facility. Gloves were not provided, and employees were observed touching the contaminated underside of shoe covers with bare hands before touching door handles and other surfaces.

The assessment said those practices helped spread contamination through the facility.

The evaluator also found that Neutral Q disinfectant was being mixed at approximately one-sixth of the concentration required to kill parvovirus.

The report documented other sanitation problems, including contaminated cleaning tools, dirty fans and air-handling equipment, non-disinfectable carpeting and artificial turf, visible biofilm on floors and improper handling of feces- and urine-soaked laundry.

Animal Welfare and Housing Conditions

The assessment found significant concerns involving animal housing, stress and the shelter's ability to provide humane care.

Noise measurements in the Court Hold dog area ranged from 98.7 to 110.9 decibels.

The report says dogs exposed to those conditions showed agitation, cage jumping, spinning and rapid behavioral deterioration.

The evaluator also found dogs housed in a garage near an unsealed 55-gallon chemical drum, cats housed on artificial turf that could not be effectively disinfected and contaminated fans circulating debris into animal housing areas.

The report states that animals were not consistently receiving protections associated with the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare.

Problems cited included dirty and wet kennels, extreme noise, insufficient enrichment, disrupted water access during cleaning, improper sanitation, delayed or inconsistent veterinary care and overcrowded housing.

The evaluator concluded that Salina Animal Services was not meeting the minimum humane-care standards expected of a municipal shelter.

Shelter Population Exceeds Capacity for Care

The assessment also found that the number of animals housed at Salina Animal Services routinely exceeded what available staffing could adequately support.

The facility has 84 animal housing units, but the report states that available staffing was insufficient to consistently provide the cleaning, enrichment, medical attention and stress reduction needed when the shelter operated near that capacity.

The evaluator said that mismatch contributed to illness, behavioral deterioration, longer shelter stays and unsafe housing conditions.

One of the report's priority recommendations is to reduce the dog population by approximately 50 percent in certain housing areas.

It recommends leaving every other kennel vacant and staggering dogs so they do not directly face one another across kennel aisles.

Facility and Chemical Safety

The physical condition of the shelter also drew criticism.

The report describes areas of the building as cluttered, deteriorated or improperly maintained, creating risks for employees and animals and interfering with normal operations.

The evaluator found an unsealed 55-gallon drum of disinfectant near dogs housed in the garage.

The report also found that the shelter's Safety Data Sheet binder contained documents dating to 2015 and a hazard communication plan from 1995.

Several staff members reportedly did not know what the SDS binder was or had never seen it.

The assessment recommends removing unsafe or non-disinfectable materials, repairing damaged infrastructure, securing chemical areas and restoring usable exam and medical spaces.

Policies and Procedures Did Not Match Actual Operations

The report found that the shelter's written policies and procedures were not functioning as an effective operational guide.

Although the manual contained detailed procedures, employees repeatedly told the evaluator that written policies did not reflect how work was actually being performed.

The evaluator found outdated, incomplete or conflicting procedures and concluded that staff frequently relied on individual judgment instead of consistent written standards.

Parvovirus procedures were cited as one example.

The report found that parvo was missing from the shelter's quarantine procedures, and the existing cleaning instructions did not explain how employees should manage a parvo-positive dog housed in the Court Hold area.

Problems Dating Back to 2018

The assessment concludes that many of the most significant problems are longstanding.

In comparing the 2026 findings with a 2018 assessment, the evaluator described sanitation and biosecurity failures as "persisting and intensifying," facility hazards as still unaddressed, chemical and controlled-substance risks as longstanding and dangerous, policies as showing no improvement, leadership and oversight as remaining the core problem, and animal welfare conditions as causing increasing harm.

The report states that the persistence of those deficiencies reflects organizational stagnation rather than isolated problems.

It says leadership has not provided sufficient direction, accountability or stability, employees remain inadequately trained and supported, facility conditions have worsened and the operational culture remains reactive and inconsistent.

Recommended Corrective Action

The assessment calls for immediate corrective action across the shelter.

Priority recommendations include securing and reconciling controlled substances, establishing functional sanitation and biosecurity procedures, reducing the shelter population to match its actual Capacity for Care, reducing kennel noise, repairing facility hazards, rebuilding intake and medical workflows and creating enforceable operating procedures.

The report also recommends stabilizing leadership, recruiting a manager with shelter-specific operational experience and providing structured training in sanitation, disease control, animal handling and chemical safety.

The evaluator concludes that structural changes are necessary for Salina Animal Services to provide basic standards of humane care and safety and to reduce risks to animals, employees and the public.