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Sacramento’s Front Street Animal Shelter has reduced its pending service requests by more than 90% after filling staffing vacancies and streamlining its processes.
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The number of pending requests fell from 2,000 to fewer than 200, according to a release from the city.
“Reducing the backlog means our team is better positioned to respond when animals and residents need help,” April Stevenson, Front Street Animal Shelter manager, said in the release. “We’re proud of the progress our officers have made. As newer officers complete their training, we’ll continue improving how we manage calls and respond to community concerns.”
The backlog was due to “significant staffing shortages,” according to the release. The shelter has worked to fill vacant officer positions and hired a chief animal services officer in recent years, and the team is now fully staffed.
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The shelter most recently hired Stevenson to oversee both the shelter and Sacramento’s animal care services division. She took over the role from Phillip Zimmerman, who resigned two months before his scheduled retirement, saying that he no longer felt he could “safely or effectively” continue as the division’s leader, according to previous reporting from The Sacramento Bee.
Shelter Operations Manager Staycee Dains also left her position around the same time. Before working in Sacramento, Dains was accused of racial discrimination, workplace bullying and abuse of power while managing the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services. She stepped down from that position in November 2024 before beginning her role in Sacramento in May 2025, according to previous Bee reporting.
The shelter’s team handled over 21,000 service requests and made nearly 12,000 field responses in 2025, including more than 3,300 welfare checks, 1,100 bite reports and 3,600 animal pickups. Service requests can also include reports of lost or loose pets and injured animals.
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