Doug Smith dominates discourse about Yucca Valley Animal Shelter

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In March of this year allegations came to light of improper euthanasia practices at the Town of Yucca Valley’s Animal Shelter. Since then, the shelter has undergone a 90-day Operational Review and Town staff has been providing updates on improvements to the shelter. But locals who have been showing up to bi-weekly meetings have expressed frustration with the Town Council and say that Town staff are avoiding the biggest issue at the shelter: Animal Care and Control Manager Doug Smith.

Deputy Town Manager Shane Stueckle began the shelter update with a refresher on the 90-day Operational Review of the Yucca Valley Animal Shelter and the five key performance measures that were taken from it. 

Animal outcomes, best practices, resource allocation, regulatory compliance and community engagement all had what Town Staff called “action steps” that have been taken since the June 5th filing of the report.

A “standing committee” has been formed by the Town Council which will hold its first meeting in August, along with a  volunteer recruitment process is scheduled for the around the same time.

Community Outreach efforts applauded

The floor was turned over to Brooke Dudra for an update on community engagement. Dudra is an administrative assistant for the Public Works and Engineering department for the town. Steuckle noted that she voluntarily stepped up into the ad hoc role of the shelter’s social media manager, posting on the town’s instagram and facebook accounts about adoption specials, rescue partners, and pets of the week.

She has also added photos of every single animal to the shelter’s website and has been responsible for outreach through media outlets and recent state and national adoption events, changes that Steuckle said “would not have occurred without Brooke, and I want to recognize her for that.”

There will be additional shelter staff training will allow field officers to issue citations, and Steuckle noted that euthanasia certification was part of that training process along with other humane training programs. A spay and neuter vaccination program was mentioned and Town Staff are still looking into which software they will use to replace their current pencil-and-paper animal intake method.

Steuckle briefly touched on some statistics like a euthanasia rate for dogs that has been reduced by half – from 53% at the end of 2024 to just under 25% in the first 6 months of 2025. That figure would later be challenged in public comments, saying the reduction was because euthanasia had been put on hold pending the operational review.

Town Manager says he’s “ultimately responsible”

But before those public comments opened, Town Manager Curtis Yakimow took the floor and gave the first of many mea culpas offered that night:

Curtis Yakimow: “The lack of care for Howdy has set the town back significantly in our effort to implement best practices. As Town Manager, I’m ultimately responsible for shelter operations, and I am very concerned about our ability to accurately and independently identify and execute the necessary actions required to implement best practices at the shelter.”

Howdy was transferred to the Joshua Tree No Kill Shelter in late June and once there they said he not only needed basic grooming but also required emergency medical care for a urinary blockage and a bladder rupture. Since his surgeries and ongoing recovery, the scruffy white maltese has become a symbol of what some are saying is a pattern of neglect and apathy by the shelter.

Yakimow said that he believes the shelter needs to engage with the services of a qualified veterinarian to regularly observe and assess animal health at the shelter, which garnered applause from the packed audience. That was then topped with whoops and hollers of support when the Town Manager seemed to directly address the criticisms that have been heaped onto the shelter:

Curtis Yakimow: “I believe we need to take any and all actions necessary to thoroughly investigate, evaluate, and review any claims against the shelter or shelter staff regarding neglect, lack of care, or other serious charges brought against the shelter.”

Doug Smith primary focus of public comments

One name that had yet to be mentioned by any member of the town that night: Yucca Valley Animal Shelter Manager Doug Smith. It’s a name that the public wouldn’t let the town forget as it was uttered over 50 times during the nearly 90-minute public comment period. With each resident that spoke during their allotted 3-minutes, any perceived goodwill gained by the town manager’s statement of contrition was seemingly chipped away.

Resident Michael Kennedy was first to speak, and set the tone with a passion that was consistently matched by other commenters that night:

“We have dominion and control of the animals, but we’re supposed to take care of them. And what’s been going on here has not been taking care of them, It’s been abusing them. I think we should look at what the law is on this because there are felonies that are being committed here. And I think there’s lots of investigations that should be done here, it’s outrageous!”

Many residents displayed signs calling for the firing of Doug Smith, a figure that has been at the forefront of criticisms lobbied at the shelter but has been notably absent from every Town Council meeting as well as the 90-day Operational Review. For an issue that has been dominating the public’s attention since March of this year, the Town staff’s complete avoidance of addressing the public’s distaste for the shelter manager didn’t sit well with local resident Craig:

“Doug Smith has not attended one single Town Council meeting that has had the Yucca Valley Animal Shelter agenda items on it. Doug Smith’s name has not even been spoken once by any of the Town Council members, the Town Manager, or his immediate supervisor and ringleader of this whole appalling mess, Shane Stueckle. Are you all afraid of Doug Smith? Why are you avoiding Doug Smith? What is wrong with you guys? Fire Doug Smith.”

That sentiment was more or less repeated by other public comments. Melissa Spurr and Susan Herring both wondered how many more cases like Howdy have been or are currently at the shelter. Herring also shared social media posts that criticized Doug Smith’s tenure at the Devore Shelter in San Bernardino County.

Some residents also showed up to suggest some solutions. Yucca Valley resident Jenn Howell suggested that cameras should be placed inside the kennels and euthanasia room, which she says is a simple and low-cost way to boost transparency in the shelter. 

James Porter insisted that a PowerPoint presentation was played during his public comment, which he says is part of the Town Council rules.

The disagreement required a clarification from the Town’s legal counsel on what can be presented during public comments. Porter spoke without the PowerPoint and said that amongst many different options that the Town Council has, they could make a motion for a statement of “no confidence” regarding the shelter and the management. Porter directly addressed Shane Steuckle and Curtis Yakimow, saying “I am demanding that you do that, and I believe everybody behind me wants you to do that, too. Now, you could simply put this on the agenda every time like we have asked over and over. I’ve asked personally.”

The temperature in the room seemed to rise as Porter and other public commenters directly called for the firing, recall or replacement of membes of Town Staff and the Town Council, and during his comment period Porter encouraged the audience to join a Facebook group that he says is “designed to remove, replace, or recall every Council member that doesn’t take action against Doug Smith.”

Decorum dropped during Mayor Drozd’s comments

Many times during the public comment period Council members could be seen visibly frowning or shaking their heads in reaction to accounts of alleged neglect and abuse at the shelter. That somber tone was carried into Council member comments, where Mayor Jeff Drozd began by saying he was embarrassed by the treatment of Howdy.

Jeff Drozd: “It should not have happened, I’m embarrassed by it. And I apologize. I really apologize for what happened.  We’ve been on the right track, but I don’t know. The Howdy thing now is going to… I’m worried it’s going to get us off track because we’re making great progress. We’re not there yet.”

When audience members shouted “What has Doug Smith done?” Drozd replied with “Well, I can’t address that. That’s an HR issue. I apologize and I’m sorry.”

Council member Merl Abel said that as far as shelter operations have gone, “We have failed. We have been making some drastic changes and we need to continue to do so.”

Rick Denison said he was frustrated with the shelter’s operation and took personal responsibility for not seeing Howdy and his condition during his visits to the shelter.

Robert Lombardo spoke with a shaking voice saying he feels that Howdy’s situation was made worse by his suggestion to stop euthanizing animals during the 90-day Operational Review. 

“We just need to fix the problem”

Jim Schooler is a part of the newly formed “standing committee” for the shelter and seemed to get closest to directly addressing the staffing issue that the public has said is the primary problem at the shelter:

“As for management of the staff, I know that things do take time. But I’m in favor of giving direction to the Town Manager (Curtis Yakimow) to speed up that process and fix the problem. We’ve been at this for five months, and we just need to fix the problem.” Schooler said as audience members audibly agreed.

The Yucca Valley Animal Shelter update was unanimously accepted by the Town Council as the audience emptied out into the Yucca Valley Community Center hallway while Council members and Town staff continued on with the meeting agenda.