Another dog death reported at SJ Animal Care Center following audit of inhumane conditions

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- The death of yet another dog at a San Jose animal care and service center is further highlighting glaring issues at the shelter.

A previous city audit revealed inhumane conditions and overcrowding, and now advocates say things have not improved.

We want to warn you, some images in this story may be difficult for some viewers to see.

With alarms blaring in the background, San Jose Animal Care and Services employee Courtney Ferro knew something was wrong.

While on a break from her shift attending to kittens, Ferro came across Lola in the medical area with no other shelter employees in sight.

"She had a leg that was fully wrapped, very tightly with an IV catheter. Her slip-lead, which was essentially a collar with a leash built on, the dog managed to wrap it around her neck dozens of times," she said.

Ferro says Lola was not alert and breathing very slow and shallow.

The animal was untangled and transported to a vet clinic, where she later died.

Ferro says she's received minimal training and no written protocol to prevent events like this.

"They just verbally tell us things and then sometimes they change, or sometimes different people tell you different things," Ferro said.

MORE: Audit reveals inhumane conditions at San Jose Animal Care Center

Ferro says the evening coordinator, the only staffer with medical training, was not present at work that night. She believes many protocols were not followed and contributed to the dog's death.

"It's very upsetting, and it's something that I have been concerned about -- the lack of oversight," said Ferro.

ABC7 covered the uptick in deaths at the animal care center in recent years, including another dog, Rufus, who died unattended in a kennel after surgery in 2024.

MORE: SJ Animal Care Center sees 5-year high in deaths after record-setting capacity at shelter

Now, six months after a city audit revealed inhumane conditions and overcrowding, animal advocates say not enough is being done.

"Lack of policies, lack of procedures, lack of training. It all points to leadership and management," said Jennifer Flick, an animal advocate and former shelter volunteer.

"What needs to be done to clean this shelter up and prevent future harm or death for these animals?" asked ABC7 News reporter Dustin Dorsey.

"The blood is on their hands. They messed up and we think that management and the medical director need to be held accountable for this," said Rebekah Davis-Matthews, an animal advocate and former employee at the shelter.

In a statement, the city of San Jose says they are looking into the latest death and will be conducting a full investigation to figure out if protocols were not followed.

"In December, I said that if we didn't see immediate improvements at the shelter, I would call for new management to ensure our animals were receiving the best care possible," said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. "As evidenced by this horrific incident, we continue to have a failure of leadership. It's common sense - frontline workers need to know what to do in moments of crisis. It's not their failure that they clearly didn't - that is the failure of their managers to set up proper procedures to ensure we're doing right by our animals. We need change."