In a crude and profanity-laced voice message sent late last year, a top official in San Diego County's Department of Animal Services complained that a county-run animal shelter was not euthanizing enough dogs.
Rachael Borrelli was promoted to assistant director in the department last June, according to her LinkedIn profile, after serving as the volunteer coordinator for over six years. She oversees operations at the Carlsbad and Bonita animal shelters and regularly signs off on dog euthanasias.
KPBS recently obtained the text message thread from last fall in which Borrelli discussed euthanizing a specific dog and the county’s euthanasia policies in general. She noted the relatively few euthanasias happening at the county’s Carlsbad shelter location.
“In Carlsbad, they don’t euthanize anything — even if the dog fucking bit a kid,” Borrelli said in the voice message that KPBS confirmed came from her phone. “So that’s why I was like, ‘Euthanize the dog.’ Like, I’m so sick of us keeping shit dogs that aren’t going to get adopted. That’s why we’re overcrowded.”
At the end of the message, Borrelli seemed to acknowledge and quickly shrug off the crudeness of her remarks: “Call me heartless, but I’m also realistic.”
A few months after sending this message, Borrelli implemented a policy when owners released a dog to the county shelters, according to emails obtained by KPBS. If the dog was not immediately adoptable, she instructed shelter staff to euthanize it “as soon as possible.”
Borrelli declined to comment when reached by phone.
The voice message has surfaced as the Department of Animal Services faces growing scrutiny over its euthanasia policies and standards of care for dogs.
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A KPBS investigation in July found the dog euthanasia rate at county-run shelters more than doubled in recent years. A follow-up story last month revealed how an audit flagged serious issues at the county’s animal shelters years ago but was ultimately buried. The most serious problems persist today, with the vast majority happening at the shelter in Bonita.
Borrelli’s comments in the voice message stand in stark contrast to how the county has characterized its handling of dog euthanasias. County spokespeople told KPBS that euthanasia decisions are made “with the utmost care” and that each dog “is considered as an individual.” The county has also claimed euthanasia decisions are not based on overcrowding at the shelter.
KPBS sent the county a copy of the voice message in a request for comment.
“While we can’t comment on personnel matters, the information provided does not reflect the values or mission of the County of San Diego, and it is not representative of the caring and dedicated work of the Department of Animal Services staff,” wrote county spokesperson Tammy Glenn in an email. “Any allegations of inappropriate behavior are taken very seriously and are thoroughly investigated.”
Glenn added that the county acknowledges the need for change in the department.
“While we are proud of our employees’ work and their support of the community, we recognize that we must improve our policies and training to better support our employees, volunteers and the animals in our care to further reduce the department’s euthanasia rate and place more animals in home settings through fostering and adoption.”
Glenn’s statement did not specify what changes the county planned to make to the department’s policies and training.
Former county animal shelter employees told KPBS that Borrelli’s remarks in the voice message were in line with her general attitude towards dogs and euthanasia.
“It doesn't surprise me that it came from her,” said Kristina Smith, who worked at the Carlsbad shelter until April of 2024, after hearing the message. “It makes me very upset.”
Jenny Weisent, an associate clinical professor at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, found Borrelli’s comments both unsettling and, in a way, understandable.
“Is it awful rhetoric? Yes, and it's hard to hear,” Weisent said. “You can't have somebody in charge who's not able to separate themselves from their emotions.”
But, she added, shelter leaders are under tremendous stress — especially in places that are over-capacity, under-staffed and lacking resources.
“When people are put into situations where they can't find the positive outcomes, there's frustration and anger,” Weisent said.
A controversial euthanasia
Borrelli routinely signs off on euthanasia requests from shelter staff and supervisors, according to interviews with employees and emails KPBS obtained through a public records request.
County spokesperson Chuck Westerheide previously told KPBS that the Department of Animal Services convenes a weekly committee to discuss nearly all euthanasia decisions. However, the county could not produce any meeting notes or minutes to demonstrate that these meetings took place.
Borrelli approved the euthanasia of a dog named Franklin in December, which sparked pushback among shelter staff.
A family adopted the four-year-old Great Pyrenees last fall but returned him a few weeks later. They said Franklin was territorial around food, growled and had attempted to nip — a less serious type of bite, often playful or attention-seeking in nature.
After Franklin was returned, shelter employees performed a series of tests to determine if he was aggressive around food. Franklin showed no reactivity, so staff returned him to a kennel.
Carlsbad resident Jeanne Miller adopted him in late December.
“You could tell he had a good disposition,” Miller told KPBS in a June interview.
However, Miller also had to return Franklin because her other dog, a Great Dane named Buttercup, growled and barked at the Great Pyrenees.
Miller told the employee at the front desk that Franklin was a “good boy” and “very nice,” according to Franklin’s return paperwork. She also emphasized her other dog was the aggressor.
But Franklin was euthanized right away — likely while Miller was still standing at the front desk, KPBS found.
Borrelli was the supervisor who signed off on the euthanasia.
KPBS shared Borrelli’s voice message with Miller to get her reaction.
“They’re in the business of rehoming animals so that they have a better life — so that they have a life,” Miller said. “That's pretty cold-hearted."
Venus Samayoa, a former Carlsbad shelter employee, worked the day Franklin was euthanized. She recalled being shocked that Borrelli had moved so quickly to put the dog down.
She was perturbed — but unsurprised — by the assistant director’s remarks in the audio message.
“That sounds pretty typical for Rachael to say,” said Samayoa, after reviewing the message. “When I hear something like that, my immediate thought is, ‘You shouldn't be working in animal services.’”
Franklin’s euthanasia provoked consternation among shelter employees, especially in light of Miller’s positive feedback.
In one email exchange obtained by KPBS, a shelter supervisor appeared to raise concerns that the shelter should have waited several days before euthanizing him under state law. Borrelli disagreed and told staff to follow a new process when someone relinquished an animal to a county shelter.
She instructed them to “evaluate the animal for its adoptability within 24 hours.” If the animal was deemed adoptable in that initial assessment, it could be put up for adoption or offered to a rescue organization.
“If the animal is not adoptable (due to health, behavior, and/or other factors), euthanasia will be done as soon as possible,” Borrelli wrote.
Euthanasia rate spikes
Leading up to the pandemic, the dog euthanasia rate at county-run shelters had dropped below 5%, a KPBS analysis found. It continued to decline over the next few years — and then it spiked. In fiscal year 2023-2024, the dog euthanasia rate reached nearly 12%. Last fiscal year, it stood at 9.3%.
Westerheide said the shelters aim for an animal save rate of 90%, which is a common industry benchmark.
In recent years, the county has increasingly cited behavioral problems to justify putting dogs down, KPBS found. Behavioral euthanasias now make up the majority of dog euthanasia cases.
It is generally accepted that some shelter animals need to be put down for serious aggression or biting. But volunteers and former employees claimed dogs in county-run shelters were regularly and unnecessarily put down due to mild behavioral issues. Some examples include dogs euthanized for fearfulness, separation anxiety and resource guarding.
Several factors may have contributed to the recent euthanasia rate spike. The department last year had a staff turnover rate of 68%. Vacancies among frontline staff mean inconsistent behavior assessments, minimal hands-on training and dogs left in kennels for long stretches of time — all of which can contribute to deteriorating behavior in animal shelters, according to experts.
Westerheide said the turnover rate has improved in the first half of this year, dropping to 22%.
Other issues go back years. A 2023 audit flagged serious problems in the county’s Bonita shelter. Employees were hosing down kennels while dogs were still inside — a clear violation of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ guidelines. Many kennels didn’t have beds, leaving dogs to sleep on concrete floors. The kennels also lacked enrichment chew toys or bones to keep the dogs occupied.
Two years later, KPBS found many of the issues persist at Bonita. Experts say these conditions can worsen existing behavioral problems or create new ones.
Glenn, the county spokesperson, told KPBS in an email the shelter now provides toys to dogs in kennels. She also wrote the shelter is “working toward improvements in kennel cleaning practices,” but did not provide specifics.
