The Fix No One Wants—Until It's Too Late

There’s a quiet truth behind the broken systems in many county animal shelters:
Everyone sees the problem. No one wants to own it.

Animals suffer. Volunteers burn out. Staff quit. Community members whisper about what they’ve seen. But still—year after year—nothing changes.

Why?

Because the system is designed to survive without structure.
No one wants to draw the line between who’s responsible, who’s accountable, and who’s just… around.
The result? A crisis that can always be blamed on someone else.

That’s the problem we’re trying to fix with the Shelter Governance RACI Framework—a simple tool that says:

“This is who does what. This is who’s accountable. This is what’s being missed.”

It’s not flashy.
It’s not radical.
It’s just clear—and for some, that’s threatening.

Because when roles are clear, so is failure.
When responsibilities are defined, so are consequences.
And for counties used to working in shadows or grey zones, that clarity can feel like a risk.

But here’s the truth:

We didn’t build this framework because someone asked for it.
We built it because no one did.

We built it because we’ve seen what happens when shelters fall into chaos—
When no vet is assigned.
When no one knows who approves treatment.
When decisions are made in silence, and the public is told “everything’s fine.”

We built it so that when the next failure happens—
when the headlines come,
or the lawsuit hits,
or a whistleblower finally speaks—
there’s no excuse left.

The structure exists now. The fix is here.
It’s not a perfect solution. But it’s a start.

And if no one wants it today?

That’s fine. We’re not going anywhere.
We’ll be here when someone finally does.