St. Louis County Contract Updates
After a competitive application and review process, the APA began operating the Olivette shelter in December 2022. While operating the facility, we were proud to support St. Louis County through our partnership with St. Louis County’s Animal Care and Control program. During the two years that we operated this shelter location, we facilitated over 5,300 adoptions, reunited over 2,500 lost pets with their families, and provided shelter for 11,600 animals in need.
The APA’s last day of operation at APA Olivette was February 21, 2025, after which St. Louis County assumed management of the facility. The APA will continue to serve the community through our flagship location on Hanley Road in Brentwood, as we have done for over 100 years.
We’re deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to support the pets and people of St. Louis County and look forward to continuing our mission in new ways.
For additional questions please see below.
Through our own experience of assuming operations at the County shelter in 2022, we know the challenges of taking over a full shelter. The fewer animals in the shelter at the transition back to County operations, the smoother the transition can be for them, so that’s why we’ve focused so much energy in the final weeks to move as many animals out as possible. Once again, we are asking for your help and the public’s help to achieve this. Adopt or foster if you can, and please help us to spread the word.
Thank you for your continued support.
In response to the article published in the Post-Dispatch on February 11, our President & CEO, Sarah Javier, released the following statement:
“I know many of you are aware of the February 11 Post-Dispatch article related to St. Louis County Animal Shelter in Olivette after the operational transition from APA to the County Department of Health (DPH) on February 21. We have been receiving many questions and concerns about the article, so I want to tell you what we know and update you on our efforts for a smooth transition.
First, we understand how upsetting this article is to those who care about the APA, our volunteers, and members of our team. St. Louis County has not shared with the APA its plans for operating the shelter after the transition on February 21, but in the Post-Dispatch article a DPH spokesperson did publicly say that the allegations about DPH euthanasia plans are false. The Director of DPH and the County Executive have both also publicly said recently that they will operate the County Shelter according to the tenets of Socially Conscious Animal Sheltering, and you can find details on what this entails at scsheltering.org. Beyond these public statements by the County, we have received no details from them on this topic or any other plans after the transition date.
For our part, we need to be sure we have given DPH resources and tools it needs to continue providing high-quality sheltering for animals in their care after the transition. Therefore, several weeks ago we created and provided to DPH leadership a comprehensive operations manual that details how the APA successfully turned around and operated the County shelter over the past two years, including policies, detailed procedures, and critical program information. In addition to this operations manual which runs several hundred pages, we have conducted training for DPH staff and enabled key DPH staff to shadow our employees in their current roles in order to get a detailed view of daily operations. Everything in the operations manual provided to DPH, along with the training, aligns with industry best practices and required regulations.
Beyond this, the APA is acting in several ways to move as many animals as possible out of the County shelter before our operations at that location end:
- Fee-waived adoptions - While the adoption process for animals remains, we are waiving the adoption fees. Under our contract with the County, these fees normally go to APA as the shelter operator, so this is not lost revenue to the County, but rather the cost is being absorbed by the APA in an effort to encourage more adoptions.
- Fostering - We are placing as many pets as possible in foster care with volunteers. Fostering of all animals will continue through our Brentwood location and animals in foster care at the time of the transition will remain in the care of the APA. Fostering is necessary because we do not have the space at our Brentwood facility to accommodate every pet who needs a space with us. Becoming a foster is easy, and we provide everything the pet needs — supplies, medical care, food, etc. The foster will incur no expenses related to the animal, as we cover everything.
- Transfer to other shelters and licensed rescue groups - We have a robust network of transfer partners that we have been working with for several weeks to coordinate the transfer of animals, particularly as we near the end of our contract. Recognizing that financial resources can create a barrier for some rescue organizations, the APA is providing incentive payments to help cover the cost of care for animals once they are transferred. APA is providing a $200 payment for each large dog or special needs case and $100 for each cat, puppy, or small dog. Every pet sent to rescue will be up-to-date on all vaccinations appropriate for their age and will be spayed/neutered if possible.
- Transfer to our Brentwood facility - We are setting up temporary spaces to house as many as possible at our flagship Brentwood location. This includes converting our conference rooms and education space to animal housing. We will also be housing animals in our administrative office spaces, as needed, to accommodate as many as possible.
- Asking for help from the community - The community can help by adopting or volunteering to foster temporarily, which will help us place as many pets as we can. Of course, donations are also helpful, as we anticipate taking a large number of animals to Brentwood and donations will help cover the costs of their care. Additionally, donations help with transfer costs, as well as the transfer incentive.
Our priority has always been the well-being of the animals we care for, and as we approach the end of our contract with the County, we will remain focused on helping as many pets as possible find loving homes, transfer to rescue, or placement in a foster home through our Brentwood location.
We are doing all we can to ensure these animals find their forever homes and are asking the community, volunteers, and collaborative rescue partners to assist in this endeavor. We appreciate each of you and all you are doing to help. We know you care deeply for every one of these animals, and together we can do this.”
Volunteers are a critical part of the APA team, and we understand the value they bring to our work. We invited current volunteers to transition to our Brentwood location and will support them through this process.
While the APA cannot speak to the specific programming St. Louis County is expected to continue, it is our understanding that they will initially “pause” the volunteer program and will consider relaunching a volunteer program in the future. We have recommended a volunteer program continue for the well-being of animals and support for staff.
The APA worked closely with St. Louis County to provide comprehensive training and resources, ensuring that St. Louis County employees were prepared to continue delivering high-quality care to the animals.
While the APA will no longer manages the shelter, we remain committed to collaborating with St. Louis County and other local partners to support pets in need through advocacy, education, and outreach programs. Additionally, we have expressed our desire to continue helping pets at the Olivette shelter through a transfer partnership with St. Louis County, which will allow us to transfer pets to our Brentwood facility and find them homes through our adoption program.
Yes, the APA will continue to serve the St. Louis County community through our existing programs and services at our Brentwood location and through community outreach and support initiatives.
Our priority was to minimize any impact on the animals. We ensured that all pets continued to receive quality care and worked to transition as many pets as possible to loving homes or partner organizations during this period.
Adoption and intake processes will continue as usual during the transition. After the transition, St. Louis County will manage these processes, and details may be updated based on their procedures.
The APA was committed to providing opportunities for all employees who wished to remain part of the APA team. To honor this commitment, we identified opportunities to expand teams or programming, as well as created new positions that helped us further support pets in our community. For those team members who were seeking new roles or employment pathways outside of the APA, we provided appropriate support to assist with their transition.
The APA will continue relationships with rescue partners, as this enables us to help as many animals as possible. We also helped facilitate introductions and resources to support St. Louis County in sustaining these partnerships.
Community members can support pets by adopting, fostering, volunteering, advocating, and donating.
For questions regarding operations of the Olivette facility, please contact St. Louis County’s Department of Public Health at comments.DPH@stlouisco.com.
Yes, the APA is always looking to expand and improve our programs and services. Stay tuned for future initiatives aimed at enhancing our services and impact in the region.
Updates will be posted on the APA’s website and social media channels. You can also subscribe to our e-newsletter for the latest news and information.
The APA's Board of Directors decided to conclude the contract with St. Louis County. This decision was made with thoughtful consideration for both the animals as well as the APA as an organization. We were hired to turn around a struggling shelter, which we did successfully. It was determined that our impact could be greater by shifting our focus to the expansion of programs and services elsewhere.