{"id":2699,"date":"2025-01-28T09:17:58","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T17:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/?p=2699"},"modified":"2025-08-13T10:13:49","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T17:13:49","slug":"5-questions-with-a-county-leader-esteban-rodriguez-director-of-ventura-county-animal-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/5-questions-with-a-county-leader-esteban-rodriguez-director-of-ventura-county-animal-services\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Questions With a County Leader: Esteban Rodriguez, Director of Ventura County Animal Services"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"2699\" class=\"elementor elementor-2699\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-6cd79055 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"6cd79055\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;jet_parallax_layout_list&quot;:[]}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-21436eca\" data-id=\"21436eca\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-59996323 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"59996323\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to take on the role of Director of Ventura County Animal Services?<\/strong><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>I began my career in animal welfare in 1999 as a Kennel Technician in El Paso, Texas. Since then, I\u2019ve worn a lot of hats\u2014working in shelter operations, field services, and community outreach, all while leading teams at major shelters across the country. At my core, I\u2019m passionate about saving lives through progressive practices.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>When I saw the opportunity at VCAS to join the team, I wanted to learn more about who they were prior to applying.\u00a0I dove into their website and social media and was impressed by their innovative programs and commitment to community outreach.\u00a0That drew me in immediately, and I knew I could help build on their already well-established success.\u00a0I\u2019m especially eager to expand language access so we can better connect with non-English-speaking communities.\u00a0By understanding their needs, we can improve animal welfare in their homes and make sure VCAS is a welcoming resource for everyone.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>What are your immediate priorities as the new director, especially given the recent challenges with overcapacity at the shelters?<\/strong><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>First, I want to focus on how we can support public spay and neuter services as this will directly reduce the number of animals coming into the shelter.\u00a0I also want to strengthen partnerships that support animal transport &#8212; sending adoptable pets to areas where there\u2019s more demand.\u00a0I\u2019ll also be evaluating shelter operations to identify any gaps in staffing, resources, and processes.\u00a0Increasing language access so we can connect with more residents, especially in underserved areas, is of great importance to our agency.\u00a0Lastly, we continue to make steady progress in the planning of the new shelter build.\u00a0<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>What strategies or programs do you plan to implement to help reduce overcrowding at the shelters and improve animal adoption rates?<\/strong><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>Overcrowding continues to be an issue not only at VCAS, but at municipal shelters across the country.\u00a0I plan to partner with national organizations to increase rescue transports and placements.\u00a0Public spay and neuter programs will also be a cornerstone of our efforts, as increased efforts will lessen the number of animals in our community and the shelter.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>A big focus of will be on reaching communities that might not typically engage with government agencies. By meeting them where they are\u2014whether that\u2019s through social media and news outlets, or radio PSAs or local events\u2014we can make reclaiming lost pets or accessing resources easier and less intimidating.\u00a0Finally, we\u2019ll launch a community marketing campaign to help folks keep their pets by connecting them with resources like training or low-cost vet care.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>How can the community support Ventura County Animal Services in addressing overcapacity?<\/strong><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>The community can help in many ways. First and foremost, stay informed about what\u2019s required to be a pet owner\u2014things like licensing, microchipping, and ensuring their pets are spayed or neutered.\u00a0Second, donating to our nonprofit Foundation, which supports all VCAS programs.\u00a0And, of course, adopting or fostering shelter animals makes a direct and immediate impact in addressing overcapacity.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>Are there any new initiatives, partnerships, or events that the public can look forward to under your leadership?<\/strong><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>Absolutely. We\u2019re excited to refresh and strengthen our partnerships with local rescues and with national organizations like Best Friends and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). HSUS, for example, already supports our Pets for Life program, which serves underserved areas like the La Colonia area in Oxnard. We plan to expand this program to reach even more residents.\u00a0Another big initiative is increasing access to low-cost vaccinations and spay\/neuter services, ensuring they\u2019re available and accessible to everyone in every corner of our county.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to take on the role of Director of Ventura County Animal Services? I began my career in animal welfare in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2865,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-county-close-up"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}