Update 4:18 p.m. June 1: This story has been updated with a response from the Virginia Board of Pharmacy.
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The Danville Area Humane Society says it will pay a fine to resolve a state Board of Pharmacy investigation into recordkeeping violations, heading off a hearing planned for later this month.
According to a notice from the board, the Danville shelter failed to maintain euthanasia records as required by the state for more than 1,800 animals in 2023.
These failures violate state code, the board alleges, as the shelter’s documents do not include the strength of sedative drugs administered during euthanasia or the dosage of euthanasia drugs, which are both required by state code.
The notice also says that the animal shelter did not use the correct dosages while administering drugs for euthanasia, and that two of the shelter’s employees did not have complete certifications to perform euthanasia.
The shelter said in a Facebook post Sunday night that it was given the option to resolve this matter by paying a $500 fine and signing an agreement.
Paulette Dean, longtime director of the Danville shelter, said Monday that the agreement involves a commitment to “continue to obey laws and regulations” and pay the $500 fine.
“We initially chose to attend the hearing so we could update the board on changes we have made to our recordkeeping practices,” the post said. “However, after learning that the hearing could be attended, recorded, shared and misrepresented publicly, we decided not to expose our staff to that process.”
Kelly Smith, director of communications for the Department of Health Professions, said Monday that the Board of Pharmacy does not comment on active investigations. Smith said that the item was still on the meeting agenda as of Monday afternoon.
The board is the state regulatory agency for pharmacies, and it issues registrations for controlled substances to animal shelters.
The notice said that the board could proceed with the hearing with or without the Danville shelter’s attendance, but it does not mention the option to pay a fine rather than move forward with the hearing.
Dean said last week that these paperwork errors were first brought to her attention during a state inspection several years ago. They were corrected immediately after that, she said.
“We will pay the fine, submit our updated paperwork to the board, and consider the matter closed,” the shelter’s Facebook post said.
With recordkeeping violations for 1,800 animals, the $500 fine amounts to about 27 cents per animal.
Danville’s municipal animal shelter has long been under fire for its high euthanasia rates, which are historically far above state averages. In 2025, the shelter euthanized 59% of the animals in its care, about 6.5 times higher than the state average. Still, the 2025 figure is lower than the shelter’s 2024 rate of 65% and its 2023 rate of 78%.
This is not the first time the Danville shelter has come under state scrutiny.
A 2023 inspection of the shelter by the Virginia Department of Animal and Consumer Services found that four dogs were euthanized before the state-mandated minimum stray hold of five days, according to the inspection report.
This constitutes a “critical violation,” according to the report, which comes with a $1,000 fine.
VDACS conducts regular inspections of Virginia’s animal shelters, usually once a year.
Dean asked VDACS to waive the $1,000 fine, citing “circumstances unique to those puppies,” which she said had become sick and were “euthanized to relieve any suffering.”
The shelter sent VDACS a written promise to make improvements, endorsed by Danville City Manager Ken Larking, and the fine was waived.
The June hearing development comes several weeks after the shelter’s most recent controversy: the euthanasia of a beloved dog named Eve. The 12-year-old American Staffordshire terrier had been a favorite at the Lynchburg Humane Society since 2021.
She was adopted from that shelter in November, and her owner surrendered her to the Danville shelter in April. Eve was euthanized about two weeks later due to space constraints at the Danville shelter and what Dean said was little interest from adopters.
Eve’s microchip should have directed the Danville shelter back to Lynchburg, but Danville shelter staff checked with only one microchip company, rather than a nationwide database, and concluded that her chip wasn’t registered.
This sparked public backlash, including a warning from Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, that the shelter would be shut down unless improvements were made.
The Board of Pharmacy posts its hearing schedule for the past 90 days online. In the current time period, only one other animal shelter came before the board for a hearing.
“Anytime there is probable cause that a licensee may have violated a law, a hearing may take place for board deliberation of the matter,” Kelly Smith, director of communications for the Virginia Department of Health Professions, said in an email.
If someone believes that a licensed health practitioner in Virginia has violated the standard of care, they can file a complaint with the department’s enforcement division online.
