A November inspection of the Danville Area Humane Society found that the shelter did not get veterinary care for some animals that needed it, used incorrect dosages for sedation and euthanasia drugs, and had pest infestations near pet food.
The Virginia Department of Animal and Consumer Services, which conducts inspections of the state’s animal shelters, found seven violations of state code, two of which were repeat offenses.
These citations go beyond the shelter’s high euthanasia rates, which have been the main talking point in a controversy around the facility. The shelter euthanized 59% of animals in its care in 2025, which was a decrease from previous years but still far above the state average of 9%.
The inspection report, obtained by Cardinal News through a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request, identified unsanitary conditions (like decomposing rodents, rodent droppings and cockroaches), incorrect drug dosages, a lack of veterinary care for some animals and “random” medications given to others.
All seven violations cited were labeled “non-critical violations,” which means that they did not cause animal death, serious injury or suffering, according to VDACS.
The Danville Area Humane Society is the municipally contracted shelter for Danville, and the only shelter in the city. The inspection report was sent to city manager Ken Larking in February, along with a letter from VDACS saying that the city may be fined $750 for the violations.
The agency waived the fine after longtime shelter director Paulette Dean submitted a letter demonstrating “a good-faith effort to reach compliance,” according to correspondence records obtained by Cardinal News.
“All issues were addressed to their satisfaction and there were no monetary penalties,” said Larking in an email.
This is the second time in two years that VDACS has waived a fine for violations at the shelter. A $1,000 fine for a critical violation for euthanizing four puppies before the end of the state-mandated minimum stray hold in December 2024 was waived after a similar good-faith promise.
Incorrect dosages for sedation and euthanasia drugs
VDACS conducted an unannounced inspection of the shelter Nov. 19 and found several instances when shelter employees used incorrect drug dosages when sedating or euthanizing animals.
This is the second time the shelter has been cited for this, with the first citation nearly a year before in December 2024.
Dosages for sedative drugs should be 0.05 milliliters per pound of body weight, according to the state veterinarian’s protocol. The inspection report listed an instance of a 2-pound cat being given more than twice the appropriate dose.
The report also listed 17 instances of animals receiving less than the correct dosage of a euthanasia drug — one in August 2025 and the other 16 in November 2025.
Veterinary care
The inspection also determined that the shelter didn’t seek necessary veterinary care for four animals: three dogs with fungal infections and one with skin lesions. The shelter also did not properly document those cases. In several other instances, dogs were given incorrect doses of medications.
The inspection report said that the shelter regularly administered medications — both ordered and leftover, expired prescriptions — to animals “in a random manner” without documentation of any illness or injury, rather than getting veterinary care.
Doses for some dogs receiving antibiotics were listed “on pieces of torn cardboard lying near the bottles of drugs,” the report said.
The reasons for medicating these dogs were not listed on any documents, and dogs with vastly different weights were given the same dosages.
Unsanitary conditions and unclean equipment
Inspectors found a “significant infestation of rodents and cockroaches throughout the facility,” according to the report.
“Rodent droppings were abundant in most rooms of the shelter, and decomposing dead mice were on the floor in an utility room and an open food bin,” the report said.
Rodent droppings, dead rodents and insects were also found in open bins of animal food and in food bowls and drawers with feeding utensils.
Equipment like used syringes were also not clean, the inspection found.
“There was a basin of used syringes in the sink of the euthanasia room from the prior day’s use,” the report said. “Some of these syringes contained droplets of blue-tinged or yellow-tinged liquid, some contained dried blood, and some of these still had the plunger in the barrel. They had not been rinsed or flushed after use, were not soaking, and there were no syringe-cleaning agents or brushes noted in the room.”
The inspection found that syringes were reused, compromising the integrity of the drugs, the safety of the animals and a smooth euthanasia process, the report said.
The shelter has no procedures in place for its supervising veterinarian to ensure that syringes are rinsed, free of drugs, blood or cleaning products, or the functionality of the syringe before reuse, it said.
Inadequate isolation areas and free-roaming animals
The shelter has no available room to immediately isolate a cat if needed, the inspection found. A room that had previously been designated as an isolation room for cats was being used as general housing, and the isolation room for dogs did not have suitable enclosures for cats.
The report listed an instance of a cat recovering from an anesthetic veterinary procedure in the same bank of cages — a modular unit of stacked cages — as several small, energetic dogs.
At least two other cats were roaming freely with access to cleaning products, electrical appliances, confined spaces, exit doors and supplies, the report said.
In July 2024, the shelter announced that it would be expanding its isolation area for incoming puppies and kittens with funds from the city. In a May interview, shelter director Paulette Dean said she hadn’t heard an update from the city about the timeline of this project.
This is the second citation of its kind at the Danville shelter in the last five years, with the first just six months earlier.
Records with missing information
Intake forms, which are filled out when an animal comes into a shelter’s care, were missing information about approximate weight for new animals and the address of the owner when an owner was known, the inspection found.
The Virginia Board of Pharmacy investigated the shelter’s recordkeeping earlier this year, which resulted in a $500 fine to the shelter after a June hearing.
The shelter’s response
In a March 2 letter to VDACS, Dean offered an explanation for the violations and listed changes at the shelter since the inspection.
The shelter was built on top of a landfill, she wrote, which means “we will always have a pest problem.” She works with a local pest exterminator monthly to stay on top of this, the letter said.
Dean emphasized that the shelter does ensure veterinary care for animals in the letter.
Last fiscal year, “we spent almost $80,000 on veterinary bills,” she wrote. “We are disturbed that it is believed that we do not provide needed care to shelter animals.”
She also said that the shelter has stopped the practice of reusing syringes.
In a letter to Larking, Dean wrote that “we do dispute some of the issues related to the inspection,” though “we acknowledge that it was our worst inspection since inspections began.”
VDACS accepted Dean’s letter as a “good-faith effort” to resolve issues in the inspection.
