The leaders of the Park County Animal Shelter stood by their policies, including on spay abortions, and their new organizational structure at a sometimes contentious meeting Thursday night. 

Surrounded by a standing-room-only crowd in the community room at the Cody shelter, the PCAS Board of Directors explained its reasonings for a policy that allows spay abortions of female cats as needed depending on the situation. 

The recent changes led former PCAS Executive Director Jona Harris to resign in protest the week before the meeting; Harris objected to the use of spay abortions without knowledge of the community and to the changes made by a new co-director, Ryan Johnson. 

Harris attended the meeting and made her feelings known at various points, objecting to statements made by directors. Meanwhile, volunteers who supported Harris questioned what they saw as a lack of support while she ran the shelter short-staffed.

Many in attendance wanted clarification on the practice of spay abortions. The shelter has a general policy of sterilizing female cats, but when the procedure is performed on a pregnant animal, it usually results in the deaths of unborn kittens. In a previous statement, the PCAS board said it works “to avoid using the procedure on visibly pregnant cats,” but at Thursday’s meeting, Johnson indicated the decision hinges on capacity.

“When we house more animals here than we’re capable of housing it becomes inhumane,” said Johnson, who became the PCAS operations director in January. “And so moving into kitten season, right now I have 53 cats in the building … I’m almost at capacity. And I want to remain in a position where I have space to be able to receive incoming animals still that need our help.”

“So right now,” he said, “if a cat was brought to us and was pregnant, we would move forward with spaying that cat.”

When an attendee asked if that was automatic, Johnson said the shelter always defers to a veterinarian’s decision.

“If they think there is an underlying medical condition or reason not to [spay] we will default to their advice and expertise,” he said.

The priority is to provide the best care possible to the animals at the shelter and get them back with new families as quickly as possible. Johnson said when he arrived, cats were staying in custody 174 days, dogs 110. That’s down to 72 days for cats, 42 days for dogs.

“I don’t feel we can say we helped 600 animals this year if we had to turn 300 away,” Johnson said. 

PCAS Board Chair Joelyn Kelly also defended Johnson and the new role of operations director. Johnson has engendered some controversy over a prior incident in Cheyenne in which he was accused of animal cruelty and for the changes he’s made at the Cody shelter since January.

“The board stands firmly behind the decision to hire Ryan [Johnson],” Kelly said at the start of the meeting in a statement.

Since Johnson arrived, he’s shortened the length of stay for animals and has cleaned up policies, including what cleaning agents to use.

“Ryan has done nothing but improve our operations,” Kelly said. “He has provided information about ways we can operate in a more fiscally responsible manner with better outcomes for our animals. Ryan has done more in three months than we could have hoped.”

The meeting devolved a few times into a shouting match between those angered by the shelter’s policies and changes. There were also requests to come together, including a moment when people on both sides expressed support for a volunteer who fostered prenatal kittens and worried she was not needed anymore. 

“We need more like you,” Kelly said, as others voiced their support.

Board members went through the regular meeting much faster than usual to ensure time for many in the crowded room to ask questions, Kelly said, though she sought to prevent statements or debate over prior decisions. 

On a few occasions, Kelly stopped speakers to tell them they needed to give time for others to speak, or to ensure they were asking a question. 

“This is not a town hall,” she said at one point.

Shelter volunteer Brittny Pierce had a lot of comments and questions. 

“I feel like all your monetary boxes should be taken around town away until you get your verbiage ready, because people have a right to know where their donations go,” Pierce said. After being told to keep to questions, she asked, “Will you be counting every single fetus you kill as part of your save rate or death rate?”

Johnson reiterated that only animals who are given a barbiturate and euthanized at the shelter are counted against the save rate of the shelter, which sits at 96%. Spay abortions do not involve euthanasia drugs. 

Johnson also pointed to the shelter’s policy, which includes its commitment to no-kill. To be considered no-kill by the Best Friends Animal Society, shelters “must achieve and maintain a 90% save rate in aggregate over the course of a 12-month period,” according to a statement from the board.

While terminal illnesses, severe injuries, public safety risks or other behavioral or physical issues can require euthanasia, the Park County Animal Shelter’s save rate “is among the highest in the nation,” the board said, averaging a 96.2% in 2025. Board member Katina Koller said that save rate should be trumpeted as a sign of a successful shelter. 

One bone of contention amongst some of those present was that volunteers, donors and other community members weren’t made aware of the recent policy changes or given a chance to provide input.

One longtime donor, Shauna Roberts, said the shelter began in her house, and expressed her frustration with being out of the loop.

“How in the world are these volunteers integrated to decision making?” she asked. “They ought to be integrated, as with donors.” 

Kelly said everyone is welcome to provide input, but only the board of directors has a say in setting policy. Contrary to recent comments, she said those policies had not been violated in the switch to co-directors. The former executive director role has been rebranded as a “director of development” and the job is posted. She said that, as with three open positions on the board, anyone present was welcome to apply.

In a statement after the event, Kelly said there are “so many people in the community” who support the shelter, the board and Johnson.

“We do appreciate ALL who took the time to come to the monthly meeting and know that everyone there was passionate about animals,” she said. “We are blessed to have such a generous community willing to give their time and their donations to support the mission of PCAS.”