The Sebastopol City Council voted unanimously Tuesday, March 17, to sever the city’s nearly four-year relationship with North Bay Animal Services, the Petaluma-based nonprofit that has come under fire after a 2025 Sonoma County grand jury reported on the agency’s faulty shelter operations, understaffing and poor communication with the public.
Sebastopol is now the third, after Clearlake and Petaluma, to cut ties with the agency since October 2025.
Along with cutting ties with North Bay Animal Services, Sebastopol awarded a new, three-month interim contract to the Humane Society of Sonoma County, which is quickly becoming the go-to animal shelter for municipalities around the county who are leaving North Bay Animal Services. The Town of Windsor is slated to cut ties with North Bay Animal Services during its council meeting on Wednesday night, March 18, and award an interim contract with the Humane Society. The city of Cloverdale also has issued a request for proposals for a new animal services provider, which will be considered by the Cloverdale City Council during its March 25 council meeting…