Meet A City Councilwoman Working Hard To Save One Pet At A Time

A Las Vegas pet owner didn’t know what to do after she learned one of her dogs was scheduled to be euthanized, and another was placed up for adoption at The Animal Foundation. Despite being in contact with the shelter, she was told that any intervention had to be done in person. The problem? She didn’t have transportation.

With minutes ticking away, the owner placed several frantic phone calls asking for help, but most of them fell on deaf ears. After several hours, desperate and giving up hope, she made one last call to Ward 2 Councilwoman Victoria Seaman. 

“The Animal Foundation claimed one of her dogs had behavioral problems, which was why they decided to euthanize her dog,” said Councilwoman Seaman. “I decided to drive down there and see for myself.”

Councilwoman Seaman is known for her love of pets.

Upon arriving, Councilwoman Seaman was told she wouldn’t be given any special treatment as an elected official. Seaman stood her ground, telling staff she didn’t want any special treatment. She wanted to save a dog’s life. So she drove across town to give the owner a ride.

“The wait and harassment were almost unbearable. It really opened my eyes to what people are put through at The Animal Foundation,” she said. “It took three hours before both animals were released into my care. I was happy to rescue them, especially the one they claimed had behavioral problems. I didn’t see any.”

While Councilwoman Seaman saved these pets, not every owner is so lucky. A few weeks ago, another pet owner lost her dog after the animal shelter euthanized it. Despite attempts to contact the shelter, The Animal Foundation claimed it didn’t receive any voicemail messages or emails, which has since been attributed to a computer network being down.  

“We’ve gotten to a point where we are literally trying to save one dog at a time,” said Councilwoman Seaman, who succeeded in calling for an audit before the City of Las Vegas renews a contract with The Animal Foundation in 2025. “It’s still an uphill battle. The audit hasn’t started, and euthanizing animals is up 91 percent since last year.”

Councilwoman Seaman says it would be a dream come true to see the City of Las Vegas open its own facility rather than renew a contract with The Animal Foundation. At a minimum, she suggests any new contract has enough teeth that the City of Las Vegas could intervene if the shelter doesn’t meet contract conditions.

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“Real change requires four votes and a willing mayor and council, but it’s so easy to succumb to the status quo,” she said. “I think we owe it to our citizens and our animals to fix these kinds of problems because how we treat our pets reflects on the kind of city we are.”

Attempting to hold The Animal Foundation accountable isn’t the only area in which Councilwoman Seaman has advocated for the better treatment of animals. She was instrumental in creating stiffer penalties against illegal backyard breeders that overbreed and try to sell puppies and other animals on social media platforms. 

“Overbreeding in Southern Nevada is sometimes erroneously attributed to pet stores, when pet stores are taking great care to comply with the law and only meet the demand of pet owners looking for specific breeds,” said Councilwoman Seaman. “Conversely, we have maybe thirty licensed breeders in the area, but thousands are breeding dogs and cats in their backyards to sell on Craigslist and Facebook. When those poor puppies can’t be sold or have defects related to overbreeding, illegal breeders dump them into the rescue system or onto our streets. It has to stop. We have to treat animals with dignity.”

Councilwoman Seaman doesn’t just talk the talk; she walks the walk with leashes in her hand. She is an affectionate owner of four dogs who she says rule the house. Her fur babies include two French Brittany spaniels, a French bulldog, and an adoptee mix who she believes is part Jack Russell terrier and chihuahua. She says the adoptee has become her favorite. 

“Some people will always choose the breed they really want to own, but they might be surprised how fulfilling a rescue animal can be,” said Councilwoman Seaman. “I’m doing my part to help them find out. We recently hosted a pet adoption event at Bruce Trent Park, and more than 35 animals were adopted. We can’t wait to do it again in the fall. We see it as a regular event just like Art In The Park.”

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In addition to pet adoption events, Councilwoman Seaman hosts a weekly Adopt-A-Pet segment on Facebook and other social networks. The animals she features are sheltered at the Nevada SPCA, which is a no-kill shelter. She said she also loves the idea of services like AllAboutSpot.com, which provides rescues the ability to list pet health and behavioral records online for free. Upon adoption, the records service is transferred to the new owners for three months with the option to renew. 

“Anything we can do to make it easier to bring pets and people who love pets together is a great thing,” said Councilwoman Seaman, who originally began her advocacy for pets in Nevada as a legislator. “In 2015, we passed a bill that allowed beagles being tested in Nevada to be adopted by loving owners.” 

The original bill shed light on animal testing in Nevada (NRS 574.205), opening the legislation up to subsequent bills to reduce and eliminate animal testing. This included banning the sale of cosmetics tested on animals passed in 2020.

Tags :
Cats,dogs,Pets,Rescues

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