Hinderman, who previous served as the shelter\u2019s spokesperson, did not confirm if Dains is still employed by the city. But her removal as a shelter operations manager comes after a year of scrutiny by local animal welfare advocates, who denounced her hire from the start.<\/p>\n
Dains did not respond to attempts to reach her by phone and email throughout the month of April.<\/p>\n
Before her role in Sacramento, Dains was accused of racial discrimination, workplace bullying and abuse of power while managing the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services. She stepped down from that position in November 2024.<\/a><\/p>\n A third-party law firm investigated Dains and corroborated many claims lodged from 2023 to 2024, according to The Sacramento Bee\u2019s previous reporting<\/a>. The investigation was completed in September 2024, about eight months before Dains was hired in Sacramento.<\/p>\n \u201cShe should have never been hired,\u201d said Elyse Mize, an animal welfare advocate.<\/p>\n The removal of Dains from her position comes around the same time as the abrupt retirement of her boss, Zimmerman. He had long planned to retire in May after a 29-year career serving the cities of Stockton and Sacramento. But he left about two months early, according to emails obtained by The Bee.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve made the difficult decision to retire earlier than I had planned,\u201d he wrote in the email. \u201cThis choice has been incredibly heavy for me, and I want you to know it\u2019s not because of anything this team has done.\u201d<\/p>\n There is not enough information to know if Zimmerman\u2019s early retirement and Dains\u2019 removal are related.<\/p>\n Dains appears to have been on a one-year probation period, set to end in May, around the same time Zimmerman had originally planned to retire.<\/p>\n But on March 5, sent an email describing the reasons for his early departure.<\/p>\n \u201cThe broader environment around us has been challenging in ways that extend far beyond the shelter walls,\u201d Zimmerman wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough I won\u2019t go into specific details, these conditions have created a place where I no longer feel I can safely or effectively continue.\u201d<\/p>\n Zimmerman wrote that his last day would be March 20.<\/p>\n For more than a week in the beginning of April, emails sent to Dains bounced back an out-of-office message. That automatic reply from her email has since stopped.<\/p>\n City spokesperson Jennifer Singer said on April 16 that Dains was a city employee.<\/p>\n Other employee moves<\/p>\n The changes at the Front Street Shelter come amid other employment shuffles at City Hall.<\/p>\n Zimmerman\u2019s boss, Community Development Director Tom Pace, also retired this month after working more than 22 years at City Hall. His retirement does not appear to be related to turnover at the Front Street Animal Shelter.<\/p>\n Pace\u2019s supervisor, Assistant City Manager Michael Jasso, is also no longer with City Hall.<\/a> The circumstances around his departure are unclear. His last day was March 24.<\/p>\n City of Sacramento org chart changesA number of managers have recently left the city, mostly through retirements. The departures include Assistant City Manager Michael Jasso, Tom Pace of the Community Development Department and Phillip Zimmerman of Animal Control Services. Police Chief Kathy Lester’s last day is May 15. Other personnel movement has occurred at the Front Street Animal Shelter. A third-party law firm investigated the complaints lodged in mid-2023 to early 2024 against Dains in Los Angeles and corroborated many of the findings. She denied nearly all the allegations to the investigators.<\/p>\n Two employees reported Dains referred to an all Black clerical staff and the working environment as \u201cghetto.\u201d Dains was also accused of referring to Black employees as \u201clazy,\u201d according to complaints obtained by The Bee through a public records request.<\/p>\n Investigators also found that she abused her power and made inappropriate comments to her employees.<\/p>\n Multiple employees said Dains made a remark along the lines of: \u201cWe\u2019re on a boat, and if you don\u2019t like the direction you\u2019re working on, you could jump off or I\u2019m going to kick you off, and if you don\u2019t fall off the boat and you\u2019re hanging on by your little fingers, I\u2019m going to stomp on your fingers and make sure you\u2019re off the boat.\u201d<\/p>\n Dains said she did not recall that exact statement during her interviews with investigators.<\/p>\n \u201cI probably did use the boat analogy, like, \u2018We\u2019re leaving the shore of where we are and we\u2019re on a new adventure and you\u2019re either on, or you\u2019re off, but you cannot continue to do these behaviors,\u201d Dains said to investigators. \u201cThey\u2019re not acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it was unprofessional,\u201d Dains added, while laughing, per the report. \u201cI got the example out of a leadership book.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201815 pages of emails and complaints\u2019<\/p>\n Dains declined The Bee\u2019s interview requests after she was hired in May 2025. The shelter provided a statement by Hinderman, who was the shelter\u2019s spokesperson at the time.<\/p>\n As the shelter\u2019s operations manager, Dains was already creating \u201cmuch-needed policies and procedures,\u201d Hinderman wrote. \u201cThe city\u2019s hiring process is competitive, and amongst all applicants, Staycee Dains was the most qualified for this important role, bringing over 25 years of extensive experience in animal sheltering.\u201d<\/p>\n But Sacramento City Manager Maraskeshia Smith, who started her job Jan. 5, promised changes at Front Street during a March town hall in Elmhurst with Council members Phil Pluckebaum and Eric Guerra.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a little bit disappointed that I had to walk into almost 15 pages of emails and complaints from the community,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause I believe those are things we should address immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n![\"Staycee](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/8bcec349-0b4d-4821-883d-477cb36433ef.jpeg\" "\\"8bcec349-0b4d-4821-883d-477cb36433ef\\"")
Staycee Dains pets a dog at Long Beach dog park in 2024. A former leader of Los Angeles Department of Animal Services, Dains was hired by the city of Sacramento in May 2025. ALLEN J. SCHABEN Los Angeles Times via TNS Early departure for animal care director<\/p>\n![\"City](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/graphic_cityorgchart_1140.jpg\")
Source: Bee reporting by Ishani Desai. Original city organizational chart from March 3.Los Angeles allegations about Dains<\/p>\n
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