Jody Sherry, a career vet tech, says she’s ready for new role

By Buffy Pollock, Rogue Valley Times

Newly hired Jackson County Animal Services manager Jody Sherry hit the ground running last week with a full shelter and a hefty to-do list.

A career veterinary technician who spent much of the past two decades in management positions at the Oregon Humane Society and various private practices, Sherry said in an interview at the regional shelter Thursday that she was eager to get to work.

She cited her knack for creative problem solving as crucial for guiding the shelter over the next few years.

Built in the 1960s off South Pacific Highway between Phoenix and Talent, the facility has seen some turbulent times.

The building has been expanded over the decades and is in a dilapidated state, often housing more dogs than the facility was designed to hold.

Just hours before Sherry’s first shift, shelter officials revealed that the facility, which has room for 86 dogs, was housing more than 120.

County officials appealed to the community for help on Wednesday, announcing that the shelter would have to euthanize for space if additional dogs were surrendered. By late Sunday, all available dogs had been transferred to other shelters or dog rescue organizations, or adopted by the community.

As of Monday, 50 remaining dogs were being processed so they could be adopted.

Also last week, county officials began presenting information to local cities, asking them to allow their voters to decide whether to establish a service district to help fund animal services.

Sherry, 61, said she was ready to tackle a long list of projects and help county officials work toward improved operations and a much-needed replacement shelter, whether or not that means moving forward with a service district.

A longtime Oregonian, Sherry worked for the Oregon Humane Society in the 1990s as their first vet tech and, later, as hospital operations manager for the nonprofit’s Holman Medical Center in Portland.

Sherry eventually returned to a specialty veterinary practice she helped open and was later hospital manager for Cascade Veterinary Referral Center in Tigard.

For the past half-dozen years, Sherry worked for the Animal Hospital of the Sierra while living in Central California to be closer to her parents.

Sherry, who moved to Southern Oregon for her new role and now lives in Shady Cove, said she spent time researching the shelter before applying for the job.

Now confronting a host of issues — from post-pandemic operational changes to a fraught relationship between the shelter and the Friends of the Animals volunteer group — Sherry said she felt drawn to help the facility navigate the next chapter.

“I saw the job posted because I was looking for veterinary jobs online. … At first, I said, ‘OK, that’s interesting’ … but the more I dug into it, and I saw all the problems that there were, the more I was attracted to the job,” Sherry said. “I thought it seemed like a good fit because I’m a problem solver. I’ve been with organizations before where things were distressed and I’ve been able to turn things around. I felt like this was a place I could help.”

Sherry applauded county Health & Human Services deputy director Malisa Dodd for “stepping up” and making necessary changes at the shelter.

“The county really has a lot of heart in this place. I think everyone has the same goal of doing what’s best for the animals,” Sherry said.

Stacy Brubaker, director of county Health & Human Services, said she was optimistic for the shelter’s future under Sherry’s management.

“Our hope is for Jody just to continue to move us forward in being able to hire, keep and maintain staff, and to move forward with what we think our program needs to be,” Brubaker said. “We’re just ready to move forward and I feel like things are moving in a good direction right now.”

Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 458-488-2029 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal. This story first appeared in the Rogue Valley Times.