Short staffing caused Contra Costa Animal Services to take almost a week to remove a large dead buck from a Fish Creek resident’s yard in Danville. Frustrated neighbors said the foul stench and unsettling sight posed both safety concerns and disturbances to the children in the neighborhood.
“I was worried other animals would start coming to feed on it,” said neighbor Lisa Beckemeyer, who noted the rank smell could be detected at a distance.
The sight of the buck carcass, which weighed an estimated 250 pounds, also troubled children in the family-oriented suburban neighborhood, residents said.
“Some kids out here don’t even have a goldfish, so they’re traumatized to see Bambi dead in a yard,” said Laura Vaughn, who said animal services also took several days to respond to her report of a rabid skunk on her property.
Lt. Nancy Anderson, who works out of county Animal Services in Martinez, said the problem is partly that there are only three officers on duty for the entire county. She added that some staff members have been out sick and some positions need to be filled.
This causes them to push back the animal reports that do not present immediate or semi-immediate dangers to people. While she noted that the length of time it took was longer than usual, she said responding to dead animal reports are generally not first on their list.
“It’s a low priority,” she said, “We have to focus on dog bites, diseased animals running loose, and inhumane investigations.”
Reports on the dead buck were called in early Monday and officers didn’t remove the animal until Friday, when it was wrenched up on a truck and hauled away.
“The smell was horrendous,” Beckemeyer said.
Animal Services procedure for responding to reports is as follows: Receptionists take the reports by phone, enter them into the computer and then on-site officers respond in order of importance. During a highly busy week, sometimes officers won’t respond to certain calls for several days.
“Staff has to constantly keep shuffling and prioritizing,” Anderson said.
Noting that the response time had taken five days, some neighbors began calling other places to take care of the problem, but found there are very few services in the area for such things. Beckemeyer even considered hiring a “horse hauler” to remove the buck for about $300.
Vaughn said she experienced a similar problem when she reported a distempered skunk to animal services this year. She suspected the skunk was sick when she noticed it “flopping around.”
“It needed to be put out of its misery. I don’t know where the communication breakdown is,” she said.
As housing developments and strip malls continue to be built in once-wooded areas nationally, more and more reports of wild animals popping up in suburban areas are occurring.
This month in Harris County, Texas, a buck was caught in a swimming pool for over an hour, and in New Jersey, black bears were recently found roaming behind an apartment complex. When animals are forced out of their natural habitat, their attempt to adapt and relocate can cause them to appear in areas moderately populated by humans.
The town of Danville has no department that deals specifically with animal removal.
Community Briefs: Tango and Jazz at City Center | Alamo and Danville road closuresApril 3, 2026 9:31 am
