DANVILLE, Va. – Danville Area Humane Society Executive Director Paulette Dean has withdrawn from her appointment as Humane Investigator for the City of Danville. She had served in this role since 1998. This comes after a July 15 motion filed by Danville Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Newman sought to remove her from the position, citing incomplete record-keeping.
According to the eight-page motion, Dean failed to properly maintain records for many of the investigations she performed. As Humane Investigator, Dean is required to keep these records for at least five years and turn them in every quarter-year.
She allegedly hadn’t done this for five years. While she turned in these records back on June 1, dubbed the “June 1st records” in the motion. Court docs say there were issues with the records, reportedly kept from October-December of 2021 to April-June of 2026.
The motion claims these records appear to have been “mass produced” instead of having been individually reported on a case-by-case basis over that time period. The forms that were used are described as being “identical,” with each quarter reporting zero seizures on them.
Danville police obtained a search warrant for the DAHS facility and searched it on July 10th in an effort to find the original reports Dean was supposed to have been keeping over the past five years. When pressed about the issue, the motion says Dean told police she destroyed the original records.
Police were able to get the original photocopies used to produce the “June 1st records”. The templates were pre-printed to show zero animals having been seized during each respective quarter.
In a letter to the judge, Dean says she “disagrees vigorously” with the allegations in the motion but did not want to go through a hearing.
In a statement to 10 News, the DAHS Board of Directors confirmed Dean will still stay on as Executive Director of DAHS. You can find their full statement below.
Statement from the Board of Directors of the Danville Area Humane Society
“The Board of Directors of the Danville Area Humane Society recognizes the concerns that have been raised regarding our organization and Executive Director, Paulette Dean. We understand the public interest surrounding recent events and believe our community deserves a thoughtful, transparent, and factual response.
After careful consideration of the matters before us, the Board wishes to make one point clear: we continue to have confidence in Paulette Dean as Executive Director of the Danville Area Humane Society. While we recognize that challenges have occurred and improvements have been necessary, we believe Paulette’s leadership, dedication, and more than three decades of service to this organization and our community deserve to be evaluated in their entirety.
First, we would like to clarify that Paulette Dean has voluntarily resigned from her position as Humane Investigator. The Humane Investigator role is separate from her responsibilities as Executive Director of the Danville Area Humane Society, and her resignation from that position does not affect her role as Executive Director.
Paulette’s decision to resign as Humane Investigator was made in what she believed to be the best interests of the Danville Area Humane Society. In an effort to prevent continued attention on a role that had become the subject of public controversy and to allow the shelter to remain focused on its mission, she chose to step aside.
While the Board respects the role of law enforcement and regulatory agencies, we believe important context regarding the Humane Investigator matter has not been fully considered. Paulette’s decision to resign should not be interpreted as an admission of wrongdoing, but rather as an effort to reduce further distraction and allow the organization to move forward.
The Board also recognizes Paulette Dean’s more than 30 years of dedicated service to the Danville Area Humane Society and the animals of our community. During her tenure, thousands of animals have received care, countless families have found lifelong companions through adoption, and the shelter has remained a vital safety net for animals with nowhere else to go. While recent events have appropriately prompted careful review and necessary improvements, we believe it is equally important to recognize the decades of commitment, compassion, and leadership Paulette has provided to this community.
The Board does not suggest that the Danville Area Humane Society has operated without mistakes. Like every organization, particularly one entrusted with caring for vulnerable animals under often difficult circumstances, we acknowledge that improvements have been necessary and will continue to be made. We remain committed to accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement.
At the same time, we believe it is important that our organization be evaluated fairly and in context. The Danville Area Humane Society is an open-admission shelter that serves as a safety net for our community, accepting animals regardless of species, age, health, behavior, or adoptability. While many people naturally think of dogs and cats, our responsibility extends far beyond them. Over the years, the shelter has provided care for a wide variety of animals, including livestock, birds, reptiles, and other companion animals brought to us when no other options existed. From dogs and cats to goats, pigs, horses, doves, homing pigeons, iguanas, and many others, our commitment has always been to help animals in need. This responsibility often requires difficult decisions and presents challenges that differ significantly from those faced by organizations with more restrictive intake policies. Measuring shelters solely by outcomes, without considering the broad scope of the services we provide and the unique responsibilities we carry, does not present a complete picture of the work performed every day.
Inspection findings and regulatory reviews are intended to identify deficiencies so they can be corrected. We have taken those responsibilities seriously, implemented corrective measures where appropriate, and remain committed to strengthening our policies, procedures, and operations.
We also believe that public discussion should be grounded in complete and accurate information. Animal sheltering is emotionally difficult work, and those entrusted with it make challenging decisions every day. We welcome constructive dialogue, thoughtful oversight, and accountability, but we also ask that the work of our staff, volunteers, foster families, and community partners be viewed within the full context of the mission they carry out each day.
The Board’s responsibility is to act in the best interests of the Danville Area Humane Society, the animals entrusted to our care, and the community we serve. We remain united in our commitment to supporting our staff, including Executive Director Paulette Dean, while continuing to strengthen our organization and address areas where improvement is needed.
We remain focused on what matters most: protecting animals, serving our community with compassion, rebuilding public trust, and ensuring the Danville Area Humane Society continues its mission for years to come.
We are grateful to our staff, volunteers, foster families, donors, veterinarians, rescue partners, and the many members of our community who continue to support our mission. Together, we will continue moving forward with transparency, accountability, fairness, and an unwavering commitment to the welfare of the animals who depend on us."