After a nine-month national recruitment that drew input from community members, county staff and national experts in the field of animal welfare, Wade Sadler was selected as the next director of Multnomah County Animal Services Division.
The selection was announced by Jamie Waltz, Interim Director of the County’s Department of Community Services. As Animal Services Division Director, Sadler will oversee the Division’s $8.7 million budget, nearly 60 employees and more than 400 volunteers who provide 24-hour response to animal emergencies and public safety incidents involving animals as well as lost and found services, pet adoption services, foster care opportunities and a wide range of animal care services.
Sadler comes to the position after serving nearly 10 months as interim director. He spent the five years before that as the Animal Services Division’s Business Operations Manager overseeing Client Services, Communications and Animal Health. As Business Services Manager, the former sergeant in the United States Marine Corps expanded programs such as a partnership with Good Neighbor Vet to offer free rabies vaccines with license renewals, and low-cost veterinary services at the shelter on Saturdays.
He also championed the Shelter Protect Reunite (SPR) program which removes barriers to reclaim pets for community members experiencing homelessness and poverty by waiving impound and board fees and providing a free license, microchip, and ID tag. For those who don’t qualify for SPR, he helped establish other affordable options for low-income customers.
Sadler has also worked closely with internal and external animal welfare experts to best reflect the County’s values of protecting pets and people, and continued his own training, becoming eligible for certification by the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement in the summer of 2020.
As a Marine, Sadler served overseas stints in Japan, the Philippines, Thailand and a peacekeeping mission in East Timor from 1995 to 2000. He then enrolled at the University of California San Diego in pursuit of a bachelors in Political Science. After graduation, Sadler moved to Portland with a job in retail management, then operations management. He joined Multnomah County in August 2015.
He lives in Northeast Portland with his wife and two children. He grew up in Oklahoma where his father raised cattle and Gordon Setters. His first pet was a German Shorthaired Pointer named Lady.
Multnomah County’s Troutdale animal shelter is the only open-door shelter in the Portland region — accepting of all stray animals from lost, homeless, stray, injured, sick, neglected and abandoned. The role of the director is of utmost importance in continuing the division’s mission of health, safety and welfare of people and pets throughout Multnomah County.