RIVERSIDE -- Riverside County officials Thursday said they are aiming for a 99 percent pet-adoption rate by 2014 -- roughly double the current rate -- but most of those attending a forum on animal control services called on the county to reach the goal in five years instead of 10.

Roger Uminski, acting director for the county Department of Animal Services, said the adoption rate for dogs and cats rounded up or turned into the agency was 59 percent for dogs and 46 percent for cats over the past 12 months.

That rate applies to animals considered adoptable. The agency defines an adoptable animal as one that is at least eight weeks old, has no serious health or behavioral problems and is not feral.

Uminski said the county is considering expanding its definition to include sick pets that can be nursed back to health while placed in foster care. There was strong support for that in the crowd of 90 activists, breeders, animal rescuers, animal control officials and others who turned out for the forum geared toward the western side of the county.

Another forum for the east county is set for July 15 in the desert. Uminski said the agency will compile comments and determine by Sept. 1 what changes would be made in response to the forum feedback.

The forums come as the county's animal control program is under fire for allegedly poor treatment of animals and is being scrutinized by the Humane Society of the United States, which expects to release a report Aug. 10, Uminski said. After being hit with numerous complaints, the county brought the society to do a $25,000 analysis of the department.

At the end of the two-hour forum, Mandi Wooldridge of Lake Arrowhead, a regional representative for the New Jersey-based Cat Fanciers Association, presented the county with a check for $5,000 to bolster animal control services. Wooldridge said there were no strings attached.

Some concern about shelter conditions emerged again Thursday.

Ashley Ross said that six years ago, she dropped off a female Basset hound-Australian shepherd mix at the Riverside shelter, then changed her mind when an employee slammed a cage door on the dog's leg.

"She was screaming," Ross said.

Ross took "Betty" home instead, and the dog continues to live with her today.

On a more recent occasion, Ross said she saw a dog's mouth taped shut with duct tape.

But most of the discussion centered on the need to significantly reduce euthanasia and to boost adoption.

While the majority clapped and raised hands in support of the 99 percent goal, Krista Dixon of Riverside said it was still not enough. Dixon said she formerly lived in Marin County, which had a "no-kill policy," and Riverside County should adopt a similar policy.

And Gena Osborne, who lives in the Temescal Valley and served on a county citizen committee on animal services, said euthanasia should be a last resort, when efforts to place an animal in a home have been exhausted and there are no available stalls at the shelter.

"I don't ever want to see an empty cage down there," Osborne said.

On the other hand, Pat Dunaway of the Inland Empire branch of the Pet Assistance Foundation, said it is unrealistic to expect to reach 99 percent in 10 years. Officials said Los Angeles County is shooting for 95 percent adoption by 2010 and stands at 91 percent now.

Dunaway said the county should not become obsessed with eliminating intentional killings of animals.

"Euthanasia is not the worst thing that can happen to an animal," she said. "Bad adoptions into bad homes are worse."

Dunaway, whose group issues vouchers for spay and neuter services, said the county's focus should be on measures to reduce the need for euthanasia. State law requires the county's shelter and others to spay and neuter dogs and cats before placing them with families. Osborne said computer microchips should be required to be attached to each outgoing pet as well, so they can be matched with owners if lost.

Anne Washington, executive director for Animal Friends of the Valleys in Lake Elsinore, said her shelter began spaying and neutering, and attaching microchips to every pet going out the door in 1996, and its euthanasia rate has plummeted by two-thirds despite the soaring growth of Southwest County.

In 1996, Washington said, the Lake Elsinore shelter put to sleep 6,532 cats and 6,076 dogs. By last year, those numbers had been trimmed to 1,978 cats and 2,157 dogs.

Several at the forum also urged aggressive enforcement against unlicensed breeders and licensed ones who keep more animals than they are permitted. Many blamed breeders for creating much of the problem of unwanted animals.

"We as a community need to start policing the puppies," said Diane Schwind of Quail Valley.

Kris Anderson, board president for the Animal Friends of the Valleys, said there is also a need for more shelters.

"And they have to be close enough," Anderson said. "People are not going to drive 30 miles to turn a dog in."

County officials, who acknowledge a need for more facilities, are proposing to build a $12 million shelter in Southwest County in the next few years.

Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (909) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or ddowney@nctimes.com.