Minutes 01-28-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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- Raise community awareness about spaying and neutering as a critical element of responsible pet ownership. He stressed the problem of overpopulation by pointing out that in 2009, a total of 4,089 animals were "dispositioned" by the County's Animal Services Department and that 43% of the animals were euthanized and another 50% were returned to their owners or transferred to approved rescue organizations for their final placements in a new home. He said that Orange County's rate of placement is a good placement rate compared to comparable facilities throughout the country. He said that the proposed plan is based on the experiences of other communities that have used the orientation and based on experiences in the last few years. He made reference to the memorandum from him to Frank Clifton dated January 19, 2010 that identifies some of the accomplishments made through the Community Spay/Neuter Fund. One of the elements of collaboration with Animal Kind is the inclusion of DSS clients' pets. There is a no-pay clause now as well as a $20 co-pay for spay/neuter. He said that, with the County Commissioners' support, Animal Services was able to take $20,000 from the spay/neuter fund to outfit the spay/neuter suite in the new facility. Animal Services has made a complete cutover from outsourcing these services to in-house services as of January 2010. Jean Austin thanked the Board on behalf of the ASAB. She said that the first part of the plan to control the pet overpopulation is adoption. She praised the staff for their ambassadorship and said that the facility presents the consumer with a positive atmosphere and is very service-oriented. She said that the ASAB is very concerned about human values and the humane treatment of animals. The targeted spay/neuter plan is the second part of the control portion for the pet overpopulation. She said that this program assists those who may not have their pet spayed/neutered because of lack of resources. She said that the adoption plan is good but they cannot adopt their way out of the pet overpopulation. The licensing fees go to support this targeted spay/neuter program. Another part of the plan is to be proactive and to work with possible legislation and partnering with organizations such as Animal Kind and placement agencies. Bob Marotto said that, in terms of the funding for this program, he is proud of this initiative, and he is not asking for funding. He said that the goal is to see the decline of pet overpopulation over the next five years. He thinks that this is a program that people would want to donate to and he is exploring opportunities in the community to do this. He listed the donations that have been received in the community. Gwen Harvey said that this is a report to the Board and this program represents best practices and is self-sustaining. She said that one area that could be improved is the animal registration area. Commissioner Hemminger commended staff and the ASAB on this program and said that citizens need to know how many animals are put down each year. She suggested offering the opportunity to send donations during registration. Commissioner Pelissier asked about the percentage of registered pets that are neutered and Bob Marotto said approximately 80%. There is an effort to educate the public about the spay/neuter program. Commissioner Nelson said that he is impressed with this program and this is the type of creative and cost-effective program he would like to see more of in Orange County government. Commissioner Jacobs agreed. Commissioner Jacobs asked what has been done to engage the two school systems and the university in the process and Jean Austin said that there has been an effort with the School of Government, as part of the master's program, to have students come work with the registration program. Also, there are volunteers that are great educators and many are