Agenda - 04-19-2011 - 4c - Laserfiche WebLink

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6 In just three years time, this program is already affecting the number of animals admitted at the County's Animal Services Center, the principal animal shelter in Orange County. As can be seen from the attached graph, in 2009 total intakes numbered 4036 compared to an average of 4315 for the period 2005-2009, and in 2010 there was a further reduction to 3613 animal admissions. Additionally, last year 75 fewer litters of cats and dogs were admitted than the average for the period 2007-2009. These changes are not inconsequential with respect to our operations and operating costs. We have been able to satisfactorily staff a new and larger facility into which Animal Services moved in June 2009 only as a result of reduced animal numbers and board days. Similarly, we have been able to satisfactorily manage a 15 percent operating budget reduction in FY1011 only as a result of reduced animal number and total days. All of this seems to bear out a primary contention of the County's strategic plan (above), namely, that targeted spay and neuter can help to control the costs of animal services and indeed needs to be done to in order to do so. The County's program includes other worthwhile and synergistic activities. For instance, Animal Services annual sterilization events including one done in conjunction with Spay Day USA, a national event sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States. Also, the program provides excellent opportunities for community outreach and education. Most recently, Animal Services staff member Andi Morgan developed a set of "Beat the Heat" flyers (samples attached) to encourage residents to spay and neuter their pets before the onset of "kitten and puppy season." The collaboration between Animal Services and DSS is unusual but there is no apparent reason that it cannot be replicated in other Counties, and our experience suggests there is much merit in doing so. The presence of AnimalKind in the Triangle area may be much more fortuitous for this program, Yet it is also true that there are now many initiatives and efforts with targeted sterilization throughout the United States (as evidenced by the emergent notion of "spay neuter industry professionals") and that other opportunities for partnering with non-governmental organizations may present themselves elsewhere. In closing, we would stress that our experience recommends a robust form of collaboration to advance social justice, address pet overpopulation, and help control the costs of animal services. We believe that it is because of our rich three-way partnership that our Commissioners have provided strong support for this important and innovative program. We are pleased to have been in the right place at the right time and fully aware of how much more we are able to do with one another than on our own. 215 N. Dawson St, Raleigh, NC 27603 * Phone: (919) 715-2893 * Fax: (919) 733-1065 * www.ncacc.org