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<br />Animal Services Advisory Board <br />October 21, 2009 Meeting--Approved Minutes Page 3 <br /> <br />New Business— <br />In-House Spay and Neuter—Jess Allison reported that the surgical suite is almost outfitted. <br />The interview and selection process for the veterinarians are in the final stages; two have been <br />recommended and we should know the outcome in the coming weeks. The plan is to start <br />transitioning from out-sourcing to in-house spays and neuters by mid-November and thus begin <br />utilizing the surgical suite. There will be approximately a 3-4 week period that we will continue <br />to send some of the animals out for surgeries with our contract veterinarians before we start <br />performing all of the spay/neuter surgeries in house. Ms. Allison also reported that we will have <br />a non-permanent healthcare technician to help assist with the surgeries. <br /> <br />NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine Shelter Rotation—Jess Allison reported that the Animal <br />Services Facility has teamed up with North Carolina State University Veterinary School of <br />Medicine to bring in 6 students to the facility to help assist and perform surgeries on a rotational <br />basis. In addition to the surgeries the students will be performing health exams on the animals <br />and other medical procedures under the supervision of our consulting veterinarian. Today the <br />students performed 6 successful cat surgeries. <br /> <br />Strategic Plan for Proactively Managing Pet Overpopulation—Bob Marotto reported that the <br />legal and budget review have been initiated; we have requested a work session with the Board of <br />County Commissioners in January. <br /> <br />Mr. Marotto provided handouts to board members that compared the number of dogs/cats that <br />have been spayed or neutered through the Community Spay/Neuter fund. 66 total surgeries have <br />been performed for the third quarter of this calendar year using the $20 fix program; 44 were <br />DSS clients. By comparison with the proceeding quarter there were only a total of 48 <br />spay/neuters. Year-to-date there have been a total of 172, compared to 50 in 2008. It seems <br />reasonable that we will go over the target set for this year. Can you state here what the target is <br />for this year? <br /> <br />Crematorium and Disposal Options—Mr. Marotto was tasked with looking into crematorium <br />and disposal options at the Animal Services Center. He has met with vendors and done research <br />to determine what the purchasing cost would be, what options there are and how the various <br />processes work. A document will be provided to the County Manager with all of Mr. Marotto’s <br />findings to be reviewed and discussed. The Animal Services Center currently uses the landfill to <br />dispose of euthanized animals, the landfill will be closing at some point in the near future but <br />will still have disposal options available to us. <br /> <br />Triangle Care Updates—Mr. Marotto reported that he participated in discussions with the <br />Triangle Care Organization that has been trying to bring animal welfare people together to form <br />a coalition for Maddy’s Fund for a no-kill shelter. Mr. Marotto feels that, with all the productive <br />possibilities that are currently under way with the new facility, we should not commit to this <br />organization at this time but that we may revisit it in the future.