Agenda - 09-19-2006-7b - Laserfiche WebLink

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Orange County Animal Services Sheltering Practices and Philosophies 63 make sense in her area; including both functions under one roof, she says, creates an "us" mentality rather than the "us versus them" feeling that a separation of services could end up fostering.. The unified delivery, of services ensures consistency in the core messages the Animal Welfare League wants to send to the public. When a warden meets someone who can't or won't pay for aspay/neuter surgery for his pets, for example, he has the authority to designate which pet owners are eligible for the shelter's free sterilization program, Or when members of the public need assistance with animal issues, they know which agency to call; the League's mission statement, as relevant today as it was when first written in 1944, includes sheltering, educating the public, preventing cruelty, and finding homes for animals, "We're in an ideal place, and it took decades of pushing spay/neuter," says Willen, "It took decades of education, of being in public schools, ... If you asked me what our `product' here was, I wouldn't say it was animals; I would say it was education, Every person, every volunteer who works here, that's mostly what they do, and they do it constantly." There aren't any shortcuts on the road to animal homelessness-an unfortunate reality that even Richard Avanzino considers in his discussion of potential solutions, Though he sits at the helm of Maddie's Fund, an organization that aims to create a "no kill nation" through large grants to local coalitions, Avanzino says, "There is no panacea, 'No kill' is not the magic answer," And instead of trying to create "mini-San Franciscos° across the country, Maddie's Fund would rather support programs that weave "safety nets of care" for all cats and dogs by addressing regional needs, he says, That goal has helped breathe new life into the sheltering field, providing hope to those who have been struggling for years to gain public recognition for their cause, Who could have predicted 10 years ago that a wealthy software entrepeneur with a soft spot for animals would donate $200 million-more than the total combined budgets of most other national organizations that work with shelters-to the nation's cats and dogs? And the fund just keeps growing: Dave and Cheryl Duffield recently added another $37 million to their original gift, and Avanzino expects that the Maddie's purse will grow to $1 billion by the end of this decade, The magnitude of Maddie's Fund has made its grants the brass ring in the minds of shelter directors eager to get the money to put towards their organizations' life- saving programs. But the infusion of cash has also bred confusion and skepticism, Some are disappointed by the foundation's unwillingness to give grants to government agencies, while others question its insistence on funneling money only through organizations that call themselves "no kill." And some believe that too many shelters are putting all their eggs in one basket by relying