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Agenda - 09-19-2006-7b
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Agenda - 09-19-2006-7b
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9/2/2008 4:28:37 AM
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BOCC
Date
9/19/2006
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Agenda
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7b
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Minutes - 20060919
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\Board of County Commissioners\Minutes - Approved\2000's\2006
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Orange County Animal Services Sheltering Practices and Philosophies '70 <br />seemed fairly obvious: How many animals need our services? How bad is the <br />feral cat problem? What are the scientific estimates of how many are out there in <br />the community? Nobody could answer him. "We didn't collect the data before <br />figuring out how to solve the problem," Bonner says, "Therefore, our chances for <br />success are somewhat low." <br />Bonner emphasizes that he is committed to eliminating "space-based <br />euthanasia," but only by addressing the causes of the problem rather than <br />treating its symptoms, When it comes to dogs, that goal is not so far off on the <br />horizon; intake of pooches was down to about 300 last year, Bonner says, But <br />cats are another story, Last summer, the shelter took in more cats than it had in <br />the last five to 10 years. Bonner believes part of that increase derives from the <br />decisions of groups in other counties to limit their admissions. "So if you look at <br />what have we done to the population as a whale, we've not changed it," he says, <br />"We've just shifted who is doing what. And that doesn't seem to be a very fair or <br />.. proactive way of dealing with it," <br />In studying the needs of the region, Bonner has discovered that large segments <br />of the human population are unable to access a shelter; he is interested in <br />stepping up the organization's mobile and off-site adoptions. He's also looking <br />into the possibility of partnering with other area shelters to setup kiosks listing <br />animals available for adoption throughout the region. <br />Like Griggs, Bonner is trying to avoid further duplication of services in his area. <br />The existence of veterinary clinics and full-adoption programs at all three of the <br />big shelters in Pittsburgh has already confused the public, he says. "We have <br />people leaving us money in their will with one organization's name and the other <br />one's address, So even our benefactors, even our people doing bequests to us, <br />are confused as to who we are," Bonner says. "Perhaps if we had all determined <br />what our particular unique strengths were, we could say, 'You know what? Yau <br />guys are doing really well at this, We're not going to go there.' So as we go <br />forward, I'm hoping to engage my colleagues in saying, 'You know what? We're <br />going to step away from this. How about if you step away from that?' And see if <br />that helps us." <br />A Mission: A "No Suffering" Nation <br />The quest to end the euthanasia of healthy, behaviorally sound animals may take <br />seekers down a thousand different paths, on a thousand different journeys, But in <br />navigating the roadmap, shelters may find that the smartest decisions evolve <br />from the roads not taken. <br />And if an organization doesn't start off with a full tank of gas by first addressing <br />basic, humane care and conditions for its animals, dreams of reducing <br />euthanasia will certainly flounder. Attempting the goal of "zero euthanasia" when <br />shelter cats are getting sick because of poor disinfection practices and dogs are <br />
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