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Animal Services Monthly Report February, 2009 <br /> <br />5 <br />enforcement; and other such “variables” are what affect the number of animals that are <br />sheltered in our own and other communities. <br /> <br /> <br />Monthly and Seasonal Variations <br /> <br />Month by month there are significant changes in the numbers of cats, dogs and other <br />animals that are sheltered at Orange County’s Animal Shelter. In very general terms, <br />there is a significant “spread” in the number of animals that are sheltered each month, <br />which reflect the seasonal nature of pet demographics and animal sheltering in our own <br />and other communities. <br /> <br />During the peak summer months, the numbers are traditionally much higher than in other <br />months of the year. In February, for instance, 428 animals were sheltered. Whereas this <br />is similar to the number sheltered last February (419), it is much lower than the number <br />sheltered last July (737). Other winter months typically show even larger differences, as <br />can be seen by the number we sheltered last March (398). <br /> <br />Similarly, this February 258 animals were admitted to the shelter—a large number that <br />equates to more than 9 animals per day over that twenty-eight-day period. During the last <br />twelve months, the number of animals admitted to the shelter has been as low as 229 <br />(March 2008) and as high as 522 (July 2008). <br /> <br />Moreover, it should be underscored that the “live release rate” for a given time period is <br />determined by the number of animals that are sheltered as well as the total number of <br />animals that are adopted, transferred, or recovered by their owner. It may well be that <br />there is a very high percentage of animals that are released alive in a given month but that <br />the absolute number is lower than in other months because of the number of animals that <br />come to the shelter. <br /> <br />Addressing Pet Overpopulation <br /> <br />To work toward the desideratum of ending euthanasia as a means of population control, it <br />is thus essential to positively impact the number of animals that come into Orange <br />County’s Animal Shelter in the course of the year. Essential to this is progressive <br />legislation that is enforced in an effective, fair and reasonable manner. A starting point is <br />what is sometimes referred to as “differential licensing”—that is, licensing or registration <br />fees that are much lower for spayed and neutered animals than for intact animals. Orange <br />County has had differential licensing for many years, and this fiscal year that differential <br />became $5 for sterilized dogs and cats and $30 for intact dogs and cats. <br /> <br />No less essential is a community spay/neuter program for animal companions such as <br />dogs and cats that promotes responsible pet ownership and enables all community <br />members to spay and neuter their own pets. The development of the Community <br />Spay/Neuter Fund during the past year, in coordination with the Animal Services <br />Advisory Board, has been a major accomplishment for the Animal Services Department.