Animal Shelter Statistics - 02-2008

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Animal Services Monthly Report February, 2008 8 The Animal Services Department also celebrated “Spay Day USA,” a national ho liday recognized by the Humane Society of the United States. The Board of County Commissio ners approved a resolut ion submitted by the Animal Services Department to declare February 26, 2008 “Spay Day USA” in Orange Count y. In honor of “Spay Day USA,” Animal Services, worked with Pet Overpopulation Patrol of North Carolina (POP NC) and the Department of Social Services to spay and neuter twent y pets in Orange County that may not have been otherwise sterilized. The event was a huge success and funds to cover the costs of the surgeries were taken fro m the department’s recent ly created Communit y Spay/Neuter Fund. Conclusion As a very young department that only came into existence in 2005, Animal Services continues to develop new ways in which to better serve the animals and cit izens o f the county. As suggested in our discussio n of pet overpopulation, there are a number of init iatives that must be taken to effectively address the underlying problem o f pet overpopulation. These include the creation of a spay/neuter fund and an effective program to address feral cats, among others, and steps are being taken toward those goals by the department in coordination wit h the Animal Services Advisory Board. Also, on behalf o f its cit izens the County has committed itself to building a new animal services facilit y. Wit h the opening of this facilit y at the end of 2008, for the first time Animal Control, the Animal Shelter, and Administ rative staff will be housed under the same roof. In addit ion to providing so me true econo mies o f scale, and better allowing the coordination of animal services, it is expected that this facilit y will help to overcome one of the major inhibit io ns to our placement efforts—namely, the inhibit io n that members of the public have toward earlier generations of shelters which are often perceived as dreadful places. As it is being designed as a resource center that is an attractive public dest ination, the new facilit y is expected to have a very posit ive affect on the number of adoptions, transfers, communit y outreach programs, public visitors—and much more. With its inno vative and modern design, this new facilit y will become a communit y asset and help further staff efforts to deliver integrated and coordinated animal services to the cit izens o f Orange Count y. As well, it is intended and expected to enhance our adoption activit ies and increase our average rate of “live releases” at the same t ime as it enables our staff to work with communit y stakeholders to more effectively address and ult imately reso lve the pressing problem o f pet overpopulation.