Animal Shelter Statistics - 04-2006

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Orange County Animal Services 501 W. Franklin St, Suite 106, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 (919) 968-2287 Animal Control PO Box 8181 304 Revere Rd Hillsborough, NC 27278 (919) 245-2075 Robert A. Marotto, Director Animal Shelter 1081 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd Chapel Hill, NC 27514 (919) 967-7383 Monthly Report Orange County Animal Services April 2006 Departmental Highlights 1. Orange County Health Department provided Respiratory Protection Training to select Animal Services staff. Specifically, staff that ordinarily handle animals and who passed the required medical screening were trained in the use of and fitted them with N95 respirators. These are the recommended respirators for a variety of public health activities including pandemic flu. Of special concern from the standpoint of Animal Services are avian-related viruses insofar as staff might be expected to handle birds and fowl in a variety of circumstances. It may of interest in this regard to note that national organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States now encourage animal care and control personnel to take such precautions when handling fowl in the context of animal fighting investigations and seizures. 2. Animal Services Department staff continued to make age-specific and interactive presentations about their services to fourth grade (and other) classes in Orange County Schools. One part involves an Animal Control Officer facilitating an exercise in which children identify what kinds of things an Animal Control Officer does and does not do. In the second part, our Program Coordinator, Sarah Fallin and/or a volunteer facilitates an exercise in which children helped to design a shelter for the animals in their community. All indications are that these presentations are being very well received by students, teachers and administrators, and that our staff will be welcomed back in coming years to do similar sessions. In addition, it is hoped that in the future it will be possible to do presentations about more specific topics such as animal safety (or dog bite prevention) and the importance of spaying and neutering pets. 3. Efforts are underway to secure additional sterilization services for animals adopted from Orange County’s Animal Shelter. These efforts have involved the issuance of a request for proposal for sterilization services, review of responses, and discussions with and an inspection of one interested clinic. These efforts were initiated when it was learned that Dr. Wendy Royce, who does business as Pet Overpopulation Patrol, would be ending her service to us and our Shelter. As part of this process, staff has begun to explore available options for stabilizing sterilization services on a long-term basis in a cost-effective manner. Staff visited the Animal Shelter in