Agenda - 10-28-2002 - 2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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of executive sessions, all APS Board and committee meetings are open to the public. Under the advisement of our attorney,the APS Board adjourns to executive session when personnel issues or legal matters are to be discussed. The meeting dates and times are published in the quarterly newsletter and are relayed to anyone who inquires. All animal information sheets are given to the County Department of Animal Control on a monthly basis,as required by the contract and are considered public record. The only items that are not considered open to the public are bite reports which relate to medical privacy issues and cruelty complaints to protect the anonymity of the person complaining. Though APS is a private charitable non-profit organization,the APS Board considers it an entity that is open to and serves the public. The APS does not consider the openness of the organization to be an issue of concern that requires any additional response. DISEASE CONTROL As stated before,the Orange County Animal Shelter has been under the direction of Laura Walters since October 2001. The complaints and allegations about disease control started after Dr. Schopler left and his citizen and staff supporters became vocal. The Board is not aware of any complaints regarding disease control prior to August 2002. As shelter veterinarian, Dr. Schopler was responsible for managing the outbreak of panleukopenia which began in May 2002 and heightened in early July. Both before and after Dr. Schopler left,the Shelter staff followed all veterinary recommendations to euthanize kittens showing any symptoms of illness and in fact euthanized an entire room of kittens and closed it down in an effort to rid the shelter of this outbreak. It was through dedicated and repetitive efforts of the staff that the disease outbreak finally ended in August. There has only been one incident in September. It is unfortunate that some animals with the disease were adopted out but they were adopted with no apparent symptoms and in good faith. Adoption fees and veterinary bills were refunded to those that made a request. A waiver of liability is always signed by all adopters acknowledging that we can in no way guarantee the health of any animals. Parvovirus has been only occasional in the animal shelter. It is highly infectious and we have a very strong disease control program in place to keep it under control. For instance, hand disinfectants are everywhere along with very visible signs warning the public to disinfect their hands prior to touching any animals or between animals. In addition,the staff is very watchful of public interaction with animals and is insistent on proper disinfecting between touching animals. When an animal tests positive with a disease,we go into crisis mode. The kennel or cage in which the dog or cat was housed is closed down for 24 hours as it goes through repeated bleaching procedures. If needed, animals in the wing are revaccinated. We have been very successful in stopping outbreaks of parvo and usually deal only with an occasional single case. All animals are vaccinated within 24 hours of acceptance into the shelter and various tests are done as needed including heartworm, feline leukemia etc. A parvo test is not conducted unless there are symptoms. Tests for panleukopenia are unreliable. Dr. Kris Bergstrand(a former volunteer veterinarian with Dr. Schopler who is unknown to any of the animal shelter staff as ever having visited the animal shelter), recently complained to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture - Veterinary Division, alleging that disease was rampant in the animal shelter and animals were suffering and dying. In response to this complaint, a surprise inspection was made by Dr. Earl Sheppard, Department of Agriculture 5