ISSUES FROM MY FOLLOWERS WITH OUR CITY SHELTER I have received many questions from yall about concerns with our city shelter. Three of us from our committee Paws For Change went and visited with the city management concerning these issue. It was a very pleasant and informative meeting with both Jarrett and Bob. Bob stated he would research all my questions and get back to me with the answers. Below is the email I received from him. Just to clarify on the question about the EU list..... It was stated at the board meeting yesterday pertaining to the EU list.... HS has just began receiving this list, and it was received very shortly before the EUs were preformed. Terilynn asked to clarify this as to who will be receiving this list and at this point only HS will be receiving it. if you read the entire email you will see that basicly the rescues and the public are responsible on knowing any pet that is here 5 days are in danger of being EU and you should act on day 1 and not wait until the 5th day to save a pet...... Please be aware that Amarillo City Management are always available to answer questions and concerns. Their contact info is listed below (806) 378-3011 Fax: (806) 378-9394 [email protected] [email protected] EMAIL AND RESPONSE .... On Sep 10, 2014, at 1:11 PM, Cowell, Bob wrote: Judi, As I indicated at our meeting, here are our follow-up responses to the questions raised. We remain committed to our on-going efforts at improving operations and the welfare of the animals entrusted in our care. I also remain committed to keeping all our partners, stakeholders, and interested parties as involved and engaged in our efforts as possible. Should you have any questions or need additional information please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you, Bob EU list – The City already provides this information to its partner, the Humane Society who maintains contact with a variety of rescue groups, etc. This list is problematic in that it is often incomplete and subject to rapid revision. This may improve with the deployment of shelter management software. To avoid confusion or communication problems, staff will continue the current practice (that is providing the information to the Humane Society and allowing them to serve as the liaison to rescue groups). Additionally, the on-line information provided by the City to the public is presented in chronological order and includes the case number. It is appropriate to assume that any animal that has been in the shelter five or more days is at risk to be euthanized in the very near future. While this is also not a fool-proof way to determine the most at-risk population, it serves as a good reference until shelter management software is deployed. The Humane Society is hosting an open house on September 20th where all the area rescue groups and 501c3s have been invited to better understand how to pull as well as rescue animals from the facility. Problems with City Lost & Found Web Information – Only in the last few months has the City had any on-line information about animals in the shelter. Currently this system is a stop-gap system developed by the City’s IT Department. Staff is aware of glitches with the reliability of the photos and is routinely addressing the issue. Staff is also aware that though the intake information is timely the updates for closing out cases (either due to reclaim, adoption, or euthanizing) is not as timely. This is predominantly a resource issue and likely to remain an issue until new shelter management software is secured that automates this process. Recent improvements have been made that appears to make this information more reliable. Dipping for Fleas and Ticks – Department policy is that every pet entering the shelter is dipped or sprayed for fleas and ticks. There have recently been some instances where this policy was not followed and corrective action has been taken. This will continue to be monitored for compliance. Scott McDonald Riding with the Officers – Scott has been completely consumed with the actions needed to address shelter operation issues and has not been able to devote time to ride-alongs with the officers. However, the Officers have been a critical element of the changes and policies that Scott has enacted for the Department. Distemper – The City is working in partnership with the Panhandle Humane Society and area veterinarians to address community public health issues and canine viruses through a series of community vaccination clinics. These clinics will be conducted at locations throughout the community and will offer area residents the opportunity to vaccinate their dogs against common viruses and rabies at a reduced cost. The specific locations, dates, and times of these clinics should be available for release later this month. I have instructed the staff at the shelter to display informational brochures from the American Veterinarian’s Association about the most common viruses and their symptoms. Additionally, as I mentioned in our meeting, I previously instructed staff to initiate the steps needed to implement a vaccination upon intake program (identify costs and source of funding, define vaccination protocol, and define protocol for complications/reactions to vaccines). Once these steps have been identified the vaccination program will be initiated. Bob Cowell Assistant City Manager - Development Services City of Amarillo 509 S.E. 7th Avenue Amarillo, TX 79105-1971 806.378.3012 From: Judi Glidewell [mailto:crittercamp2000@yahoo] Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2014 5:45 PM To: Cowell, Bob Subject: Re: Follow-up from meeting Thank you Bob for responding to all the questions in a timely matter I will post the answers to the questions my followers asked in a post on FB I am sure this will help calm down many of their concerns . Thank you for taking the time in your busy schedule to research all of this. Sincerely, Judi Sent from my iPhone
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 14:56:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015