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HomeMy WebLinkAboutASAB minutes 051612Animal Services Advisory Board Monthly Meeting Summary Wednesday, May 16, 2012 PRESENT: Kris Bergstrand, Chair, Susan Elmore, Bob Marotto, Donna Bravo, Mike Stewart, Kate Doom Patel, Jenn Merritt, Jess Allison, Sue Millager, Judy Miller, Suzanne Roy, Lynn White, Aviva Scully Agenda and minutes unanimously adopted as presented. ASAB Updates Hillsborough appointment - Kate Doom Patel is now serving a three year term in this position Handler, Trainer Vacancy - Jenn Merritt is now serving in this position Carrboro vacancy - Michelle Walker has applied for the vacancy. She is an attorney who is concerned with animal welfare and pet overpopulation. There are other applicants and the Carrboro Board of Aldermen has already made their recommendations. Town of Chapel Hill - Aviva Scully has been reappointed At Large (Non-municipal) - Lori Lumpkin has been reappointed Sue Millager is not available for reappointment Potentially Dangerous Dog Appeals Committee Recent Determinations - There were three Dangerous Dog Appeals - The committee found all three dogs met the statutory definition of dangerous dogs. We discussed developing a "Frequently Asked Questions" sheet for owners of potentially dangerous dogs. A draft was done with Irene, Kris Bergstrand, Bob Marotto and Andi Morgan. Bob will meet with the County's attorney and bring it back to the Board for approval. A letter would accompany the declaration sent to pet owners whose dogs are declared dangerous. If a dog is declared dangerous it is dangerous its entire life in North Carolina. Appeal Hearing - Criminal charges were brought against an owner who violated the Dangerous Dog ordinance. The owner had his first appearance in Court yesterday. The Dangerous Dog declaration was appealed by the owner and the Court upheld the declaration of the dog as dangerous. If the animal is considered adoptable there will be an effort made to place her. Old Business 1. Nuisance Animal Task Force Update The Animal Noise Nuisance Subcommittee will research how other counties with similar noise ordinances, like Warren and Duplin counties deal with noise complaints. They will continue to confer with Annette Moore, the Staff Attorney, on the specifics of the Orange County ordinance, other relevant laws and agricultural preservation. The Committee will meet again in May with the goal of making a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners in July. 2. Cat Sheltering: Progress Report III Presently, the cat condo conversions are on hold because of the flood of kittens that has arrived. The plan is to open a portal between the two condos to create greater square footage. The plan is to open a portal in the stainless steel cages, as well. We are looking into the best way to do this. 3. Defining "Senior" for Senior Fees  Licensing exemption for sterilized pets  Discounted rates  60 v. 65 The Board discussed the practice of giving seniors discounted fees for adoption and an exemption from licensing fees if their pets are sterilized. This practice was never officially authorized. We will bring it before the Board once we reach agreement about the fees. We discussed the pros and cons of defining the age of "senior" as anywhere from 60 - 65 years and passed a motion to keep the "age of senior" as 65 years. One member opposed the motion. It was mentioned that sometimes benefactors will sponsor the cost of adoption for an individual who can't afford to adopt. New Business 1. Legislative Component of Strategic Plan for Managing Pet Overpopulation We spoke of how to stay on the time table set out in the strategic plan. The complete plan is posted on the website. We overshot our goal of 500 spay/neuter surgeries in 2011 and we have already had more than 600 sterilization surgeries performed in 2012. The placement partner agreement has been accepted and we will be transferring some adoptable animals to animal rescues. 2012 has been identified as the year to work on legislation. Legislative Areas:  Impounded animals - We spoke about the idea or requiring an animal to be sterilized after the 2nd or 3rd time that it's impounded. We need to do research about the options and preview/review the research with the Board before going live with public hearings.  Feral Cats - This is a complicated issue in regard to rabies laws; how would you ensure that feral cats are having their renewal shots? Are feral cats governed by the same rules/laws and regulations as other animals re: kennel requirements? We need to have the Board work on one of these research options with the goal to have the legislation in place and adopted by a specific time.  We need to establish a subcommittee to research these legislative issues - 2013 is designated in the work plan as the year to work on the issue of feral cats. Trap and release programs are presently in place for feral cats. If the County were to jump in they might require licensing of feral cats. We need to review the issue of partner ing with feral cat organizations.  The issue of feral cats was put at the end of the Five Year Plan because it is most complicated. We have been going slowly and building good will along the way. There is a lot of published material already available that we will review. Judy Miller asked to have access to the research on feral cats. Bob Marotto mentioned that there had been an invitation to the folks in the community working with feral cats but the collaboration hasn’t yet occurred. Donna Bravo moved to create a subcommittee to review the owner requirements for reclaiming an impounded animal. The motion to create this subcommittee passed. Lynn White, Kris Bergstrand and Aviva Scully joined the committee. 1. Animal Identification - Jess Allison  Jess Allison spoke about the data from other shelters available online. With the economic downturn Orange County Animal Services has made microchipping optional. It has been a significant revenue resource for the Shelter. We brought up the idea of offering microchip surgery to the public for a fee. Jess compiled data on how Orange County Animal Shelter compares with other shelters in regard to pricing and services for adoption. We are in the top range in adoption fees and will be even higher if we add in the cost of microchips.  Margaret has donated collars with temporary ID tags for cats. The Shelter gives rabies tags to adopted animals, however, some of the animals are too young to get rabies shots and leave the Shelter without rabies tags. The Durham Shelter requests that folks bring in a collar when they adopt a cat. However, Durham also asks that cats stay indoors.  There are different ways to identify animals. Both rabies and microchips are recorded in the database. However, the majority of collars came off when the cats were in their cages. Motion was made that the policies that are presently in place in regard to animal identification remain as is and not be changed. The Shelter will continue to offer collars as available and offer optional microchip surgery. The staff will propose a letter for review. The motion passed - two Board members were opposed. Bob proposed the question: What is the optimal way to get pets returned to their orders at the community level? How can we improve animal recovery rates and cat recovery rates in specific? 1. Animal Services Update Online licensing has been implemented along with delinquent notices and follow- up. The Litter Patrol is up and running and a part-person has been hired to help with spay/neuter and litter patrol. Upcoming Events 1. Adopt A Cat Month (June) - At the June 2nd Open House we will kick off Adopt a Cat Month 2. Open House - Saturday, June 2, 2012 - 12:00pm - 4:00pm - Animal Services Center  Sarah Fallin sent out an email asking for specific donations and help for the June 2nd Open House. If we are able to help we need to get back to Sarah or Kris. 3. Rabies Clinic - Saturday, June 14, 2012 - 10:00am - 12:00pm - Animal Services Center Information Items  Bob Marotto mentioned that the County budget is available online. There will be hearings one's on Thursday, May 17th. He suggested that it is good to have the Chair and or Vice Chair of the Animal Services Advisory Board there to speak. On June 7th, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners will be holding their work session. Only staff will be allowed to speak at the work session. Next Animal Services Advisory Board meeting will be on Wednesday, June 20th at 6:30pm. Respectfully submitted by Aviva Scully. June 9, 2012