HomeMy WebLinkAboutAnimal Shelter Statistics - 07-2008Summary Statistical Report:
July 2008*
Animal Services Department, Orange County,
North Carolina
Introduction
This is the Animal Services Department’s monthly statistical report for the month of July
2008. Each month a standard set of summary statistics are generated regarding our core
or essential services and activities. These are essential for purposes of effective
management and administration in different program areas, in both our Animal Control
and Animal Sheltering Divisions. At the same time, these statistics are an invaluable tool
in communicating to various stakeholders, the general public and our elected officials and
County management the scope and extent of animal services.
Notably, these monthly statistics provide a basis for thinking about sheltering practices in
a broader context. Adoption and euthanasia numbers must be understood in the context
of a multitude of other influential factors, including the number of animals that come into
Orange County’s Animal Shelter and the availability of medical and behavioral
resources. By far the greatest factor influencing sheltering practices in our own
community and others is that of “pet overpopulation,” a community-wide problem
consisting of a large number animals for whom there are no homes. As we continue to
push forward to find better and more innovative ways in which to improve, we must
remember that all of these factors work together to create the broader challenge we must
address as a department, a county, and a community.
Standard Statistics
Each of our monthly reports contains various statistics that summarize the various
activities of the County’s Animal Services Department. These are standard statistics
insofar as for a given month, such as July, they report on the same core or essential
services. They are all presented at the end of the narrative portion of this report.
Some statistics capture the overall effort of all staff as they work together to provide
integrated and coordinated animal services to the citizens of Orange County. These
include:
1. A.1 Monthly Demographics (which shows from where and how animals arrived at
Orange County’s Animal Shelter).
2. A.2 Monthly Shelter Activity (which shows total animal intakes and dispositions).
* Questions about the statistics or narrative discussion July be addressed to Andi Morgan, Administrative Assistant,
Orange County Animal Services at amorgan@co.orange.nc.us.
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Other statistics are more specific in summarizing the services and activities of our
department’s Animal Sheltering and Animal Control Divisions. These include:
Animal Sheltering
1. B.1 Monthly Dispositions (which reports the dispositions of all animals sheltered
in a given month)
2. B.2 Live Release for Placeable and Recovered Animals (discussed in detail in the
following sections).
3. B.3 Reasons for Euthanasia (which reports the specific reasons for which animals
were euthanized in a given month)
4. B.4 Volunteer Hours (reports volunteer hours and how they compare to previous
months and years)
Animal Control
1. C.1 Rabies Exposures Investigated and Positive Cases (which reports positive
rabies tests and related investigations conducted by Animal Control Officers).
2. C.2 Rabies Statistics (showing positive cases year-to-date and by comparison with
previous years).
3. C.3 Rabies Vaccinations (which reports the number of vaccinations given by area
veterinarians, at low-cost vaccination clinics organized by our department, and at
Orange County’s Animal Shelter).
Together, these monthly statistics provide a convenient summary of our critical services
and activities. In a very transparent manner, they describe the efforts of our staff in
delivering field services, sheltering animals whose dispositions they must ultimately
decide, and programs such as our volunteer program that, among other things, is
responsible for public outreach activities and dog walking.
Statistical Development
The summary statistics provided in our monthly reports are not static. They must be
subject to change as our services are redefined, our practices evolve, and we produce the
most useful statistical information. A good example of change is table B.3 Reasons for
Euthanasia. Staff captured and encouraged the reporting of this information to make
adoption figures, as well as the reasons for euthanasia, more meaningful and transparent.
It does matter greatly whether a behaviorally sound and healthy animal is euthanized as a
result of space limitations or an animal is euthanized because it is aggressive or infirm.
In the month of July, for example, the most common cat euthanasia reason was medical,
with 73 cats euthanized for this reason. This number made up 40 percent of all cats
euthanized during the month and 27 percent of all animals euthanized. For dogs, the
primary reason for euthanasia for the month was also medical, with 36 dogs euthanized
Animal Services Monthly Report July, 2008
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for this reason. This made up 44 percent of the dogs euthanized and 13 percent of all
animals euthanized for the month.
Also, we anticipate further development of the euthanasia categories that are used to
report such information. Of special note is the generation of more specific information
concerning the medical and behavioral reasons for euthanasia—not only because this
clarifies the difficult decisions that staff must make on daily basis but because such
information enables us to discuss whether there are specific programs that may be offered
to reduce the rate of euthanasia of certain animals.
Finally, our intention is to link specific monthly reports such as this one to data about
trends in our services and activities. What we foresee is a related set of graphs showing
monthly data over time that enable us to identify and evaluate trends in key services and
activities in relation to policies, practices and our own mission. As allowed by time in
the coming year, these graphs will be prepared and they are expected to be presented
along with reports of standard statistics for a given month.
Adoptions and “Lives Releases”
The placement of healthy and behaviorally sound animal companions is one of the
foremost objectives of Orange County’s Animal Services Department. The direct
placement or “re-homing” of small animals, cats and dogs occurs through our own
adoption program. In addition, many companion animals are transferred to “placement
partners”—that is, non-breed as well as breed specific rescue organizations for cats and
dogs (as well as other animals)—for their final placement on the basis of additional effort
and evaluation by these various animal organizations.
Adoptions and transfer are two of the three elements of what July be referred to as “live
releases.” Animal companions recovered by their owners or a custodian—usually if not
always “stray” animals brought to Orange County’s Animal Shelter either by one of our
Animal Control Officers or a member of the public—form the third element of animals
that are released alive.
Using this basic formula, it is possible to calculate the total (or absolute) number of
animals that are released alive from Orange County’s Shelter.1 The figures needed to
make this calculation are provided by table B.1 Monthly Dispositions: July 2008. For the
month, there was a total of 232 “live releases,” consisting of 142 adoptions, 33 transfers
and 57 returns to owners or custodians.
1 It should be said that we are using “live release” rather than “placement” for two very specific reasons as well as
because it has become a convention in the field of animal welfare since the appearance of the Asilomar Accords
(http://www.asilomaraccords.org/). One reason is that it includes all animals that are not euthanized, i.e., transfers to
placement partners and returns to owners and custodians as well as direct adoptions. The other reason is that it does not
presume that an animal transferred to placement partners is, in fact, “re-homed.” In the absence of feedback data from
these organizations, which is desirable and an objective toward which we are working, there is no way to know what
decision they have ultimately made about the disposition of a particular animal.
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Moreover, it is possible to determine the rate of live release for placeable animals and
animals that have been recovered for a given month. Placeable animals do not include
animals surrendered by their owner for euthanasia (usually due to illness, infirmity or a
behavior problem); feral cats (as these are typically not placed); or animals that died
before arriving at the shelter or in our custody as a result of an “untreatable” injury or
illness; or animals that are being held for a bite quarantine or court case. The number of
placeable animals is determined by subtracting animals surrendered for euthanasia, feral
cats, deceased animals, and court and bite holds from the total number of animals
dispositioned in a given month.
For the month of July, there were 519 total animals dispositioned. When we remove the
animals on bite and court holds, animals surrendered for euthanasia, the feral cats and
those animals that arrived dead or died of an untreatable injury while at the shelter, we
are left with 455 “placeable” animals. To find the “live release rate,” we must then
divide the total number of “live releases” (232) by the total number of potentially
placeable animals whose disposition was decided in the month (455)—and as can be seen
in Table B.2 Live Release for Placeable and Recovered Animals, the rate is 51 percent for
the month of July.2
With respect to adoptions themselves, finally, several observations can be made. By
comparison with June 2008, there is an increase in the number of adoptions (142 vs. 136),
and an increase in the number of “live releases” (232 vs. 224). When compared with July
in 2007, there was also an increase in adoptions for the month (142 in July 2008 vs. 125
in July 2007), and an increase in the total number of live releases (232 vs. 191).
Pet Demographics and Overpopulation
It is often said that pet problems are people problems, and that pet overpopulation is a
community problem. These insights very much apply to our own circumstances and they
help create a broader perspective in which to understand our own sheltering statistics.
More specifically, the number of animals that are sheltered in a given period of time is
itself not caused by or a direct function of our sheltering operations and practices. The
number of unwanted animals in our communities (sometimes referred to as “surplus”
pets); the extent to which cats, rabbits and dogs alike are spayed or neutered rather than
allowed to remain intact and reproduce; the strength of norms and customs of responsible
pet ownership; the scope and strength of animal regulations and their effective
enforcement; and other such “variables” are what affect the number of animals that are
sheltered in our own and other communities.
2In earlier monthly reports, this was referred to as the “adoptable placement rate” versus the “gross placement rate,”
insofar as the latter was determined on the basis of all animals dispositioned in a given month.
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Monthly and Seasonal Variations
Month by month there are significant changes in the numbers of cats, dogs and other
animals that are sheltered at Orange County’s Animal Shelter. In very general terms,
there is a significant “spread” in the number of animals that are sheltered each month,
which reflect the seasonal nature of pet demographics and animal sheltering in our own
and other communities.
During the peak summer months, the numbers are much higher than in other months of
the year. In July, for instance, 737 animals were sheltered. Whereas this is quite a bit
higher than the number sheltered last July (596), it is much higher than the number
sheltered this past March (398). Similarly, this July 522 animals were admitted to the
shelter—a very large number that equates to almost 17 animals per day over that thirty-
day period. During the last twelve months, the number of animals admitted to the shelter
has been as low as 233 (December 2007).
Moreover, it should be underscored that the “live release rate” for a given time period is
determined by the number of animals that are sheltered as well as the total number of
animals that are adopted, transferred, or recovered by their owner. It may well be that
there is a very high percentage of animals that are released alive in a given month but that
the absolute number is lower than in other months because of the number of animals that
come to the shelter.
Addressing Pet Overpopulation
To work toward the desideratum of ending euthanasia as a means of population control, it
is thus essential to positively impact the number of animals that come into Orange
County’s Animal Shelter in the course of the year. Essential to this is progressive
legislation that is enforced in an effective, fair and reasonable manner. A starting point is
what is sometimes referred to as “differential licensing”—that is, licensing or registration
fees that are much lower for spayed and neutered animals than for intact animals. Orange
County has had differential licensing for many years, and this fiscal year that differential
became $5 for sterilized dogs and cats and $30 for intact dogs and cats.
No less essential is a community spay/neuter program for animal companions such as
dogs and cats that promotes responsible pet ownership and enables all community
members to spay and neuter their own pets. The development of the Community
Spay/Neuter Fund during the past year, in coordination with the Animal Services
Advisory Board, has been a major accomplishment for the Animal Services Department.
Funded by an increase in the differential licensing fee for unaltered pets, this fund will
allow the Animal Services Department to work with several existing programs to
promote Spay/ Neuter and responsible pet ownership throughout Orange County in the
coming months and years.
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Other legislative options include an extra redemption fee for intact animals recovered
from the Animal Shelter, which July be refunded if they are sterilized within a given time
period, and permit systems that require a permit for dogs and cats that are going to be
bred.
Moreover, there is an overwhelming need to address the deep-seated problem of feral cats
in Orange County. Month after month feral cats (as defined by their community history
and/or observed behaviors in the context of the shelter) are one of the largest groups of
animals euthanized. In July, 22 feral cats were euthanized, and they comprised 12
percent of all cats euthanized during the month (and 8 percent of all animals euthanized).
In fact, euthanasia of feral cats is not a “shelter problem,” but rather a community
problem, and it needs to be addressed as such. There is a great need for initiatives in the
area of public education to raise awareness insofar as euthanasia is the end result for most
of these creatures, and their presence must be considered in relation to the risk of rabies,
given the ongoing and endemic nature of so-called “raccoon rabies” in our County and
region. Thus addressing the problem of feral cats has also been a major objective for the
County’s Animal Services Department, and will be included in the Community Spay/
Neuter Fund’s program scope, beginning next fiscal year.
These are illustrations of the kinds of positive and proactive approaches that are needed
to address the problem of pet overpopulation as a community problem. In working to
reduce the number of unwanted animals that must be sheltered in our own communities,
we would also expect improvements in some of the outcomes of our sheltering practices.
We should all look forward to the day when there are very good numbers of adoptions
and “live releases” but no less notable ongoing decreases in the number of animals that
come to our shelter.
Rabies Cycle, Rabies Prevention and Rabies Control
With respect to rabies control—historically a core function of animal control—there is a
continuing concern about positive rabies tests based upon public reporting and our
surveillance of possible exposures of people and/or their pets. Table C.1 Rabies
Exposures Investigated and Positive Cases shows that this month there were two (2)
positive rabies tests in Orange County in July, bringing the total for the year to twelve.
There were nineteen (19) positive rabies tests in Orange County for 2007.
Our own public education activities stress that pet owners not only need to be sure that
their pets are vaccinated and licensed but that a dog or cat with a current rabies
vaccination must receive a booster shot within seventy-two (72) hours of any exposure to
rabies. Unless an exposed pet with a current vaccination receives a booster shot within
that time frame, the requirements of North Carolina law is the same as for an
unvaccinated animal—namely, euthanasia or a six (6) month quarantine. In this regard,
staff stresses the immediate reporting of any possible contact to animal control and/or
Animal Services Monthly Report July, 2008
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public health authorities to ensure the health of all members of a household—human and
pet alike.
As can also be seen from the table on rabies exposures, Animal Control Officers
investigated twenty-two (22) cases in which there were possible rabies exposures.
Usually, these are cases involving known or suspected contact between a domestic small
animal such as a dog or a cat and a wild animal such as a raccoon, as well as whether
there is indirect contact between a human and pet member of a household in these
situations. But our Animal Control Officers are also responsible for bite reports
involving dogs and cats (as well as other animals) and a human victim. In these cases, it
is a legal requirement and public health precaution that a dog or cat biting a human being
be contained and observed for a period of ten (10) days—thereby ensuring that the bite
victim was not exposed to the rabies virus.
Efforts to ensure current vaccination, for the welfare of pets and the people with whom
they come into contact, are ongoing and activities in this area are captured by vaccination
statistics compiled by our Animal Control Division. As is ordinarily the case, the
majority of these vaccinations—1470 out of a total of 1573 vaccinations—continue to be
performed at veterinary establishments. In addition, another one hundred and three (103)
animals were vaccinated at our Animal Shelter prior to their adoption or recovery.
No low-cost rabies vaccination clinics were held in July, but clinics are scheduled for
August and September. To date 752 animals have been vaccinated at twelve 2008
clinics. Seventeen total clinics were held during 2007—and 1157 dogs and cats were
vaccinated as a result. Details and further information on low-cost rabies vaccination
clinics can be found at http://www.co.orange.nc.us/animalservices.rabies.asp.
All of these activities—public education and outreach, investigations and enforcement,
and providing low-cost vaccination clinics—are critical given that Orange County
continues to be affected by the epidemic of “eastern raccoon rabies” that began in the
latter half of the 1990s. Their essential nature is further underscored by the current view
that we are on the upside of a raccoon rabies cycle that may bring even higher numbers of
confirmed rabies cases than we have seen in recent years.
Special Monthly Notes
There have been several events and challenges that have affected animal disposition
numbers this month. The most notable has been the ongoing remediation project
underway near the Animal Shelter on Municipal Drive. The project, conducted by the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has posed several challenges, including
parking adjustments, public awareness and visibility. The Shelter continues to do
outreach and hold extra events to promote awareness and work around these challenges.
Updates on the remediation project can be seen at the Animal Services website at
www.co.orange.nc.us/animalservices.
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Another recent challenge has been the overall economic downturn that North Carolina
and other regions have experienced in recent months. As has been discussed in
professional publications and reviewed on national networks news coverage, this
economic burden has forced many people to give up things they once were more able to
afford, including pets. Our impression is that may not only be affecting not only
adoption numbers, but also reclaim rates and the ability for people to provide different
levels of care such as spaying and neutering pets. Despite the economy’s effects on
businesses of all kinds, adoption and reclaim numbers have stayed moderately level, in
part due to staff’s dedicated work in areas such as outreach, visibility, awareness, and
education.
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 citizens of the
county. As suggested in our discussion of pet overpopulation, there are a number of
initiatives that must be taken to effectively address the underlying problem of 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 with the Animal Services Advisory Board.
Also, on behalf of its citizens the County has committed itself to building a new animal
services facility. With the opening of this facility at the end of 2008, for the first time
Animal Control, the Animal Shelter, and Administrative staff will be housed under the
same roof. In addition to providing some true economies of scale, and better allowing the
coordination of animal services, it is expected that this facility will help to overcome one
of the major inhibitions to our placement efforts—namely, the inhibition 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 destination, the
new facility is expected to have a very positive affect on the number of adoptions,
transfers, community outreach programs, public visitors—and much more. With its
innovative and modern design, this new facility will become a community asset and help
further staff efforts to deliver integrated and coordinated animal services to the citizens of
Orange County. As well, it is intended and expected to enhance our adoption activities
and increase our average rate of “live releases” at the same time as it enables our staff to
work with community stakeholders to more effectively address and ultimately resolve the
pressing problem of pet overpopulation.
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STANDARD MONTHLY STATISTICS:
JULY 2008
A. Overview Statistics
A.1 Demographics: July 2008
(1) “Strays” under Animal Control Demographics also includes quarantined animals that have not been surrendered.
A.2 Shelter Activity: July 2008
Dogs Cats Others Total
In Shelter Custody
as of July 1, 2008 75 137 3 215
+
Total Admitted July 2008 214 297 21 522
Sheltered in July 2008 289 434 24 737
-
Dispositions for July 2008 (1) 198 303 18 519
Remaining in Shelter Custody
on August 1, 2008 (2) 91 121 6 218
(1) Includes corrections to previous month
(2) Within Shelter: 91 dogs, 88 cats, 5 other
In Foster Homes/ Pet Stores: 0 dogs, 33 cats, 1 other
Total Percent
Animal Control From Public Incoming of Total
Strays (1) Surrender Strays Surrender
Carrboro 7 1 8 2 18 3.4%
Chapel Hill 19 5 89 41 154 29.5%
Hillsborough 49 6 9 24 88 16.9%
Orange County 114 37 27 33 211 40.4%
Other County 0 2 16 16 34 6.5%
Unknown 0 0 17 0 17 3.3%
Total 189 51 166 116 522 100.0%
Strays 355 68.0% Animal Control 240 46.0%
Surrenders 167 32.0% Public 282 54.0%
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B. Animal Sheltering Statistics
B.1Total Disposition: July 2008
Dogs Cats Others Total
% of Total
Dispositions
Reclaimed 49 8 0 57 10.98%
Adopted 58 77 7 142 27.36%
Transferred (1) 7 20 6 33 6.36%
Euthanized 82 184 4 270 52.02%
Died 1 14 1 16 3.08%
Other 1 0 0 1 0.00%
Totals 198 303 18 519 100.00%
(1) Transferred to Rescue Service
B.2 Live Releases for Placeable and Recovered Animals: July 2008(1)
Dogs Cats
Others Total
% of Total
Dispositions
Reclaimed 49 8 0 57 12.53%
Adopted 58 77 7 142 31.21%
Transferred (2) 7 20 6 33 7.25%
Totals 114 105 13 232 50.99%
(1) Live Releases include all animals that are not euthanized, i.e., transfers to placement partners, returns to owners and custodians, and direct adoptions.
The “live release rate” is calculated by dividing the live releases by the total number of placeable animals. To calculate placeable animals, we must
remove the animals surrendered for euthanasia, feral cats, animals that arrive dead or die in our custody, bite quarantine animals, and animals that have
been confiscated from the total number of animals dispositioned. For July, this number was 64, and removing these animals from the total number
dispositioned leaves 455 “placeable” animals.
(2) Transferred to Rescue Service
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B.3 Reasons for Euthanasia: July 2008
% of Total % of Total % of Total
Dogs
Euthanized
By Reason Cats
Euthanized
By Reason Others
Euthanized
By Reason
Age 5 6.10% Age 11 5.98% Age 0 0.00%
Behavioral (1) 25 30.49% Behavioral (1) 57 30.98% Behavioral (1) 1 25.00%
Feline Leukemia 0 0.00% Feline Leukemia 10 5.43% Feline Leukemia 0 0.00%
Feral 0 0.00% Feral 22 11.96% Feral 0 0.00%
Heartworm 2 2.44% Heartworm 0 0.00% Heartworm 0 0.00%
Medical (2) 36 43.90% Medical (2) 73 39.67% Medical (2) 2 50.00%
Pregnant 0 0.00% Pregnant 1 0.54% Pregnant 0 0.00%
Owner Request 1 1.22% Owner Request 2 1.09% Owner Request 0 0.00%
Space 13 15.85% Space 8 4.35% Space 1 25.00%
Totals 82 100.00% 184 100.00% 4 100.00%
(1) “Behavioral” includes a wide range of behavioral issues that July prevent an animal from being available for adoption to the public. These issues vary
widely between cats, dogs and other animals, and can include aggression, lack of socialization, severe kennel stress or other factors that make the animal
a risk if placed back into the community.
(2) “Medical” includes a wide range of conditions and diseases that July prevent an animal from being available for adoption to the public due to unsound
health. These conditions range in severity and differ greatly between cats, dog and other animals. Additionally, because we test animals for certain
diseases as a standard protocol, these are often more easily identifiable and thus can be separated as a specific condition statistic. For example, the
“Feline Leukemia” category above is listed separately, though it is a medical condition.
B.4 Volunteer Hours: July 2008(1)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2005
2006
2007
2008
(1) Information for March 2006 is not available.
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C. Animal Control Statistics
C.1 Rabies Exposures Investigated and Positive Cases: July 2008
Dogs Cats Other Total
Exposures Investigated 0 0 22 22
Tested Positive 0 0 2 2
C.2 Rabies Statistics: July 2008
C.3 Rabies Vaccinations: July 2008
Dogs Cats Other Total
Vaccinated at Shelter 63 40 0 103
Vaccinated at Vet Clinics 676 794 0 1470
Vaccinated at Rabies Clinics 0 0 0 0
Total Vaccinations 739 834 0 1573
Total Rabies Exposures Jan 1- July 31, 2008: 11
Total Rabies Exposures Jan 1- July 31, 2007: 12