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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAnimal Shelter Statistics - 01-2006 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 January 2006 Departmental Highlights 1. Varied efforts in the area of disaster planning—in which companion and other animals are becoming increasingly central—continued during the month of January. First, staff attended the monthly meeting of the Orange County Animal Rescue Team, a coalition of organizations who are coordinating to provide support for animals in various emergency situations. Second, staff participated in a regional evacuation meeting organized by Orange County’s Emergency Management to delineate plans for large-scale evacuation efforts of County residents. In these and related activities, staff are working closely with Emergency Management staff and other stakeholders to ensure that we develop our ability to provide an effective response to the various kinds of disasters that can and do occur in our communities. 2. Initial and follow-up interviews were conducted with candidates for the position of Animal Control Manager. A national search was conducted that drew candidates from throughout the country and on that basis a certified list of candidates was generated. Also, efforts are underway to fill an Animal Care Technician position that will be vacated by the impending retirement of Zandra Talbert. Ms. Talbert is a long-term employee who transitioned to the County after her employment with the Animal Protection Society, and who is known for her extraordinary love for cats and other animals. 3. One positive rabies test for a raccoon was reported in January. Given the number of positive tests in 2005—a total of twenty-three (23) – this test underscores that the outbreak of Eastern raccoon rabies remains a significant factor for the health of the public and its animal companions in our County, state and region. Thus basic rabies surveillance and control activities (as described in the Animal Control section of this report) and public education regarding rabies prevention remain critical commitments for the Animal Services Department—as do our continuing efforts to offer low-cost vaccination clinics. 4. A work team of Animal Services staff including staff from the Animal Shelter as well as Animal Control continued to work on organizing the Department’s low-cost rabies vaccination clinics and Orange County Animal Services – January 2006 Monthly Report – Page 2 related activities for 2006. To ensure the continuing availability of low-cost vaccinations for County residents, the work team scheduled two clinics for February. A complete 2006 low cost rabies vaccination clinic is now available on the Animal Services website and staff are continuing to speak with veterinary clinics in Orange County about opportunities for low-cost rabies vaccinations. As has been the case in the past, rabies vaccinations will cost $5.00 (which must be paid in cash). Pet owners are asked to remember to bring their most recent vaccination record. Dogs must be on a leash and cats must be in a carrier; and pet owners are asked to keep a fractious animal in their car so that the vet can come to them. Animal Shelter Highlights January shows a deviation from the current trends, in that the intake of animals was greater in January 2006 than January 2005 (277 in 2006 and 258 in 2005). The placement numbers were about the same (201 in 2006 and 204 in 2005) but the greater numbers of animals coming into the shelter depresses the placement rates somewhat. The gross placement rate for January 2006 was 73 percent (79 percent in January 2005) and the adoptable placement was 78 percent this month (86 percent in January 2005). Sheltering Activity January 2006 Dogs Cats Others Total In Shelter Custody as of January 1 2006 98 93 2 193 + Total Admitted Jan 2006 183 90 4 277 Sheltered in Jan 2006 281 183 6 470 - Dispositions for Jan 2006 190 106 3 299 In Foster Homes/Pet Stores 14 27 2 43 Within Shelter 77 50 1 128 Total Within Animal Services custody on February 1 2006 91 77 3 171 Returns: 3 dogs, 0 cat Current trends do continue with the percentages of dispositions. Euthanasia as a percentage of dispositions is still under a third and the largest percentage of dispositions occurs as placements. Beginning this month, we will be tracking the number of animals that are in the custody of our Animal Shelter Division. In the case of the Sheltering Activity Table, this is apparent that the total number of animals in our custody is broken into those animals that are in our custody at the shelter and those animals that are in our custody but either in foster homes or pet stores where they are available for adoption. As is apparent for these figures for the month of January, a significant number of animals – forty-three (43), roughly a quarter of all animals – are in our custody but not at the shelter; instead, they are in a foster home or pet stores. We will continue to track animals in foster and pet stores in this way in order to develop a richer picture of our shelter activities and services. In due time, as part of our overall review of our foster program, we intend to develop more comprehensive statistics of this kind – statistics for the overall number of animals Orange County Animal Services – January 2006 Monthly Report – Page 3 in foster in a given month and ultimately the disposition of the animals that have been in foster homes. Developing and reporting such statistics will be integral to our ongoing evaluation of the foster program as one of the programs run by the Animal Sheltering Division for the betterment and placement of animals in our communities. Animal Dispositions Percent of Total Dogs Cats Others Total Dispositions Reclaimed 41 3 0 44 14.72% Adopted 70 48 0 118 39.46% Transfers (1) 16 21 2 39 13.04% Euthanized 56 30 1 87 29.10% Died 1 0 0 1 0.33% Other 4 6 0 10 3.34% Totals 188 108 3 299 100.00% (1) Transfers are all to APS except: 15 cats, 9 dogs, 2 'other' to rescue 1 dog surrendered for euthanasia 19 cats (63%) feral. Program Report 1. Volunteering Volunteer Orientations: This orientation is a requirement of the Animal Shelter to protect the health and well-being of both volunteers and animals. A total of 22 people attended the two orientations this month. Policy Procedures/Animal Handling Training: This is advanced training for volunteers wishing to work with direct handling of the animals, such as dog walking and socialization, cat-room cleaning, and related activities. A total of 18 people attended the training session given by our Program Coordinator, Animal Care Technician, and senior dog volunteer on January 14th. Outreach Program: Always presented by volunteers, with occasional assistance from the Program Coordinator, this is a program where we set up a table at a public location, often with select shelter animals, and provide information on adoptions and animal care. This month three programs were held at Pet Supermarket, PetsMart, and Phydeaux’s pet store. Volunteers: Volunteers this month numbered 59 and volunteer hours totaled 489. This was a noticeable increase over last month’s 430 hours, and 410.75 from January 2005. Orange County Animal Services – January 2006 Monthly Report – Page 4 Volunteer Hours 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 Ja n Fe b M ar Apr M ay Ju n Ju l Aug Sep Oc t No v De c 2004 2005 2006 2. Special Events and Community Meetings Saturday, January 14 – Ten students from the NC School of Math and Science volunteered and repaired dog beds, filled Kong toys that they then gave to the dogs, and folded cat litter boxes. Tuesday, January 17 – Visited WRAL-TV with ‘Foster’, a border collie mix pup, for their “pet of the day” Thursday, January 19 – The Program Coordinator made a presentation to Chapel Hill Day Care, at their request, involving ten two and three year olds. She performed finger plays with puppets and sang songs about responsible pet ownership. Animal Control Highlights Animal Intake Data shows that Orange County mirrors trends affecting animal sheltering insofar as we impound a large number of unclaimed stray animals and a large number of animals related or surrendered by their owners. The presence of such animals in our community accounts in no small part for our need to have professional animal control services as well as an animal shelter to ensure to provide for the welfare of animal companions as well as to minimize the adverse affects of stray and unwanted animals on members of the public. Animal intake of stray and surrendered animals also underscores the importance of promoting responsible pet ownership in our communities. While responsible pet ownership begins with matters such as rabies vaccination and licensing, among other legal requirements, it is much broader, including socialization and training, no unwanted offspring, and the formation of a lifelong bond. Promoting such ownership is basic to the various programs our Animal Services Department has and will continue to provide, including public education on health and safety, spay/neuter outreach, and low-cost rabies vaccination clinics. Orange County Animal Services – January 2006 Monthly Report – Page 5 Animal Intake Data Total Percent Animal Control FromPublic Incoming of Total Strays (1) Surrender Strays Surrender Chapel Hill 16 2 21 14 53 19.1% Carrboro 5 5 6 4 20 7.2% Hillsborough 13 1 5 2 21 7.6% Orange County 85 38 12 10 145 52.3% Night Deposit 0 0 22 3 25 9.0% Other County 0 0 3 10 13 4.7% Total 119 46 69 43 277 100.0% Strays188 67.9% Animal Control165 59.6% Surrenders89 32.1% Public112 40.4% (1) “Strays” under Animal Intake Data also includes impounded animals not surrendered to Animal Services With respect to rabies control—historically one of the core functions of our own and other animal control programs throughout the United States—we have continued to see positive rabies tests based upon public reporting and our surveillance of possible exposures of people and/or their pets. As always, any incidence of rabies underscores the need for effective rabies control as it is provided through our Animal Control Division and preventive measures beginning with the vaccination of our dogs and cats. 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 continue to be performed at veterinary establishments that service pet owners who reside in Orange County. While more than one hundred animals were vaccinated at the Animal Shelter during the month, no low cost vaccination clinics were held. However, Animal Services staff planned these clinics and related activities for 2006 and upcoming clinics are now posted on the Animal Services website. Rabies Vaccinations within Orange County Dogs Cats Total Vaccinated at Shelter 55 57 112 Vaccinated at Vet Clinics 456 517 973 Vaccinated at Rabies Clinics 0 0 0 Total Vaccinations 511 574 1085 This month there was one positive rabies case. As the first of the two Tables below shows, the two positive tests results came from four (4) rabies cases our Animal Control Officers investigated in the course of the month. Usually, these are cases involving known or suspected contact between a domestic small animal and a wild animal such as a raccoon, as well as whether there is an indirect contact between a human and pet member of a household in these situations. In addition to these “exposure investigations,” it is a requirement 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—and in January there were twelve (12) such bite quarantines. Orange County Animal Services – January 2006 Monthly Report – Page 6 Rabies Exposure Investigations Dogs CatsOtherTotal Bite Quarantines 8 4 0 12 Exposures Investigated 0 0 4 4 Tested Positive 0 0 1 1 Appendix Placement Rate: This is a gross statistic which relates the number of animals placed (adopted, reclaimed and transferred) to the number of animals admitted in a given time period. This is expressed as a percentage attained by dividing the number of animals placed by the number of animals admitted. Adoptable Placement Rate: To gain a clearer representation of the placement program, the animals brought to the shelter that are not part of the placement program are excluded, namely feral cats and owner requests for euthanasia. Since the number of feral cats in particular can vary a great deal from month to month, they can obscure the true effects of the program. The adoptable placement rate is obtained by subtracting the number of feral cats and owner requests for euthanasia from the total intake number before the number of placed animals is divided by it. This yields a more refined statistic since the absent animals are generally not regarded as animals that can be placed in new homes. Percent of Total Dispositions, which are given in the statistical report, are different from the placement rates in that they do not relate to the number of animals brought into the shelter. They are, as the title implies, the total number of dispositions broken down by category. Their function is to demonstrate the accuracy of the statistics.