The 54 page report was presented to the city of Oakland at the end of May 2005... Proposal
for Making Oakland a “No Kill” Animal Shelter City I
propose that Oakland be transformed into a
“no kill” city, making it a nationwide leader
in animal welfare, lowering taxpayer costs
(it can cost up to $250 in the U.S. to hold a shelter animal for
euthanasia and dispose of the body) and saving
animal lives. Oakland
kills approximately 50%
of its shelter animals annually. Of the 4623 dogs and cats who
found themselves at the facility last year, 2227 were euthanized. These
deaths are unnecessary: various cities, counties and states in the U.S. have
either achieved the “no kill” objective or are moving
swiftly in this direction. Tompkins County, New York, Berkeley and San
Francisco, California have made amazing strides, while Phoenix, Arizona;
New York City; the state of Utah (as well as countless other localities)
have embraced a strategy to realize what I call the "93% no kill
objective" within the next few years. A
"93% no kill objective"* means saving the lives of all healthy
and medically/behaviorally treatable animals. This should be the initial
objective for Oakland. After this is accomplished, the effort should be to
save all shelter animals by establishing a hospice-type environment for
the terminally ill and a sanctuary for those deemed too dangerous for
rehabilitation, as Utah’s Best Friends currently provides. At that time,
Oakland will be the first "100% no kill" city in the country. The
public wants the killing to end. Impediments to this are the bureaucratic
mindset of some animal services employees, a lack of creativity and the
false notion that "people are irresponsible" and "there are
too many animals and not enough homes." If the latter is really true,
the why are pet stores and breeders still in business? *
The 93% stems from the numbers supplied by Nathan Winograd at one of his
seminars in accordance with his success in Tompkins County, New York. High
volume, low cost spay/neuter is critical for the success of “no
kill" as are partnerships with the community; adversarial
relationships between people and the shelter are destructive on every
level. I.
The first step would be to sever ties between
Oakland’s Animal Services (OAS) and the police department,
although the two organizations would still unite in their effort to combat
animal cruelty and for other purposes. Police officers are trained to
focus on public safety, yet animal services employees must both protect
and care about animals in addition to safeguarding people. A police
officer should not be expected to understand the significant weight that
should be given to compassion towards animals. II.
The Director of OAS should be a person who cares about animals and who
will embark upon strategies to make the city “no kill.” The job description
for the “Director” position should be altered to assure the
applicants understand that the desire and ability to protect animals and
eliminate the killing is a prerequisite for the job. I forwarded job
descriptions to you in March 2005, and I am glad to hear that Lupe Valdez
was able to incorporate some of these ideas into a final draft of the
Stakeholder Committee "job description." The
Director’s salary should be raised
to approximately $90,000 - $125,000 per year (depending upon experience)
to ensure a talented pool of applicants. Los Angeles pays its new Director
over $150,000. To determine if a higher figure is necessary, Oakland
should evaluate shelter director salaries in cities with comparable
housing/living expenses (in accordance with the stakeholder committee's
suggestion). Some excellent candidates have expressed an inability to
relocate to Oakland due to the high cost of housing in the area unless the
salary is commensurate. Alterations
should also be made with respect to union
affiliation so the city manager has control over this position.
The
city might also want to consider implementing
Los Angeles' method for selecting the Director of Animal Services: the
Mayor would make the appointment and the City Council would confirm it. III.
Two grassroots community programs should be
established: the first would create a Director
of Animal Welfare (DAW) for every district in Oakland in
accordance with the current council boundaries, and the other would
establish a Humane Officer program or task
force. The
DAW for each area would be appointed by the Councilmember for that
district, and the DAW would then be able to create a committee and recruit
volunteers to assist with projects and outreach.
The DAW position would be volunteer; this person would act as the eyes and
ears for the animals in an area. (I have recently started a DAW program in
Los Angeles.) Members of a community often reject outsiders coming into
their area to implement change; yet grassroots efforts by local people,
such as DAWs, are more readily embraced. Sporadic DAW-like events have
been successful in Alameda County in past years, so it makes sense to
expand these programs and make them permanent. Animal
issues differ from one neighborhood to another. One area may have problems
with dog fighting or feral cats, while another has spay/neuter concerns.
As a stakeholder, the DAW will have a grasp of the concerns in the
community. The DAW might hold events, such as Animal Care Fairs in which
free spay/neuter services are provided as well as dog training,
immunizations and humane education, or a DAW might assist the shelter with
regular adoptions at a nearby mall or flea market. The DAW and his/her
volunteers may be able to conduct outreach activities via
already-established local councils or groups, who often have regular
meetings, newsletters and websites. The DAW may be able to communicate
with stakeholders by way of emails or literature that are regularly sent
to constituents from the City Councilmember for that district. Each
DAW would decide how to best assist the animals in his/her community.
Creativity is encouraged. Humane officer training has been started by a number of volunteers from Animal Crime Investigations Bureau (ACIB), who are in the midst of completing the classes (which cost approximately $200 for two-weeks of instruction). The
Humane Officers’ purpose is to increase
manpower so as to assist with cruelty-related situations and to help
enforce laws that are meant to protect animals.
For example, they might check on
neighbor complaints of animal abuse with the assistance of OAS or the
Oakland Police Department, or they might use newspaper ads to trace and
investigate illegal breeding (for example, some California legislators
have sought to pass a law that requires breeders to have a registration
number and report the number of animals sold in the previous year; Humane
Officers could help enforce such a law). Humane Officers could be
appointed by the City Councilmember for the district or instead by the
Neighborhood Crime Prevention Councils in their area.
IV.
Oakland should create an Animal Commission
(resembling the commissions in Los
Angeles and San Francisco), which would operate like a "Board
of Directors;" it would hold regular meetings, maintain a website and
exert policy control over the OAS. The Mayor would appoint individuals to
serve, and the city should provide funding to staff the Commission.
V.
OAS employees must change their philosophy to one in which compassion
is rewarded and relationships are built with the community.
They should not enforce minor infractions of the law, such as when a
jogger runs through the park with his dog “off leash.” People should
not be punished for feeding and caring for feral cats. The public must
view OAS as a partner in solving the animal overpopulation problem, rather
than as the enemy. OAS must also be proactive, rather than passive. Most shelters merely tally the
number of animals each day and incorrectly assume that there are too many
animals and not enough homes. VI.
OAS should cut programs and positions that do
not save lives. They must cut waste and decline to spend money
on programs that are ineffective. There is no evidence, for example, that
humane education (i.e. at schools) is beneficial. Humane Education and
other programs/efforts which do not directly correlate to saving
animals’ lives should only be undertaken by volunteers. They should cost
OAS nothing. OAS
should add programs that save lives.
For example, there should be a "Last
Litter Project" (with cat rescue groups), and programs that reduce
the number of "pit bull-type dogs" in the area should be
explored because these breeds represent a large number of the deaths at
the Oakland shelter. Free spay/neuter vouchers and other incentives would
be a wise start. VII.
The overall “no kill” strategy involves a
two-pronged process: implementing both low
cost or free spay/neuter and widespread animal adoptions. It
would probably take between two and five years for Oakland to realize the
goal. Money may be available. Maddie’s Fund
is a nonprofit with almost $300 million available for the sole
purpose of helping cities, counties and states become “no kill.”
Oakland has received limited funding from this organization in the
past. Mr. Richard Avanzino, the head of Maddie's Fund, has said he would
be interested in a proposal to help all of the shelter animals in Alameda
County. Maddie’s
Fund money can go directly to pay for any service (i.e. spay/neuter,
advertisements for adoption, dog training). Maddie’s Fund typically
requires the local area to fundraise. The proportion of matching funds
depends upon the size of the project: New York City is receiving $16
million and must raise the highest percentage of matching funds: 100
percent. Mr. Avanzino has verbally indicated that he would make a similar
deal with Los Angeles. It is unlikely Oakland would be required to raise
this large percentage, as the project would be much smaller. Further
details about the organization can be found at www.MaddiesFund.org
Maddie’s
Fund money cannot be given directly to government; it must be funneled
through a nonprofit. Oakland should establish
a new nonprofit for
this purpose, which can continue to work
in partnership with the nonprofits and rescue groups in the area, so that
when the Oakland shelter becomes too crowded, animals are transferred to
other facilities.
The Oakland Shelter already has this type of relationship with the
East Bay SPCA, Island Cat Resources, Fix Our Ferals, Hop-a-Long, Smiley
Dog, Bad Rap and others, but there are many nonparticipating,
community-based organizations that could partner with OAS. The goal is to find alternate facilities for the
animals when the Oakland shelter becomes full, while simultaneously
reducing animal births so that fewer and fewer animals need homes over
time. The
Oakland animal shelter nonprofit organization would be able to accept
money directly from Maddie’s Fund and other sources (such as private
donors or corporate sponsors) and make decisions about how best to utilize
funds. A “Special Fund” should be created for soliciting large
donations. The
Board of Directors for the nonprofit would be comprised of individuals who
not only care about animals, but also have the ability to either a)
fundraise, or b) donate something of major value to the shelter. A
veterinarian who agrees to frequent the facility and provide free
veterinary assistance would be a welcome addition to the board, as would a
billboard company CEO who could offer no-cost advertising. VIII.
Specifics of the plan are as follows
and are broken down by category. This parallels the “no kill”
strategies embarked upon in an urban area (San Francisco) and in a rural
area (Tompkins County, NY); both found success with these methods. A.
Assistance at the shelter. Dozens of volunteers
should continually be recruited (as
Megan Webb currently does). When Ms. Webb (who is a valuable addition to
OAS) leaves to attend graduate school, an unpaid “volunteer coordinator”
(perhaps a retiree from a senior citizen home) might want to become the
"Community Outreach Program Director." Volunteers can perform
many tasks, such as medicating sick cats, training dogs with behavior
problems, walking and grooming dogs, doing routine office work and helping
with adoptions. In addition, union employees
and volunteers must cooperate. Any disputes at OAS between these two
factions must be resolved. OSA
should place announcements in the Oakland Tribune about monthly volunteer
orientations. OAS should be flexible with the volunteers; they should be
permitted to walk dogs or play with cats on their lunch hour or act as a
foster parent, even for a limited period of time. Volunteers can be kept
informed by weekly e-mails, which include recently published articles,
information on shelter animals and new Animal Services procedures. There
should be a wildlife referral program (with
organizations such as the Wildlife Waystation) for skunks, raccoons,
opossums and other wild creatures who find themselves at the shelter.
Creating partnerships will save the shelter time, money, effort and space.
OAS should make a list of all partnerships and licensed rehabilitators and
be sure all employees know how to access the list. Alliances should be created with vet schools (for free
or low cost veterinary assistance), local businesses and pet food
companies. Science Diet will provide free food to shelters; the
shelter merely pays for the shipping which works out to about $1 per
animal per year. Bayer will
provide flea-related products at no cost. Pet-friendly businesses can be
promoted at the shelter in return for products or services. Deals should
be worked out with groomers. OAS should never pay retail. OAS
should negotiate with vets to come to the
shelter for free or a small fee. They can be given PR in return
for their services; for example, when an animal is adopted, the adopter
can be told that this particular vet has the animal’s records and
medical history. The person will be likely to use the vet in the future.
OAS should always seek competitive bids from vets and vet schools for
surgeries and major medical procedures. B.
Exercise and Socialization for the Animals. The animals
should not be sequestered in their kennels
all day. Dogs should be taken for walks by volunteers or given play time
several times per day, and the cats should get out twice. This keeps the
animals calmer (especially with respect to large dogs), thus making them
happier and more adoptable. The pubic is more likely to stay in the
facility longer and therefore adopt when the shelter is quiet; dozens of
barking dogs is a deterrent. OAS currently walks only the animals in the
front who are available for adoption. A
full-time dog trainer should be on
staff. I understand the current trainer is part-time. C.
Primarily Focus on Spay/Neuter. OAS must intensify the effort at high
volume, low or no cost spay/neuter. Spay/neuter
is cost-effective in the long run; of course, Maddie’s Fund and
nonprofit dollars can provide for this. According to Winograd, if all cities and counties in this country had
municipally funded spay/neuter, the nation would be (93%) “no kill”
today.
Every dollar spent in spay/neuter saves the taxpayer $10 in costs later.
At one point, San Francisco paid people $5 for each animal they brought to
be spayed/neutered. D.
Supplemental Shelter Services. OAS should establish a free
behavior hotline, free or low cost dog training, free pet friendly rental
referrals and other services which can be obtained at no cost
via partnerships with businesses in the community. E.
Adoptions. There must be a widespread
effort at increasing adoptions, which means linking with rescue
groups, establishing foster homes and increasing shelter adoptions. OAS
must find creative ways to compete with pet shops and “free to a good
home” newspaper ads, such as by offering incentives. The
simple act of becoming “no kill,” should mean an increase in adoptions
because many people stay away from shelters due to the emotional pain of
knowing that animals die at the facility.
OAS
should establish at least one showcase facility
on an unused, but well-positioned city property. It should be
located in a busy area where the animals can be seen by the public. The
outdoor mall area near the City Center BART station would be an excellent
choice; it would garner the attention of shoppers, city hall visitors and
commuters. No animal should ever be euthanized at this location or
returned to the OAS building. This supplemental facility could be manned
by volunteers and funded by the nonprofit. Adoption incentives should be offered, such as free veterinary care for
the first visit, free dog behavior advice, free pet food, discount on
supplies, and free goodies. OAS should partner with businesses for free
products/services and discounts. Off-site Adoptions are crucial.
Animals
must be taken to where people live, work and shop, such as flea markets,
fairs, parks, church bazaars, special events and malls. Store windows at
pet shops in busy shopping centers could be used to display adoptable
animals; partnerships with these stores could prove advantageous. Instead
of purchasing animals from puppy mills, the business could obtain their
animals from the shelter. (This is becoming a popular alternative for many
pet stores.) Anytime there is an event in the Oakland area, the shelter director
should ask if animals could be adopted at the event.
The shelter could even assist with publicity, which will, of course, make
the coordinators anxious to have the shelter participate in future events.
Holiday adoptions are good as long as it is from one family member to
another; impulse decisions are not problematic.
A program called “Home for the Holidays” in which Santa brings the
animal to the new home has been successful in New York. A Valentine’s
Day adoption event might be called “Save a Sweetheart” or “Make a
Love Connection.” Other events might include: “Dog Days of Summer,”
Cats for Cops,” “Wine, Critters and Song,” “Feline Follies,”
“Fur Ball” and “Seniors for Seniors.” On these occasions, there
may be a reduced cost for adoptions or other benefits.
F.
Advertisements and Public Relations. OAS should be innovative
with advertising and public relations. In Oregon, satellite
images of shelter animals are displayed on large screens at local malls.
Animals can be shown on websites, on TV news programs or in the newspaper
as the “pet of the week.” The media are usually willing to help at no
cost. The media should be inundated with press releases. Real estate
agents make good shelter partners because they advertise in the newspaper
regularly. A Realtor in NY placed a regular ad with a photo of an
adoptable pet, which read, “Find your Spot.” Realtors also typically
give gifts to their clients at the close of escrow; they could be
convinced to give a voucher for a free animal from the OAS shelter to good
candidates. OAS
should record numerous 30 and 60 second radio public service announcements
for public access television; a studio and cameraman are typically
provided at no cost. In Tomkins County, the shelter director did a regular
show called "Pets in Pajamas" in which adoptable animals were
featured. There are many ways to get the word out, such as with a pet
advice column, speeches or a regular spot on a local radio or television
show. OAS must use persistence and ingenuity to communicate, to bring
people to the shelter. When
writing copy, the aim should be to get people to cry, to impact them
emotionally. Old, ugly and sick animals should be promoted, too; and each
should be given a personality. National
studies show that people get their dogs from shelters only 15% of the
time, and less than 10% of the time for cats. The 2004 OAS numbers reveal
that 15.8% of dogs were adopted and 19.6% of cats were adopted. These
numbers can be better. Good advertising and public relations is necessary
for success. G.
Promoting Animals at the Shelter. Give the animals friendly,
simple names like Buddy or Molly. Do not name a pitbull
“Capone.” Pitbulls and seemingly more frightening dogs should have
sissy names, floral collars and/or pink bows around their necks. Dress the animals in different color collars/bows and keep them
groomed.
Put the less desirable animals at the front,
so the public have to walk past them to get to the puppies and kittens in
the back. Make the kennel visually appealing by mixing animals by colors
and breeds. Do not place 10 black labs in a row; mix them with other
breeds. OAS
should place cards on the kennel door which
tells about the animal (i.e.
Buddy likes to swim and play ball) An emotional story can be created for
each animal, if the actual history is not known. Shelter volunteers and
staff can start teaching “stupid pet tricks” to the animals that have
been at the shelter for a long time; knowing tricks make them more
adoptable. Volunteers can be planted at the shelter as
“agents.” They can get excited over a particular animal:
when members of the public see this attention, they are more likely to
want to adopt that particular dog or cat. H.
Behavior and Illness. OAS should always
give dogs the benefit of the doubt with respect to “aggressive”
behavior. Sometimes behavior problems have to do with painfully
long nails or mattes; plus seemingly severe problems can be cured by
training or a foster home environment. Food guarding is acceptable (animal
should not be killed for guarding their food), and cats should never be
tested for behavior problems. No more than 2% - 4% of dogs should be found to be aggressive; if the
numbers are higher, the dogs are not being tested properly.
Temperament
testing requires skill and training. A dog may growl at staff upon intake
because he has been ripped from his home; this growl should not
automatically move the dog into the “vicious” category. Studies show that traditional kennel temperament testing does not
predict how an animal will behave in the home, and two employees
administering an "objective" test, will often find different
results. A detailed procedure for temperament testing can be provided upon
request. (Nathan Winograd wrote these procedures). The decision to end a
dog’s life is a serious one and should be treated as such. A veterinarian who specializes in behavior medicine should evaluate
each dog who is deemed aggressive to determine whether the problem is
medically based or whether behavioral rehabilitation will prove successful
Then, the director and on-staff dog trainer should apprise the situation. Most
shelters use a “pass” vs. “fail” scale for dogs. With the “93%
no kill” model, the only time dogs would fail
a test for aggression is when the prognosis for rehabilitation is poor or
grave. The scale extends from excellent to good, fair, guarded,
poor, and grave. In addition, the shelter must ensure that shy,
scared, sick and injured dogs are not erroneously assumed to be aggressive
and killed. The screening process is
crucial. Temperament testing should be designed to look for
dogs who are a direct and immediate threat to public safety. “93% no
kill” cannot be achieved be re-categorizing dogs; it is achieved by not
killing them. OAS
should not agree to owner-requested killings. A person can leave an animal
at the shelter, but it is up to OAS to find a new home or determine the
fate of the animal. Injured
and Sick Animals. OAS should work with vets for discounts and only those animals given a
poor or grave prognosis (again on a scale with gradations of excellent,
good, fair, guarded, poor and grave) would be considered “not
treatable” in the "93% no kill model." A broken leg is
considered “fair” prognosis; this animal would receive vet attention.
As OAS becomes “100% no kill,” it should look into placing animals
with poor prognosis in foster care or creating a hospice-type environment. Foster
care.
A sweeping foster parent network should be
created because it quickly expands the capacity of the shelter.
Oakland already has a pretty good foster program, but it could be expanded
to include, for example, students from local universities. Students may
not be ideal candidates to provide a permanent home, but they can be
excellent fosters. Some businesses could be persuaded to foster animals.
Fosters are great for animals who are under-socialized, going cage crazy,
underage (neonatals), sick or injured. Flexibility is important; foster parents should be able to return animals
when necessary. They can also help find homes for their adoptees through
outreach and connections in the community; they have contacts (who may be
willing to adopt) at their workplace or social clubs. Fosters will often
go to off-site adoption events with their adoptees. The fosters normally
pay for all animal-related costs, except medical expenses. OAS
should give the least desirable animal to a first-time foster parent
because the foster will usually permanently adopt the first animal they
receive. J.
Feral Cats. OAS should continue, and expand, the Trap,
Neuter, Release program. They currently partner with Fix Our
Ferals on this endeavor. Many studies suggest this is the most
efficient way to deal with the feral cat problem. For example,
Stanford University instituted the Stanford Cat Network and went from 500
cats down to 150 in four years. Programs that kill ferals have been
unsuccessful. Additional studies can be provided upon request. Grumpy
cats can live outside with ferals. OAS could even work directly with feral
caretakers and try to turn feeders into caretakers (or get feeders to work
with caretakers). These compassionate individuals provide a service that
few people will undertake. OAS should not
punish feeders or caretakers or indicate that they will
confiscate their cats. There
are probably about 60 – 100 million feral cats in the country. They will
always exist; and despite what some say, they live good lives. Studies
show that any decline in songbird populations is principally due to
drought, human encroachment and poisons in the water and environment. Not
cats. K.
Fundraise. The OAS nonprofit should plan
fundraising events throughout the year, such as concerts, golf
tournaments, wine tasting and telethons. Santa could take pictures with
animals. The “Phantom Ball” was a Halloween non-event in NY, but was a
means for obtaining donations. The shelter might celebrate a particular
animal’s birthday and invite the community for cake and lemonade.
Border’s Books will give 15% of profits to a 501 c (3) on a
particular weekend; OAS nonprofit could be a periodic beneficiary.
Sponsors should cover all costs for events. L.
Bookkeeping, Language and Shelter Policy. OAS should not
rely on the words “adoptable” and “treatable” when arriving at
shelter statistics. These words
can be manipulated by employees to justify deaths. For example, a shelter
may decide a dog is not adoptable because there is no more room at the
facility or because the animal needs grooming. OAS
should only use the actual number of animals received vs. the number
killed. The records should also be open and available to the public.
Compared
with most public shelters, OAS has always been pretty good about
record-keeping. However, lately there have been complaints about improper
computer alterations (made by employees). A
computer program and/or procedure should be established that will result
in honest and accurate reporting.
OAS
should always try to talk people out of
surrendering their animals; sometimes it makes sense to give
them money for medication if lack of funds is the reason for surrender.
This will often cost OAS less money in the long-run. Volunteers
can act as Shelter Counselors at the front desk. All animals should be vaccinated upon intake and the facility must be
kept clean so diseases do not spread to healthy animals and staff. Gloves and other
tools/equipment must be available and in working order. Kennels, cages
or rooms should be cleaned in this order: from the healthiest animals to
the least healthy, so as not to
transfer diseases to animals that enter in good condition. Walking all
dogs (not just those who are in the front and ready for adoption) also
keeps them healthier; otherwise they can become ill due to stress.
OAS has room for approximately 300 animals, yet only a handful are
in the front on display. The public are not allowed to view the animals in
the back unless they are in search of a missing pet. This gives these
animals no chance at adoption; many are simply killed. This policy must be
changed. The public
must be allowed to see all of the animals. As mentioned earlier, an adoption center for the OAS nonprofit
could be established at an abandoned city property in a location where
people live, work, and/or frequent. This facility could be run by
volunteers. In some parts of the country, space in shopping malls is being
converted into display areas for shelter animals.
Animals should be called “companion animals” rather than
“pets.”
Language is important because it creates reality. Studies show that it is
easier to relinquish a “pet” to the shelter for death as opposed to a
“companion animal.” OAS should not use misleading terms or words that obscure the
gravity of killing or confirm the age-old belief that animals are
disposable property. The word “euthanasia” should not be used
unless an act of killing is truly related to “mercy.” “Euthanasia”
makes the act of killing easier. Euphemisms distort the truth. Shelter
hours should coincide with when the public are available to adopt. OAS
should not limit operations to Tuesday through Saturday; weekends and
early evening are best for adoptions. Increasing shelter
hours is optimal, but if this is not practical, the hours
should be adjusted.
OAS
should be run like a business with
careful attention to timely hiring practices, properly trained employees,
program monitoring, inventory and vendor contract control issues, regular
cost analysis, cash control processes, and spending issues. M.
Legislation and Other Tactics. More off-leash
dog parks should be established; the San Francisco Dog Owners'
Association found a correlation between a reduction in dog bites and a
high number of off-leash parks. Dogs are less likely to be aggressive when
they are able to socialize with people and each other. Legislation should primarily (and at least initially) be directed towards the shelter rather than the community,
although there are exceptions, such as when it comes to abuse/cruelty
issues. Oakland
should prosecute animal abuse cases.
There are an astounding number of people who fight pit bulls in the city.
The Humane Officers can help with identifying these individuals. Cameras can be installed in the shelter
(not just the hallways as I understand is currently the case) so as to
monitor employees; this would greatly combat mistreatment of animals or
improper procedures. Many shelters around the country are fraught with
allegations of abuse. The
Oakland "Citizen's Survey" should ask
stakeholders whether "making the Oakland shelter no kill" should
be a financial priority. When this item is omitted from the
questionnaire, the city council and mayor do not know how people feel
about this issue. In the Mayor's Budget Survey for Los Angeles, Mayor Jim
Hahn made the mistake of placing animal issues under the section titled
"public safety," thus giving the people a false impression that
the only animal-related concern involved the protection of people. This
did nothing to determine how people felt about the "no kill"
goal, which Mayor Hahn claims to embrace.
N.
Suggestions to consider at some point in the future: 1)
Oakland could consider passing a local
ordinance that requires landlords to accept tenants with pets
(perhaps with an increase in security deposit and a 10% higher rent if the
owner requires this). Those with nuisance animals could, of course, be
evicted. 2)
Oakland should train police officers on how to
deal with animal-related encounters. Before he left for
Vacaville, Chief Word asked me to help him locate someone who could
provide this type of training for his officers. 3)
Down the road, Oakland could consider mandatory
spay/neuter (like Berkeley
has); however, it should be understood that Maddie's Fund has a
libertarian view of government and will not provide money for Oakland if
such an ordinance is passed. 4)
Permanent standards of care should be created for the treatment of Oakland
domesticated animals (i.e, backyard dog ordinance being discussed in
Berkeley). 5)
Ordinances limiting the number of animals on a property can lead to fewer
homes. There is talk in Los Angeles about overturning the three dogs per
property rule for this very reason. It would probably not serve the
animals to limit the number of animals per property; there are other ways
to identify and deter people from allowing inhumane conditions to exist in
their backyards or at their homes. In
conclusion, Oakland can become the first city
to become “100% no kill.” If only the first phase of the
above policy—the "93% no kill plan"-- had been in place last
year, over 4500 of the 4623 dogs and cats taken into the Oakland animal
shelter would be alive. If it had been in place nationwide, most of the
five million dogs and cats--who are destroyed at public shelters each
year--would be saved. From
June 2004 until July 2005, OAS will spend a total of $1,583,632. The
shelter should ideally be a place only for reuniting lost animals with
their human families. Taxpayer-related shelter costs can be greatly
reduced when "no kill" becomes a reality. I
hope you find these ideas helpful. If you have questions, please feel free
to contact me at (818) 781-5280. Thank you. Charlotte
Anne Laws
* Many of the suggestions in this proposal come from Nathan Winograd's "no kill solutions." Further information can be found as his website www.nokillsolutions.com. For a fee, he will create a detailed action plan for Oakland. |