July 11, 2013Comments are closed.Getting 2 Zero
G2Z through progressive animal management Part 1 – Mark Kumpf (Montgomery County Animal Resource Center)
We need to stop animals coming into our shelters. So how do we do that?
Dog catcher – catch and kill. Pick them up, get them off the streets. Don’t let them get back out again.
The service expected, do not match the public expectation.
Move away from ‘dog catcher’ towards ‘animal care and control officer. And beyond the rift between ‘ranger’ and ‘rescue’.
Community policing model – is an emphasis on an individual community’s animal issues. Varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Identifies problems, locations and resolution.
Preventative patrols (drive slowly with windows down). Stop and speak to people in a friendly manner. Work on specific/targeted areas. Non-confrontational. Friendly to children (they know where the dogs are).
Watsonville – 10 areas targeted for 1 year. Officers spoke to citizens BEFORE there were issues. Acted less like law enforcement and more educational. Educational materials. Pre-problem.
Educate, not write citations. Impoundment rates dropped. People realised that there would be a patrol, so kept animals inside. Desexing and registration compliance went up – people appreciate being given the ‘heads up’.
The community started to view Animal Control not as a ‘dog catcher’ – but as a helpful resource.
Euthanasia rates went down – less intakes. ‘I don’t have to find a home for him, because you can’t afford to bust him out of the pound’.
Same manpower – same time – so effectively a ‘free’ program.
Door to door campaign.
Based on areas of complaints, maps generated. Foot patrols in polo shirts/no badges. Not taking enforcement action (unless something egregious). No tickets or impoundments.
Knocked on every door in targeted areas.
Meet apartment managers and arrange community meetings.
Focus on intact animals, dogs running loose and neglect and cruelty.
Do not focus on licencing/rego. Talk about it, but not coming across heavily. Get a better compliance rate, if you sell the benefits, rather than trying to ‘catch’ people doing the wrong thing. ‘Your dog will get a ride home, no charge’ – that’s what the licence is for. Make the licence valuable.
‘Telling’ people to buy a licence doesn’t work.
Work with the community to resolve issues (barking dogs) even if they weren’t pet owners.
Community meetings
– partner with other community groups
– non-profit TNR groups
– rescue groups
– local law enforcement
– vets
– more sharing of resources, find solutions
Planned Pethood – provides access to quality desexing programs for ALL pet owners. No income requirements.
Free desexing for pit bulls.
Events – brought people to the shelter. Focussed on education and ‘fun’.
Adoption – proactive adoption campaigns. ‘Meet Your Match’ shelter promo.
Involved the media
– press releases
– press conferences
– ride along with reporters
– newsletters
‘I live in my community. I want my community to be safe for people and pets’
‘Showing the more friendly side of animal services. We want to educate the community on the special deals we officer.
Results
– Desexing rates went up by almost 50% in the area
– Dogs removed from tethers without enforcement
– TNR colonies created
– Dogs and cats provided sponsored routine vaccinations
– 75 free dog houses (Habitat for Humanity donations)
– Provided hundreds of free kongs
– Hundreds of free collars, tags leashes and bowls
– All items donated through local media campaigns with local business
– dropped cat intakes by 50% (free! we just changed how we worked)
Animal control has traditionally been part of the problem. We have been seen as ‘killers’ and haven’t kept up with public demand. We need to be less intimidating. We need to find a way to get to zero by finding solutions and get people to say ‘yes!’ to our programs.
Questions
Did your desexing programs encounter any resistance from local vets?
Anecdotally people always talk about resistance from local vets. But if you engage them properly – reassure them that these aren’t animals that were ever going to visit their practices anyway.
Co-opt them in other ways (ie. send them adopters to increase their client base).
Present it as, not a altruist thing, but a business thing, good for their bottom line. Show them that it will good business to be seen as a part of the solution, not part of the problem.
