ANIMAL CARE & REGULATION DIVISION
PARTNERSHIP FOR ANIMAL WELFARE (PAW) PROGRAMS & SERVICES
The division offers a wide range of programs and services. The Partnership for Animal Welfare (PAW) was launched by the division in June, 2008. PAW was created to provide a focus on the development of a community coalition of public and private agencies, citizens, the media, and others to enhance and create programs and services to enhance the welfare of animals in Broward County. The focus of this initiative is to educate the public, promote responsible pet ownership, and reduce the number of stray and unwanted animals in our community, thereby reducing the number of intake of animals into shelters and other programs which will ultimately reduce the level of euthanasia. ADOPTIONS The county adopts cats and dogs from both shelters, although the operations are somewhat different. The Fort Lauderdale Shelter has an adoption area for cats and dogs, but Pompano does not. The County adopted a policy in the Broward County Administrative Code that allows an individual to place a $5 non-refundable deposit on a stray animal. If the owner does not retrieve the animal, then it is given a medical evaluation and if determined to be adoptable, the animal is sterilized and can be adopted. If the animal is determined to be non-adoptable the $5 deposit is returned. If an animal is not eligible for adoption, then every effort is made to find a rescue group willing to take the animal. Over 3,000 dogs and cats were adopted in FY 2008 which is a 20% increase over FY 2007.
INTAKE One of the main components of the PAW initiative is to reduce the intake of stray and unwanted animals. The division has embarked on several initiatives to curb the intake: We are developing public education programs to educate the public on the importance of keeping their animals confined or on a leash. The programs will be provided through the schools, neighborhood and homeowner associations, public service announcements, veterinary offices, pet stores, etc. We are developing a pilot program with the Permitting, Licensing, and Consumer Protection Division. The program will offer on-site assistance with owners of animals to provide guidance on “escape-proofing” their yards and homes. PAW – Programs and Services Page two
Animal Care Officers and Code Enforcement Officers (for the unincorporated areas) will be trained and then able to respond if a resident wishes an onsite inspection to assist in fixing areas where animals can escape. A pamphlet with tips will also be distributed throughout the community. If the program is successful we will work with our municipal partners to provide a similar service within the municipalities. We are developing notices to post in pet stores, veterinary offices, and other locations to inform citizens of who to call if they have lost their pet, or found a stray animal. Additionally, we are assessing a plan to share information with other agencies such as the Humane Society, Miami-Dade Animal Services, Palm Beach Animal Services, and other organizations on stray animals that have been impounded. Staff is also researching other programs to assist in reuniting lost pets with their owners FOSTER PROGRAM The County currently offers a foster program for mothers and their offspring that are too young to be adopted, and kittens or puppies that are without the mother than are too young to be adopted. Over 400 animals were fostered in FY 2008. Staff is planning to develop a new foster initiative to provide a focused behavioral training program for animals that show slight aggression in an effort to adjust the behavior and make them eligible for adoption. The division is also exploring the development of a foster program for some animals that have a treatable medical condition to allow them to become eligible for adoption.
PUBLIC EDUCATION PROGRAM Last year the county participated in several special events focused on hurricane preparedness, we also produced three new informational brochures: Animal Laws, Hurricane Safety Tips for Pet Owners and a listing of Dangerous Foods for Cats and Dogs. The county is also developing a PAW PALS school program that will be utilized in schools throughout the county as well as after-school programs that take place in many of our county parks. The program will focus on responsible pet ownership, information about dogs and cats, how to stay safe around strange pets and the importance of reporting animal cruelty.
PAW – Programs and Services Page three
Retired school teachers are being recruited to help with this effort and act as ambassadors to communicate this information to school children ages K-12. The Division is also working closely with the Office of Public Communication to develop a marketing plan. Staff is reaching out to various media outlets to expand our information base to provide public service information to residents on the various programs and services of the division and partner agencies. RESCUE GROUPS The county has expanded its program partnering with animal rescue groups and currently contracts with 42 organizations that assist us in placing stray dogs and cats. The program was restructured this last year and the division became proactive rather than reactive. In other words, the staff began initiating the rescue of animals, rather than waiting for the rescue groups to come to us. As a result an additional 398 animals were rescued this last year which represents a 40% increase. Staff also created an automated notification system to let rescue groups know which animals are available for rescue on a daily basis. Staff also restructured the qualifications for contracting with a rescue group and instituted inspections and verification of qualifications to ensure that the animals would be provided quality care and treatment.
This has been one of the most successful programs in the division for getting our animals placed and efforts are ongoing to expand and enhance the programs and services provided by our rescue partners, and to increase the number of rescue groups under contract with the County. Staff is working with the rescue groups to enhance the partnership in an effort to increase the number of animals placed. SPAY/NEUTER PROGRAM The County currently operates the Stop Pet Overpopulation Together (SPOT) Program. This program is funded through a $2 surcharge on each license sold by the County. It generates approximately $300,000 to $325,000 per year and is used to pay for the sterilization of animals owned by residents that meet the income guidelines established by the Board. This program has been in existence since 2004 and was recently restructured to streamline the process and fix some administrative issues that had stalled the program. The restructuring of the program has greatly increased the number of sterilizations performed to 2,396 animals sterilized in FY 2008. The Board recently
PAW – Programs and Services Page four
extended the program for six months to provide for a review of the program and consideration of other options. The recommendations relating to the continuation of the program will be presented to the Animal Care Trust Fund Committee on October 22, 2008 with final recommendations submitted to the Board of County Commissioners by March, 2009. The division has also created a Spay/Neuter Committee which consists of various individuals representing organizations in the community involved with spay/neuter programs. The purpose of the committee is to develop short range and long range plans to address the importance of sterilization of animals to decrease the number of stray and unwanted animals, and to improve the overall health of animals in the community. The Short Range Plan will focus on the identification of existing spay/neuter programs in order to achieve a coordinated plan of action and implementing several pilot spay/neuter programs in various areas. Just recently the division completed a pilot spay/neuter program in zip code 33311 with the Humane Society of Broward County. This area was targeted due to data from the division which identified this area as the highest intake of impounded animals, mostly unaltered. The pilot program was held at
Delevoe Park from Monday, October 6 through Friday October 10 and 46 animals were sterilized. The neighborhood responded so well that two more days have been added to sterilize an additional 30 animals. It is our plan to continue this program with the Humane Society, and possibly other organizations, and expand into other areas of the county. The Long Range Plan will focus on spay/neuter initiatives in other areas of the country to include the exploration of establishing a spay/neuter clinic, expanding mobile clinics, spay/neuter ordinances, involvement of the Broward County Veterinary Association in programs, etc. The plan will also look at developing public education programs, funding options including private donations, grants, etc. TRAP/NEUTER/RELEASE (TNR) PROGRAMS The county has established a TNR Committee consisting of various individuals representing organizations in the community involved with TNR programs. This particular program is likely to be the most challenging program to initiate. There are a number of individuals, and some agencies, that are successfully managing feral cat colonies, but because of the misconception of feral cats, many are operating PAW – Programs and Services Page five “underground”. The Committee, like the Spay/Neuter Committee is looking at short range and long range plans. We are receiving guidance and support from Alley Cat Allies, a national feral cat organization, as we develop the community plan. Short range, the division has partnered with Cat Rescue, Inc. to conduct two pilot TNR projects with the Port Department and the City of Oakland Park. Both of these pilots were successful in TNR of over 60 feral cats that would normally have been impounded at the division and euthanized. Through the success of these two pilots, additional private businesses and individuals have come forward and are being assisted in conducting TNR and educating individuals in the proper management of a feral cat colony. VETERINARIANS Staff is considering several programs to strengthen the partnership with the veterinary community. We are working with some of our partner veterinarians to develop some programs to promote responsible pet ownership, expand spay/neuter initiatives, etc. These discussions are in the preliminary stages, but it is anticipated that we will be able to launch some new initiatives within this fiscal year. One of the first actions will be to
develop a means of increasing the communication between the division and the veterinary community. VOLUNTEERS The volunteer program was restructured within the last year. An orientation program was established for all volunteers, job descriptions were created, identification was provided, etc. The number of volunteers has increased and we are reaching out to students that require community service hours. A new 4-H program focusing on dogs and cats is in the development phase and will hopefully be launched during this fiscal year, as soon as the new 4-H Extension Agent begins employment.