In December 1997, the City of Austin and Travis County adopted resolutions to end the killing of adoptable animals at Town Lake Animal Center.
In fulfillment of these
resolutions, Austin Pets Alive! and the other
No-Kill Partners developed "A Comprehensive
Plan for a No-Kill Millennium." This is the
most current draft of that plan, as of March 25, 1998.
I. Prevention
II. Intervention
III. Placement
Objectives (Desired Community Impacts)
Strategies
Objectives (Desired Community Impacts)
Strategies
Objectives (Desired Community Impacts)
Strategies
1. Increase the number of animals that can be held
2. Increase staff to facilitate cleaning and maintenance
3. Add Animal Services Unit Volunteer Coordinator
4. Offer animals for adoption sooner
6. Increase the ability to apply
8. Increase interaction and communication with local/state rescue groups
Vision
The City of Austin and Travis County strive to operate a public animal shelter where companion animals come to be saved, temporarily sheltered, and ultimately placed in loving, responsible homes, not to be destroyed.
In keeping with that goal, the first and foremost objective of the Austin/Travis County Animal Services Unit should be to save every adoptable companion animal that comes into their care and place it in or return it to a loving, responsible home. The Austin/Travis County Animal Services Unit should use every available resource, both internal and external, public and private, paid and volunteer, to accomplish this objective.
At the same time, it is acknowledged that, even under the best conditions, it is not possible or even desirable that every companion animal who enters the care of the Austin/Travis County Animal Services Unit be kept alive for as long as possible. Sometimes, using the best human judgment, the most merciful option seems to be to end an animal's life as quickly, painlessly, and peacefully as possible.
Nonetheless, in keeping
with the primary objective of the
Austin/Travis County Animal Services Unit to
save as many animals as possible and to find
them loving, responsible homes, the management
of the Unit should develop and institute
policies that inculcate and display the
attitude that it is not the function of the
Unit to destroy animals simply because they
are unwanted and that when this is done at
all, it is done out of unavoidable necessity
and represents a failure of society and
society's systems when it happens.
Introduction
In fiscal year 1997, nearly 19,000 animals were euthanized by the Animal Center. In roughly 50% of these cases, nothing would have prevented these animals from becoming family pets. They were in need of neither intensive veterinary medical care nor extensive behavioral rehabilitation. In December, 1997, the City and County Governments adopted resolutions that set a goal of ending the practice of killing such adoptable animals. These resolutions further instructed staff to prepare a specific plan to meet this goal by 2000 or 2002, Travis County and City of Austin, respectively.
Only modest increases in the total number of animals received by the Animal Services Unit have been experienced over the last several years and there is little to suggest that the ensuing years will change substantially. We project that, in the absence of any policy or procedural changes, the total number of animals handled by the Center would remain roughly at 30,000 (27,245 in FY 97) with around 20% being surrendered by owners. The majority of the remaining 80% are classified as strays.
For planning purposes, eliminating the euthanasia of "adoptable" animals would represent a decrease in the overall euthanasia rate from over 70% to about 35% (reducing the absolute number of animals euthanized from 21,000 to 10,500 against a projected total intake of 30,000).
The initiatives delineated below can be broadly categorized into three general areas:
I. Prevention
Activities that would decrease the number of surplus animals in Austin and Travis County and would therefore reduce the number entering the animal shelter. These activities are directed toward minimizing the circumstances under which pets are abandoned or surrendered to the Animal Center and reducing the total number of vulnerable animals by encouraging sterilizing and providing access to low-cost spay/neuter facilities.
II. Intervention
Increasing the ability to deal with the large numbers of animals that inevitably enter the Animal Center until suitable homes may be found. This category includes increasing the speed and reliability with which animals who have become strays by misadventure may be returned to their owners.
III. Placement
Activities that increase the probability that animals will be placed in suitable homes by advertising the availability of animals for adoption, instituting off-site adoptions, and streamlining adoption procedures. An important aspect of this portion of the plan is the commitment of the Humane Society to accept increasing numbers of animals from the Animal Center over the five years during which the plan is to be implemented and guaranteeing their adoption.
Where possible, the plan emphasizes volunteer help, cooperation with already existing or pledged community resources, and private sector donations.
The overall numerical goals to be achieved by 2002 are:
| 1. | New rescues by the Humane Society | 2,500 |
| 2. | New adoptions from the Animal Center | 2,645 |
| 3. | New returns to owners | 1,200 |
| 4. | Reduced owner surrenders | 1,164 |
| 5. | New transfers to other agencies | 600 |
| 6. | New sterilizations | 18,520 |
Introduction written by Dr. Pat Randall, Chair, Animal Advisory Commission
Definitions
Adoptable Animals: Reasonably healthy and reasonably well adjusted when they enter the Center, at least 8 weeks of age, and do not pose a risk to the health and safety of the public and other animals.
Reasonably healthy means an animal that needs only routine veterinary treatment, such as vaccinations, sterilization, testing, and parasite prevention.
Whether an animal is reasonably well adjusted is, as a matter of necessity, a subjective judgment. The following are guidelines which should be used in determining whether an animal is reasonably well adjusted:
- The determination should be made based on exhibited or prior-owner-reported behavior, not speculation.
- When evaluating exhibited behavior, consideration should be given to the fact that the animal is in unusual, frightening conditions during the period of examination.
- An animal is not reasonably well adjusted if it exhibits behavior that is dangerous to humans. However, normal undisciplined behavior that may be expected from an animal of that species should not be considered to be dangerous to humans.
- An animal does not have to exhibit perfect behavior to be considered reasonably well adjusted. In particular, if an animal exhibits undesirable behavior that is commonly or routinely exhibited by animals, that animal may still be considered reasonably well adjusted.
- An animal that exhibits undesirable behavior for which there are standard, accepted, and/or easily applied techniques for correction may still be considered to be dangerous to humans.
A determination that an animal is not reasonably well adjusted does not mean that the animal will automatically be destroyed. Animals which are not reasonably well adjusted will still be saved, when reasonably possible to do so, either through the efforts of Animal Center staff or volunteers or through intervention by outside agencies, such as rescue groups. A determination that an animal is not reasonably well adjusted only means that it is not adoptable in its current condition and, therefore, not a subject of this plan.
Treatable Animals: Less than 8 weeks of age, but greater than 4 weeks; have a treatable illness, e.g., heartworm disease, upper respiratory infection, kennel cough, mange, or ringworm; are malnourished; or are special needs animals with traumatic injuries that cage rest will cure and/or funds and foster houses are available to treat; and animals with minor geriatric health problems.
Non-rehabilitatable Animals: These are animals for whom euthanasia is the only option, such as dogs and cats suffering from painful, incurable illness or injuries, aggressive behaviors that pose a threat to public safety, or animals who may not be released due to legal restrictions.
I. Prevention
Objectives (Desired Community Impacts)
Reduce the number of animals surrendered to the Center by their owners
- Current: 5,028
- Year 1: Reduce by 233
- Year 5: Reduce by 1,164
Reduce the number of strays brought to the Center
- Current: 20,313
- Year 1: Reduce by 1,111
- Year 5: Reduce by 5,556
Strategies
1. Make it easier to keep pets
- Provide free education
on animal behavior problems, with
appropriate concentration on cats
- Written materials
- Year 1: 2,328 distributed handbooks
- Year 2: 11,640 distributed handbooks
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Feral Connection
- Broadcast programs
- Public channels
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: Monthly specials on one or the other of the channels
- Year 5: A weekly program on both City and County channels
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Travis County media department, and Humane Society
- Private channels
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: Two programs a year on radio station
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Humane Society
- Public channels
- Classes
- Live
- Current: Occasional class for staff
- Year 1: Monthly behavior classes for public
- Year 5: Weekly behavior classes for public
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Humane Society, and Animal Center (Humane Educator, Volunteer Coordinator, and other staff members)
- Videotaped
- Current: None
- Year 1: Two completed videotapes on different topics, copies available for cost of cassette, 556 copies distributed
- Year 5: Ten completed videotapes on different topics, 5,560 free copies distributed
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive and the City and County media departments
- Live
- Written materials
- Advertise and operate
a telephone hotline for owners of pets
with behavior problems
- Current: Select staff answer questions as time permits
- Year 1: Staff the hotline from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., 7 days a week, with an answering machine to cover
- Year 5: Staff the hotline from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., 7 days a week, with an answering machine to cover
- Resources: Animal Center (Volunteer Coordinator and other staff), Humane Society, Austin Pets Alive, volunteers
- Educate landlords on
how to make their property "pets okay" and
on the advantage of sterilized pets in rental property.
- Classes
- Current: None
- Year 1: Semi-annual classes
- Year 5: Quarterly classes
- Resources: Animal Center, Feral Connection, Humane Society
- Written materials
- Current: State rabies handbooks/flyers
- Year 1: 278 distributed handbooks
- Year 5: 2,780 distributed handbooks
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Animal Advisory Commission
- Classes
- Advertise
"pet-friendly" housing
- Current: None
- Year 1: Include advertisements in 2 animal welfare groups' newsletters annually
- Year 5: Include advertisements in all animal welfare groups' newsletters
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Humane Society, Animal Trustees of Austin
- Create more leash-free parks
- Current: Eleven leash-free parks in City of Austin
- Year 1: One new leash-free park
- Year 5: Three new leash-free parks
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department, and Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources Department
- Create fully fenced neighborhood
"dog parks" in proximity to high-density apartment or
town home property
- Current: At least one
- Year 1: Fence three existing neighborhood parks
- Year 5: Fence fifteen existing neighborhood parks
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive and City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department
- Allow pets to be taken
on public transportation
- Current: None
- Year 1: Any pet on a leash and muzzled or in a covered carrier/live trap allowed on Capital Metro vehicles
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Humane Society, Feral Connection, and Capital Metro Board
- Provide temporary free or low cost pet
food/supplies to owners who qualify for public assistance if their
pet is sterilized or they will sterilize the pet
- Current: Limited assistance available
- Year 1: No goal
- Year 5: Meet community needs
- Resources: City of Austin Volunteer Coordinator (collection only ) Austin Pet Food Bank, and Humane Society
- Include deliveries of
pet food with "Meals on Wheels"deliveries
- Current: None
- Year 1: No goal
- Year 5: For all pet owners receiving deliveries
- Resources: Meals on Wheels and Austin Pets Alive
2. Educate on the problem of pet overpopulation, the tragedy of the fate of abandoned pets, and the need for sterilization and to make it socially unacceptable to "backyard breed" or to abandon a pet
- Have a humane educator at the Center
to concentrate entirely on public education
- Current: Animal Control Officers/Management staff members speak when invited
- Year 1: Volunteer position
- Years 2-5: Paid staff member
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive and Animal Center
- Use existing public service
announcements and broadcast them on County and City television
channels and internal UT Austin and Austin Community
College channels
- Current: None
- Year 1: Acquire copies of all available free PSAs and have them broadcast on all channels at least five times a day
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive and City, County, UT, and ACC media services departments
- Use County and City media resources to
make new public service announcements
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: Produce one new PSA every six months
- Resources: Animal Center, Austin Pets Alive, and City and County media services departments
- Broadcast public service
announcements on private television and radio stations
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: Have one broadcast each day during prime time television on at least one major broadcast station and one broadcast during morning and another during evening drive time on at least three radio stations
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive
- Use the County and City Web sites
- Place spay/neuter advertisements,
logos, and slogans on each page of the Web sites
- Current: Only basic information available on Web site
- Year 1: Complete
- Year 5: Complete
- Resources: City and County Webmasters
- Have specific pages of the
sites devoted to the problem of pet overpopulation and
the need to sterilize pets
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: Complete and update semi-annually
- Resources: City and County Webmasters, Austin Pets Alive, Animal Center
- Include links
on the sites to other sites devoted to pet overpopulation
and the need to sterilize pets
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: Complete and update monthly
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, City and County Webmasters
- Place spay/neuter advertisements,
logos, and slogans on each page of the Web sites
- Publish advertisements in print media
- Current: Ads placed in Austin American-Statesman daily
- Year 1: One advertisement
donated by each newspaper in Austin annually
- Year 5: One advertisement donated by each newspaper in Austin semi-annually and one advertisement donated by Texas Monthly annually
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive
- Use flyers
- Include flyers
in City and County mailings, such as electric bills, voter
registration certificates, and tax bills
- Not currently being done
- Year 1: Include a flyer in City and County bulk mailings starting in July (at six-month intervals)
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, City Council, and Commissioners Court
- Include flyers
in the bulk mailings of other governments
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: Include a flyer in the bulk mailings of every other City government in Travis County starting in July
- Year 5: Include flyer in the bulk mailings of every other government in Travis County
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive and other governmental bodies
- Include flyers
in the bulk mailings of private businesses
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: Include a flyer in the bulk mailings of at least one major business in Austin
- Year 5: Include a flyer in the bulk mailings of at least five major businesses in Austin
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Feral Connection (in Year 5)
- Distribute flyers at special events
- Current: Only distributed at animal events
- Year 1: 2,000 flyers distributed
- Year 5: 10,000 flyers distributed
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Feral Connection (in Year 5)
- Distribute
flyers to selected business establishments
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: 5,000 flyers distributed
- Year 5: 25,000 flyers distributed
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Feral Connection (in Year 5)
- Include flyers
in City and County mailings, such as electric bills, voter
registration certificates, and tax bills
- Use billboards
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: Have an advertisement on one billboard (on either IH-35, 183, Ben White, or MoPac) for at least 30 days out of the year
- Year 5: Have advertisements on five billboards in Austin (two on IH-35, one on 183, one on Ben White, and one on MoPac) for at least 45 days out of the year
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive
- Use premovie slide advertising
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: Have a slide in the rotation of at least 10% of Austin's screens
- Year 5: Have a slide in the rotation of at least 50% of Austin's screens
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive and City and County media services departments
3. Offer free classes on pet care (all kinds: grooming, nutrition, behavior, obedience) and incorporate information about the need to sterilize pets into the curriculum
- In schools
- Current: Animal Center provides classes as requested
- Year 1: Offer one class a year to 25% of the schools in AISD
- Year 5: Offer two classes a year to each school in Travis County
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive and Humane Society
- At any gathering likely to
have pet owners, such as pet parades, dog and cat shows
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: Offer at least one class at such gatherings
- Year 5: Offer classes at all such gatherings
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Humane Society
- At animal related
retail enterprises, such as pet food stores
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: Offer at least one monthly class at such locations
- Year 5: Offer monthly classes at least at five such locations
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Humane Society, Feral Connection
- Civic groups
- Current: Animal Center provides classes as requested
- Year 1: No goal
- Year 5: Offer classes to all requesting groups
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive; Humane Society; Animal Center Humane Educator, Volunteer Coordinator, and other staff members; Feral Connection
4. Encourage sterilization of pets
- Sterilize animals at
adoption or rescue, either at on-site or off-site facilities
- Current: Adoption animals are spayed/neutered after adoption if healthy and old enough
- Year 1: Add full-time veterinarian in year 1; 265 additional animals sterilized upon adoption (all increased adoptions)
- Year 2: Add full-time veterinary technician to assist with increasing volume of surgeries
- Year 5: 2,645 added surgeries per year for animals at the Center (all increased adoptions)
- Resources: CAVMA volunteers, Austin Pets Alive, Animal Center staff
- Offer free or
reduced-rate sterilizations for owned animals
- At private facilities
- Current: Unknown
- Year 1: 1,852 added surgeries per year
- Year 5: 9,260 added surgeries per year
- Resources: Animal Trustees of Austin, Austin Pets Alive!
- With a spay/neuter van
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: No goal
- Year 5: 6,250 surgeries per year
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive and Animal Trustees of Austin
- At private facilities
- Offer free transportation
to locations of free or reduced-rate sterilizations
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: No goal
- Year 5: Transport 3,716 animals to surgery
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Animal Trustees of Austin
- Pay owners to
sterilize their pets
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: No goal
- Year 5: Pay any pet owner $5 per pet sterilized
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive
- Give Feral Colony
manager free cat food whenever a feral cat is sterilized
- Current: Being done by Feral Connection
- Year 1: Upon request and as food is available
- Year 5: Upon request and as food is available for all feral sterilizations
- Resources: Feral Connection
- Free or reduced-rate
pet food for owners of sterilized animals
from merchants willing to donate
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: 1% discount on 10% of all sales
- Year 5: 5% discount on 50% of all sales
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive
- Free or reduced-rate
products of other kinds for owners of
sterilized animals from businesses willing to donate
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: 5% discount offered by one major retail store
- Year 5: 5% discount offered by 10 or more major retail stores
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive
- Employer subsidized sterilizations
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: One major employer paying for their employees to sterilize their pets
- Year 5: Ten or more major employers paying for their employees to sterilize their pets
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Feral Connection
5. Reduce the number of lost or wandering animals by strengthening the pet registration program and leash law enforcement
- Advertise the
necessity/benefits of the pet registration program
- Current: Enforced as often as possible with current staff
- Year 1: A PSA on pet registration to broadcast at least weekly on the City and County television stations and on at least one private television station; posters distributed to all veterinary clinics, grooming businesses, and pet food stores.
- Year 2: Develop ordinance change to structure group registrations for sterilized animals and expand outlets for pet registration sales
- Resources: City and County budgets, Austin Pets Alive
- *STILL UNRESOLVED*
Require veterinarians to register any pet they vaccinate for rabies- Current: Veterinarians choose or choose not to sell City of Austin Pet Registrations
- Year 1: Impose requirement
- Resources: City Council, Austin Pets Alive
- Strengthen enforcement
of the City of Austin Leash Law
- Current: Law enforced on complaint basis and on sight basis
- Year 1: Add one Animal Control Officer
- Years 2-5: Add three Animal Control Officers
- Resources: City of Austin budget
- Mandatory sterilization of animals
processed through the Center on third impoundment. (Proposed by
Animal Advisory Commission: $55.00 impoundment fee plus mandatory
sterilization; unless medical waiver is provided or $250.00 impoundment fee.)
- Current: Increased impoundment fee for third and subsequent impoundments
- Year 1: Ordinance presented and approved by City Council
- Year 5: Proposed ordinance passed and implemented
- Resources: City Council, Animal Advisory Commission, Animal Center
- Enact/implement impoundment fee
differential for fertile animals. (Proposed by Animal Advisory
Commission: Differential impoundment fee for unsterilized animals.)
- Current: No differential
- Year 1: Ordinance presented and approved by City Council
- Year 5: Proposed ordinance passed and implemented
- Resources: City Council, Animal Center
II. Intervention
Objectives (Desired Community Impacts)
Increase returns to owners
- Current: 3,506
- Year 1: Increase by 240
- Year 5: Increase by 1,200
Strategies
1. Increase the staff available to assist citizens and research ownership and make contacts to look for owners
- Current: Volunteer
- Year 1: Forty hours a week of volunteer time plus reclaim staff
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Animal Center Volunteer Coordinator and other staff
2. Decrease
the average time required to locate owners and improve identification
options
Current: Data not available
Year 1: Two days
Year 5: One day
Resources: City and County budgets,
Animal Center, Volunteer Coordinator
- Offer free or
reduced-rate microchip with pet registration
- Current: None, except for feral cats
- Year 1: No goal
- Year 5: For all registrations
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Feral Connection
- Microchip all animals
leaving the Animal Center
- Current: Not done
- Year 1: Pass ordinance and complete
- Resources: City Council, City and County budgets
- Radio
- Current: Rarely
- Year 1: No goal
- Year 5: One PSA each week during drive time
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, City and County media services departments
- Public TV
- Current: Not currently done
- Year 1: Include an announcement in the announcements scroll list advising those who have lost a pet to look for the pet at the Animal Center, giving directions to the Center, and explaining the holding periods for strays and the potential disposition of the strays after the holding period.
- Resources: City and County media services departments, Austin/Travis County Animal Services Unit staff, U.T. and A.C.C. media services departments
- Private TV
- Current: Not currently done
- Year 1: No goal
- Year 5: One PSA each week explaining where to look for your lost pet
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, City and County media services departments
- Internet
- Current: Not currently done
- Year 1: Post a list of strays on City and County sites and update daily
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, City and County media services departments, Animal Center staff
- Notices in the
neighborhood where the animal was found
- Current: Leave door hangers on residence of possible pet owner
- Year 1: Leave a notice in a public place at the location of each stray pick-up when possible
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Animal Control Officers
III. Placement
Objectives (Desired Community Impacts)
Increase transfers to the Humane Society
- Current: None
- Year 1: Increase by 500
- Year 5: Increase by 2,500
Increase adoptions from the Center
- Current: 2,265
- Year 1: Increase by 500
- Year 5: Increase by 2,645
Increase transfers to other agencies
- Current: 20
- Year 1: Increase by 350
- Year 5: Increase by 600
Strategies
1. Increase the number of animals that can be held
- Establish a foster
care program specifically for highly adoptable animals held by the Animal Center
- Current: 20 homes
- Year 1: 40 homes
- Year 5: 200 homes
- Resources: Animal Center Volunteer Coordinator and other staff members
- Obtain or create a
location to house adoptable cats temporarily during the peak season
(May through October)
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: 50 capacity
- Year 5: 280 capacity
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive
- Obtain or create a
location to house dogs temporarily during
the peak season (May through October)
- At the Del Valle jail complex
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: No goal
- Year 5: 50 capacity
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Sheriff's Office
- At the State Jail
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: No goal
- Year 5: 50 capacity
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Wackenhut Corrections Corporation, Texas Department of Criminal Justice
- At the Del Valle jail complex
2. Increase staff to facilitate cleaning and maintenance, to assist with returning animals to their owners, and to allow adopters to preview animals in stray area
- Current: Twelve, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day
- Year 1: Add eight paid staff members (This will return this staffing level to 1994/1995 levels)
- Resources: City and County budgets
3. Add Animal Services Unit Volunteer Coordinator to concentrate on leveraging available resources for pet placement
- Current: Volunteer
- Years 2-5: Add one paid staff Volunteer Coordinator
- Resources: City and County budgets
4. Offer animals for adoption sooner
- Streamline the evaluation process
- Paid City staff
- Current: Currently five paid staff members
- Year 1: Add one paid staff member
- Years 2-5: Add four additional paid staff members
- Resources: City and County budgets
- Volunteers
- Current: 25 volunteers
- Year 1: 50 volunteers
- Years 2-5: Add Volunteer Coordinator, 75 volunteers
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Animal Center Volunteer Coordinator
- Paid City staff
- Advertise the
availability of pets in general, the need
to find homes for pets at the Center, and
the availability of specific pets
- Newspaper
- Current: Share space with other Animal Welfare groups
- Year 1: Donated pet of the week space, with photo, in the Austin Chronicle
- Year 5: Donated pet of the day space, with photo, in the Austin American-Statesman
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive
- Radio
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: Donated pet of the week advertisement during drive time
- Year 5: Donated pet of the day advertisement during morning and evening drive time every day
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, City and County media services departments
- Public TV
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: Pet of the week PSA run each day on City and County, list of pets available for adoption included in scrolls on City and County
- Resources: City and County media services departments, Animal Center staff, Austin Pets Alive volunteers
- Private TV
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: Pet of the week featured on the nightly news on one local television station
- Year 5: Different animal featured in a pet of the week spot on the nightly news each week on each local television station
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, City and County media services departments
- Internet
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: Pet of the week page on County and City sites, list of animals available on each site, updated daily
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, City and County media services departments, Volunteer Coordinator, Humane Educator, and other staff members
- Newspaper
- Take animals to locations of potential
adopters and accept the applications there
- Corporate and business centers
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: 10 animals a month
- Year 5: 10 animals a week
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive
- Malls and other high volume retail centers
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: 10 animals a month
- Year 5: 10 animals a week
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive
- "Town Lake Dog Walkers" program
(Volunteers must have completed sanctioned dog training classes)
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: 730 walks a year
- Year 5: 7,300 walks a year
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Humane Society
- Corporate and business centers
- Allow potential adopters to view and select
animals not yet identified as candidates for adoption (currently the animals
held in the stray runs or the stray castle)
- Current: Adopters manage to find a way to do this anyway
- Year 1: Complete
- Resources: Animal Center staff, Animal Advisory Commission
- Sterilize all animals as soon as they are
identified as adoptable, when feasible
- Current: Animal sterilized after adoption if old enough and healthy
- Year 1: 500
- Year 5: Complete (5,268)
- Resources: City and County budgets, CAVMA volunteers
- Complete any required third-party verification
of vaccination, pet registration, or veterinary care of pets already owned
by applicant for adoption faster
- Current: 2 days (+)(-)
- Year 1: Complete in one day or less, except on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays
- Resources: Animal Center, Austin Pets Alive
- Increase the number of staff members available
to process adoptions
- Current: Five staff members
- Year 1: Add four staff membes
- Years 2-5: Add six staff members
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, City and County Budgets
- Increase the number of hours the Center is open for adoptions
- Current: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday - Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday except City Council approved holidays
- Year 1: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day except Christmas and Thanksgiving
- Year 5: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day except Christmas and Thanksgiving
- Resources: Animal Center staff and volunteers
6. Increase the ability to apply
- See all the "pet friendly" ideas for making it less likely that animals will be abandoned
- Increase the motivation to apply
- All the advertising and business outreach ideas in the Prevention section
- Offer a discount to senior citizens
(age 62)
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: 20%
- Year 5: 20%
- Resources: City Council
- Offer a discount to City and County employees
- Current: Not currently being done
- Year 1: 10%
- Year 5: 10%
- Resources: City Council
- Increase the qualifications of
applicants by providing responsible pet owner classes if adoption
application is denied
- Before application
- See "pet friendly" suggestions above
- After application but before approval
- Education on responsible pet ownership
- Current: Classes on responsible pet ownership available
- Year 1: Offer written information on how to meet the qualifications for adoption to all adopters who do not meet the requirements
- Year 5: Offer written information on how to meet the qualifications for adoption to all adopters who do not meet the requirements
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Animal Center staff
- Education on responsible pet ownership
- Before application
7. Transfer animals to other Animal Control/Animal Welfare agencies for adoption/rescue
- Establish an adoption transfer
program with the Humane Society/SPCA of Austin/Travis County
- Current: No program
- Year 1: 500 animal transfers
- Year 2: 2,500 animal transfers
- Establish an adoption transfer
program with other local/state Animal Control/Animal Welfare agencies
- Current: No program
- Year 1: 350 animal transfers
- Year 2: 600 animal transfers
8. Increase interaction and communication with local/state rescue groups
- Use a "rescue coordinator"
to identify potentially rescueable animals
- Current: Staff
- Year 1: Volunteer assistance
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Animal Center Volunteer Coordinator
- Current: Staff
- Contact breed rescue groups
immediately when an animal of their breed is received by the Unit
- Current: Rescue groups are contacted after stray hold time is up
- Year 1: Complete
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive, Animal Center Volunteer Coordinator and other staff members
- Assist rescue groups in qualifying
and remaining qualified to rescue animals from the Unit
- Current: Groups must qualify
- Year 1: Contact all rescue groups and get all who desire to rescue from the Unit qualified to do so
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive
- Facilitate the removal
of rescue animals and transportation to the rescue group
- Current: Not currently done
- Year 1: Transport all animals to rescue groups immediately on acceptance by group if needed
- Resources: Austin Pets Alive
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