HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0606.003 2020-2022 /
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bill 119
From: Lori Johnson '
Sent: Tuesday, February 0\ 20229i0AM =
To: Council Testimony CZCD
Subject: Bill 119 (c606) - Support conditionally
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Aloha County Council Members,
W1aha|ofor allowing rnytestimony regarding Bill 119(c6OG).
Umgeneral,AFULLY favor County's support ofAnimal Control using taxpayer's funds, if: on`
1) it does not lead to warehousing of pets; it does not lead to open intakes without pet retention efforts; it does not lead to
even more euthanasia than we've experienced over the past few decades,which is WAY beyond the national average. Does
more room= bigger incinerator(i.e. intake&kiU)?;and,
2)the support isused 1mstop the flow ofpets into the shelters:
- Proactive programs are the ONLY way to address the root of the problem, reduce intakes,and avoid the HIGH cost of
an impounded animal . . . otherwise,AC will simply be doing the same thing over and over again,AND spending a lot of
nnoneydoingit—tryinQtofiguneoutvvhattodo with the animals that came through the front door oftheir
shelters. Proactive programs include: RTO function inthe field that gets,thorough and centralized Lost/Found
function, Pet Retention services,Spay/Neuter,and Education!! We have limited homes available toadopt,and only
handful ofrescues/nonprofits towhich 10transfer.So,the solution lies within the proactive programs. . . notthe
reactive;and definitely not with euthanasia.
|fthe answer is"NO"to any of these questions,then our funds will be wasted . . . as, history here and elsewhere has proven,
you cannot obtain adifferent outcome ifyou keep doing the same things.
Bill 119 is way too sparse to be able to give an educated testimony.There are many questions not only due to the lack of detail
in the Bill, but also due to the status of current AC operations and its lack of transparency:
- Where isthe newly renovated East side facility located?
- |nfact,where isthe current East side location?
- Is this renovated facility going to replace the current East side location,or is it an additional facility?
- Why are both East and West side shelters closed tothe public? People are unable tosearch for their lost pets atthe
shelters. . .this is unheard of, literally. AC does NOT want pets in their shelters-get them home, maintain them at
home,and keep them out ofthe shelters!
- What isthe status ofthe animals impounded atthe shelters currently? We assume that the shelters are full because
ofthe nmoratium . . .so?
- Does AC have plans in place for this new facility—and West side shelter-as far as programs to prevent more and more
and more pets from entering the front door?
- Does AC have plans in place to handle an overload of owner surrenders once the doors are open? More than
thousands ofexamples ofthis inother communities. [i.e. beprepared, because they will come!]
- Does/\Chave enough budget and staff tocover the operations? Comparing toother ACagencies with similar intake
numbers, I'd guess not regarding operating cost budget.
Animal Control will only be successful if the mindset is"We do NOT want pets entering our shelters". Think Virtual fhelter!! . .
Does making more room lead them to this mindset;or, does it simply lead to more and more intake. . . and killing? Maybe it's
a band-aid toslow down the bleeding with the current crisis situation?Or, maybe(and hopefully) it's the first step toward
progress . . .for this, | amhopeful!
Comm N
Maha/o
' Ref.
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