Hi Anonymous -
I see that no one has responded to your question - it is quite the third rail of animal services questions! And we all have colleagues (or are in organizations) which struggle with this, and we want to be kind and respectful of their circumstances and decisions. I have some thoughts:
(1) For most animals, the stress increases and care decreases with the number of animals in care, but we should also recognize that for most animals, being in a shelter at all is a worse level of care than they would get in the community. Think about your dog or cat - would they be happy, even in a shelter that is completely empty of other animals? Likely not. And completely empty of others is never what we have - we have animals of unknown socialization (are you used to living in a backyard?) and unknown health.
(2) What even is "open intake" as this facility is mandated to do? Do they have to take owner surrenders right when a person drives up? Are they allowed to ask finders to foster dogs? Can they return cats to field? Can their officers return dogs in field? Once we're overcrowded, staff is often dedicated to caretaking, and cannot spend time on keeping animals in homes. I don't know your position in or relationship to this facility, but is there any room to change the portion of time caring for animals in the shelter vs. the time caring for animals to prevent them coming to the shelter (an hour here or there adds up!). Are there any spots of problem solving that are legally available that they can use to start proving that animals are happiest and healthiest when they remain in their homes (sometimes with support)?
(3) In terms of making decisions when it seems like "euthanasia may be a more humane option" than continuing to house the animal, it is important to be objective about criteria for euthanasia. I love sharing our Pet Evaluation Matrix, as I think we really get at these questions for our community and our capacity to care for animals. While we can often imagine homes for animals in our care, I think we can recognize that sometimes sheltering that animal while awaiting that home is not humane. That can be for a variety of reasons, including self harm and harming others, like their handlers. These types of behaviors (the severity of which is up to your organization to decide what is and is not acceptable) are mitigated by a higher ratio of employees to animals (more enrichment, better basic care) and a lower number of animals in the building (less disease, less stress). So while capacity to care is the treatment, the symptoms are there for observation no matter the capacity. Being able to imagine those homes, also helps with prevention and placement - are we regularly seeing stress in dogs who would be great running companions? Hold a running club adoption drive.
(4) Again, from the way your question is phrased, I'm guessing you're not embedded in this facility. But having basic tasks that must be completed every day is essential. For us, every dog gets one out-of-kennel enrichment session per day - could be a walk, playgroup, or in an office or conference room if they're really scared. Usually they get much more than that, but if we're struggling on a given day or with a large hoarding case, we regroup. Regrouping usually means involving more staff in direct animal care. This is helpful because that changes the conversations at intake - our staff and volunteers can explain how a finder can set up a bathroom to house a dog and genuinely state why that is preferable to being in our facility. Our facility is amazing, but it is not a home!
(5) Where are the animals coming from? Is there a reluctance to send them back there? Blockades in the ordinance? Animals have homes; how can we avoid removing them?
So very many thoughts... such a great subject!
------------------------------
Emily Wood
Director
Broward County Animal Care
Fort Lauderdale FL
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 10-26-2023 06:33 AM
From: Anonymous Member
Subject: How are organizations balancing saving animals vs appropriate care for animals?
This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous
Hello!
My local animal control facility, which has to be open intake, is overcrowded as many shelters are at this time. How are other shelters ensuring that their animals are getting their needs met when the daily population counts are some of the highest I've ever seen? Have other organizations implanted capacity for care models successfully? If so, how? It seems many shelters are walking lines where euthanasia may be a morehumane option.
Thanks in advance for your comments!
#AccesstoCare
#OrganizationalManagement