ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING APRIL 11, 2022, 6 PM AUSTIN CITY HALL, Room 1101 301 W. Second St. AUSTIN, TEXAS 78701 Some members of the Commission may be participating by videoconference. The meeting may be viewed online at http://www.austintexas.gov/watch-atxn-live. Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely by telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once, either in-person or remotely, and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. For remote participation, registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required. To register for remote participation, email or call board liaison, Belinda Hare, at Belinda.Hare@austintexas.gov or by phone at 512-978-0565. AGENDA CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS: Craig Nazor, Chair Nancy Nemer, Parliamentarian Palmer Neuhaus Jo Anne Norton Luis Herrera Kristen Hassen CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first 10 speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda Ryan Clinton, Vice Chair Lisa Mitchell Katie Jarl Lotta Smagula Beatriz Dulzaides 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commission meeting a. Review and approval of minutes from the March 14, 2022, Animal Advisory 2. BRIEFINGS a. Austin Animal Center and Animal Services Reports. b. COVID Update. 3. OLD BUSINESS: Update, Discussion and Possible Action a. Monthly Reporting of Data. b. Working Group on Off-Leash Dogs. c. Working Group on How to Increase Microchipping in the City of Austin. d. Austin Pets Alive!’s Future at the Town Lake Animal Center and the Maintenance of No Kill in Austin. e. Transferring Austin Animal Center Animals to Other Communities. 4. NEW BUSINESS: Discussion and Possible Action a. Election of Officers b. Funding to Support Equitable Microchipping of Austin Pets c. Reported Space Crisis at Austin Animal Center 5. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 6. ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 hours) before the meeting date. Please call Belinda Hare at the Animal Services Office, at 512-978-0565, for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. For more information on the Animal Advisory Commission, please contact Board Liaison. Belinda Hare, 512-978-0565 or Belinda.Hare@austintexas.gov
March 2022 March 2022 Animal Services Report AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES REPORT Animal Services News • The live outcome percentage for March was 96.7 percent. • A total of 898 animals were brought to the shelter which included 541 dogs, 267 cats, 61 wild animals, 18 fowl, six guinea pigs, three rabbits, and two reptiles. • A total of 432 animals were adopted (283 dogs, 129 cats, 17 fowl, and three small pets). • A total of 118 dogs, cats, and one rabbit were returned to their owners (RTOs and RTO-Adopt). Animal Protection • Animal Protection Officers (APOs) returned 46 animals to their owners in the field. • Officers handed out 18 fencing assistance applications and implanted three microchips. • Officers impounded 154 injured animals and delivered 95 wildlife animals to Austin Wildlife • Officers entered 241 rabies exposure reports and submitted 35 specimens for rabies testing. One Rescue. skunk tested positive for rabies. • Coyote Activities: 32 o Sightings: 23 o Encounters: 3 o Incidents: 3 o Observations: 3 Volunteer, Foster, and Rescue Programs • A total of 260 volunteers donated 3,233 hours of volunteer service. • The Volunteer Coordinators held six orientations for new volunteers in March, introducing 197 people to the shelter programs. 77 new volunteers attended their first training or mentor shifts in March. March 2022 Animal Services Report • 71 animals were adopted directly from foster care. • More than 140 different people/families fostered. • 112 new foster applications were processed. • There are currently 764 members (approved fosters) in the foster program’s GivePulse group. *Note: Fosters that did not indicate they wished to remain active were removed in January. • Zero pets died or were euthanized in foster care. • As of April 1 at 8:50 a.m. there were 192 animals in foster care. • 181 dogs, cats, guinea pigs, and rabbits were transferred to 23 local AAC Rescue Partners (compared to 180 animals to 29 partners for March 2021). • 32 dogs were transported to seven out-of-state AAC Rescue Partners. • Two owner surrender appointments were posted to local AAC Rescue partners for intake deferral option. Vet Services • AAC vets performed 764 vet exams. • AAC vets spayed/neutered 410 animals; 100 percent of available animals have been sterilized. • Zero visibly pregnant animals were spayed. • 50 emergency cases were treated at AAC. • 30 emergencies were transferred from the emergency clinic. • …
Off-Leash Dogs Working Group Summary Working Group Members Animal Advisory Commission • Craig Nazor • Jo Anne Norton Parks and Recreation Board • Dawn Lewis • Nancy Barnard City of Austin Staff Kimberly McNeeley, Director, Parks and Recreation Don Bland, Director, Austin Animal Center Jason Garza, Assistant Director, AAC Mark Sloat, Administrative Manager, Animal Protection, Outreach, Pet Resource Center, AAC Kelsey Cler, Program Manager, Media and Communications, AAC Belinda Hare, Department Executive Assistant, AAC Issues Considered by the Working Group • Misinformation about existing laws • New Austinites may not know about existing laws • Off-leash dogs on parkland that is on-leash only – Citizens cannot safely enjoy City parkland • Off-leash dogs in neighborhoods (owned dogs) – Citizens cannot safely walk in their neighborhood • Citizen ability to request an official off-leash area – Austin growth outpacing off-leash areas • Options for citizens to report issues Laws - Austin City Code Title 3 • Keep dogs on a leash and under control in all areas that are not designated as “off-leash” • Pick up and sanitarily dispose of pet waste left on public or private property • Provide adequate shelter • Ensure pets have current rabies vaccinations • Confine pets transported in unenclosed vehicles in a manner that prevents the animal from falling or jumping from the vehicle or being injured • DO NOT leave a pet alone on a chain or tether • It’s unlawful to sell a puppy or kitten that is not spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped Enforcement Affected by Staffing • 21 Animal Protection Officers – 7 days a week, 7a-Midnight - Service 900 Sq Miles of Travis County – Handle a multitude of animal related issues – Can write citations for off-leash dog violations • Citations can be increased by a judge to $500 or dismissed entirely • 25 Park Rangers – 7 days a week - Service 330 City Parks - 19,000 acres of parkland – Handle a multitude of parkland related issues – Cannot write tickets for off-leash dog violations Citizen Concerns Gathered from NextDoor, emails, conversations about off- leash dogs in on-leash areas and neighborhoods • Chase bikes potentially causing accidents • Run up to strollers or citizens with walking aides • Poop not scooped because owners are on their phones or talking to others • Not enough tickets written for violations • Dogs run up to random adults and children • …
Animal Advisory Commission Meeting, April 11, 2022 New Business Agenda Item 4b New Business Agenda Item 4b The Austin Animal Advisory Commission recommends that the Austin City Council approve $50,000 in the FY23 budget to be used to make microchipping of pets free (and therefore equitable) in the City of Austin, at least until that amount is spent. Submitted by Chair Craig Nazor
AAC Data for March Meeting Agenda Item: Reported Space Crisis Part 1: multi-year March data All March data 2017 to 2022 Intakes into AAC March 2017 to 2022 Adoptions March 2017 to March 2022 Pets Returned to Owner March 2017 to March 2022 Transferred to rescue group from March 2017 to March 2022 Pets Euthanized March 2017 to March 2022 Note on data: I pieced together data from reports and from the data portal. The report that used to be provided (see example here from March 2019) made it fairly easy to get older data over a multi-year period. There were a number of gaps where I could not piece together year-over-year data - including volunteer and foster data and kennel census data. As a layperson, it’s entirely possible some of this data is available for each month of each year, but I was unable to locate it. ● First and last day of the month inventory of pets in the shelter and in foster care, broken up by species (It’s hard to know what ‘full’ means year-over-year, without knowing the census. ● Number of volunteers ● Total volunteer hours ● Number of new volunteers onboarded ● Number of volunteer applications ● Number of animals that went to foster care that month - broken up by species/size ● Number of animals that were outcomes (adopted or transferred) from foster that month PART 2: Impact of being closed on Sundays Background: Annual aggregated data from 2014 and 2015 at AAC shows 44% of all adoptions were completed on Saturdays and Sundays, split roughly evenly between the two days. Saturdays and Sundays were by far the highest outcome days. Austin Open Data Portal makes it possible to see the outcomes that happened each day of the week. I reviewed the Sunday outcome data for various dates. Due to the fact that I had to count animal-by-animal, the data is just a sampling but provides enough information for me to draw the following conclusions: 1. AAC is losing the opportunity to outcome 60 to 200 (or more) pets each month by being closed on Sundays. 2. There is no evidence that Sunday has ever been the ‘slowest’ day. In order to understand Sunday activity vs. other days, staff would need to share data on adoption starts (people who come to the shelter on a Sunday to start an adoption process) and all outcomes …
ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION 20220411-4b Seconded By: Jo Anne Norton Date: April 11, 2022 Subject: Budget Item: Funding to Support Equitable Microchipping of Pets in Austin Motioned By: Luis Herrera Recommendation The Austin Animal Advisory Commission recommends that the Austin City Council approve $100,000 in the FY23 budget to be used to make microchipping of pets free (and therefore equitable) in the City of Austin, at least until that amount is spent. Description of Recommendation to Council The chips, in bulk, are very cheap. The $100,000, in addition to help purchase the chips, can be used for paying the staff for the expenses of setting up a movable microchipping clinic, and the travel costs associated with such a program. Also, important would be the capturing of data so to determine how much money may be saved by the program keeping animals out of the shelter. Rationale: Microchipping is an inexpensive and efficient way of using new technology to link a pet to a owner. This helps to rapidly get lost pets back to their families and keep them out of the shelter. Vote: 10 For: Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Absent: Attest: 2 (plus one vacancy) Director, CASO Austin Animal Services Office 1 of 1
AAC Meeting Minutes 2021-04-11 REGULAR MEETING APPROVED MAY 9, 2022 ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION APRIL 11, 2022 The Animal Advisory Commission convened for a regular meeting on Monday, April 11, 2022, 6 p.m., in the Boards and Commissions Room 1101 at Austin City Hall. Commission Chair, Craig Nazor, called the meeting to order at 6 p.m., conducted a roll call of those in attendance and confirmed a quorum of eight commissioners at the time of roll call. Four Commissioners attended the meeting in person: Nazor, Smagula, Norton and Hassen. Six Commissioners attended via teleconferencing: Mitchell, Jarl, Neuhaus, Nemer, Herrera and Dulzaides. Commissioner Herrera joined the meeting during Approval of Minutes, and Nemer joined the meeting during Agenda Item 2, Briefings, for a total of 10 commissioners in attendance. Commissioner Clinton was absent. Districts 4 and 10 are currently vacant. Commission Members Absent: Clinton Staff in Attendance: : Don Bland, Jason Garza, Belinda Hare PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS: GENERAL Virtual: In Person: Pat Valls-Trellis Dr. Ellen Jefferson Amber Rowland 1 AAC Meeting Minutes 2021-04-11 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Norton moved to approve the minutes from the Animal Advisory Commission Meeting, March 14, 2022. Commissioner Hassen seconded the motion which passed unanimously, 9 to 0, with all Commissioners in attendance at the time voting approval: Nazor, Smagula, Norton, Jarl, Dulzaides Mitchell, Hassen, Neuhaus and Herrera. 2. BRIEFINGS a. Austin Animal Center and Animal Services Reports b. COVID Update 3. OLD BUSINESS: Update, Discussion and Possible Action a. Monthly Reporting of Data No action. b. Working Group on Off-Leash Dogs Commissioner Norton presented a summary of the findings from the Working Group. Chair Nazor noted the dissolution of the Working Group/ c. Working Group on How to Increase Microchipping in the City of Austin d. Austin Pets Alive!’s Future at the Town Lake Animal Center and the Maintenance of No e. Transferring Austin Animal Center Animals to Other Communities No action. Kill No action. No action. 4. NEW BUSINESS: Discussion and Possible Action a. Election of Officers Commissioner Norton nominated Commissioner Nazor as Chair; Commissioner Hassen seconded. Commissioner Nazor nominated Commissioner Clinton for Vice Chair, and Commissioner Dulzaides seconded. Commissioner Nazor nominated Commissioner Hassen for Parliamentarian, and Commissioner Nemer seconded. A vote on the three nominees was taken with all Commissioners in attendance voting approval, 10 – 0: Nazor, Smagula, Norton, Hassen, Mitchell, Jarl, Neuhaus, Nemer, Herrera and Dulzaides. Commissioner Clinton was absent. Districts 4 …
