AGENDA
1) Call to Order
2) Roll Call-Determination of a quorum-In attendance were Deborah Stone Hess, Julianne Zimmer, Ann Gearhart, Lavinia Ringgold, and Jean Townsend, AND Jamie DeRita. Roy Plummer joined by phone.
3) Approval of minutes-Here are the minutes as approved:
Baltimore County Animal Services Advisory Commission Minutes
The fifteenth regular meeting of
the Baltimore County Animal Services Advisory Commission was held on Tuesday, November
15, 2016 in the Main Conference Room of the Drumcastle Government Center. The
meeting was called to order at 6:38 p.m.
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair, Deborah Stone-Hess, Jon Christiana,
Joy Freedman, Ann Gearhart, Michelle Guarino, Roy Plummer, Jean Townsend, VMD,
Janice Vincent and Julianne Zimmer.
MEMBERS ABSENT: Lavinia Ringgold
OTHERS PRESENT: None
I.
Reading and
Approval of the Minutes
Motion: To
approve the minutes of October 18, 2016, as presented.
Motion by: Ann Gearhart
Second by: Roy Plummer
Decision: Unanimous Approval
II.
New Business
New
Commission Member
The Chair
introduced Jon Christiana. Mr. Christiana owns an insurance company and is
familiar with insurance issues involving animals. He has been a Baltimore
County resident for thirty years.
Summary of
Liaison Committee Meeting
Baltimore County
Animal Services’ (BCAS) core volunteer program is experimenting with
Volgistics, a volunteer management software program. This software is more
complicated than expected. It has been able to calculate volunteer hours for
those utilizing it.
The volunteer
handbook is currently being updated. This is a long process. Volunteer
Coordinator, Heidi Griswold, now has between 80 and 100 volunteers that have
been oriented and trained on the volunteer list. BCAS is looking for volunteers
willing to interact more with potential adopters.
Saturday,
November 19th from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. is a mega adoption event at White
Marsh Mall – Adopt Till You Drop. The event is being held in the area formerly
known as Sports Authority and was temporarily a Halloween store. This event is
free to attend.
The Behavior
Enrichment Coordinator at BCAS, Will Webster, and the MD SPCA have been working
together to share techniques for dog and cat evaluations.
BCAS is working
on preparing for the opening of the west side spay/neuter clinic and starting
the Trap, Neuter, Release (TNR) program. Community Cats of MD used to be
involved with the Baltimore County TNR program, but when Baltimore County made
the decision to expand the TNR program, CCMD made the decision not to
participate. CCMD website states that they are looking for a location in
Baltimore County to operate from. The long range goal of the TNR program is to
reduce the amount cats in the shelter. At this time, BCAS will be running the
TNR program six days per week at no cost to the trapper of the cats brought in.
There will be no individual specialized veterinary care for these cats. These
feral/stray cats will receive sterilization, vaccination for rabies and
distemper, microchip, tip of the left ear to identify the cats as having been trapped,
neutered and released (TNR), flea treatment and vet exam.
Animal Control
Officers on call will be contacted via phone and email by 911 personnel in the
event that a citizen has found and confined a stray animal or in the event of
an eviction where a landlord puts renter’s things on the street and an animal
is present in the home. If the ACO on duty does not respond, 911 will contact
Gary Klunk and Dr. Jones. Some Commission members had asked whether police
would take an animal present in a home where there is a domestic dispute and
the people involved are jailed or leave the home. The answer is no. Animal Control
cannot go inside and remove an animal as long as the animal is safe in the
home. It is up to the animal owner/resident to make arrangements for the pet.
Animals will not be left in cars if someone is arrested while in their
vehicle.
Standard
Operating Procedures (SOPs) are completed, under review and have one more
review to go through afterward.
In reference to
photographs of strays, these photos are being taken by Animal Control Officers
in the field, not in the shelter. These are not professional photos. Better
photos are being taken once the stray is at the shelter with regular staff.
BCAS is working with the Animal Control Officers to improve the quality of the
photographs. Pictures of strays is something BCAS is not required to do and
other shelters don’t do it. Julianne to
contact Meredith Brown to possibly help with photographing tips for Animal
Control Officers.
Rescue email
blasts are no longer occurring. Targeted emails are more successful with the
rescues. Volunteers are putting out rescue posts on Facebook.
Baltimore County
is working with Foxy G, a horse rescue in Carroll County. These horses will be
housed in a facility with an arena in the area of the Baltimore County
Agricultural Resource Center and Farm Park (a.k.a. the Ag Center) in Hunt
Valley. These horses will be working with veterans who have post-traumatic
stress disorder. They will also have some feral cats on the property.
New Liaison
Committee Member
Julianne Zimmer
will be joining the Liaison Committee.
III.
Announcement
of Next Meeting Date and Location
The December
meeting has been canceled. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, January 17th at
Drumcastle Government Center, 6401 York Road, on the Second Floor in the
Executive Conference Room at 6:30 pm.
IV.
Adjournment
Meeting
adjourned at 7:41 p.m.
4) Commission Resignations and Appointments-Jamie De Rita is the Commission's newest member appointed by the County Executive to replace Leslie Kaminski who resigned from the Commission. In addition, Michelle Guarino has resigned and will need to be replaced by Councilman Tom Quirk.
5) Old Business
Recent Mega Adoption Event next mega event scheduled for June 10th, 2017 The Mega Adoption event at the White Marsh Mall was a HUGE success-181 animals were adopted in two hours. The next Mega Adoption event will be held June 10, 2017 at the Timonium Fairgrounds.
6) New Business
a) 4th Quarter Statistics-Great numbers from the shelter for the 4th quarter of 2016.
Here are the stats:
MARYLAND ANIMAL CONTROL SHELTER SURVEY / 1
(Boxes will expand as you enter text)
Name of Shelter/Facility: Baltimore County Animal Services
Address: 13800 Manor Road Baldwin, MD 21013
Name of Shelter Manager: Lauren Pavlik
EMAIL: lpavlik@baltimorecountymd.gov
Name of Person completing this survey: Gary Klunk
Name of Shelter Manager: Lauren Pavlik
EMAIL: lpavlik@baltimorecountymd.gov
Name of Person completing this survey: Gary Klunk
Phone: 410-887-7297
Activity for Reporting Quarter: October-December, 2016
DOGS CATS
DOGS CATS
|
A. Live Animal Count at Beginning of Qtr
|
62
|
187
|
|
LIVE INTAKE DURING QTR:
|
||
|
B. Stray/At Large
|
306
|
503
|
|
C. Relinquished by Owner
|
173
|
215
|
|
D. Owner Requested Euthanasia
|
30
|
30
|
|
E. Transferred in from another Agency
|
0
|
0
|
|
F. Other Live Intakes (impounds, births, animals
placed in foster care, brought in for TNR, etc)
|
0
|
98
|
|
G. TOTAL LIVE INTAKE DURING QTR (B+C+D+E+F)
|
509
|
846
|
DISPOSITION DURING QTR:
|
H. Adoption
|
160
|
377
|
|
I. Returned to Owner
|
136
|
32
|
|
J. Transferred to another Agency
|
156
|
220
|
|
K. Other Live Outcome (includes TNRs released)
|
0
|
177
|
|
L. Died/Lost in Care
|
0
|
11
|
|
M. Euthanasia- at Owner’s Request
|
28
|
23
|
|
N. Euthanasia-All other than owner request
|
47
|
152
|
|
O. TOTAL DISPOSITION DURING QTR
|
527
|
992
|
|
P. Live Animal Count at End of QTR (includes
Fosters). (A+G - O)
|
44
|
41
|
|
In order to better understand to what degree unowned cats are a source of intake and euthanasia,
we need your help. To the best of your abilities, please indicate what percent and/or how much of
CAT intake would you consider unowned (i.e. feral, or community cats) animals:
How many of the euthanized cats would you guess are unowned: |
||
1/Pursuant to section 2-1602(H) of the Agriculture Article which states: “Beginning January 14,2014, each county and municipal animal control shelter and each
organization that contracts with a county or municipality for animal control shall report quarterly to the Department on a form prescribed by the Department
describing for the previous 3 months: (1) The number of cats and dogs taken in; (2) The number of cats and dogs disposed of, broken down by method of disposal,
including euthanasia; and (3) Any other relevant data the Department requires.”Please return completed survey by email attachment to
mda.spayandneuter@maryland.gov or by mail to Maryland Department of Agriculture, Marketing Department (Spay and Neuter Program), 50 Harry S Truman
Parkway, Annapolis, MD 21401. Questions call Jane Mallory 410-481-5766 email: Jane.Mallory@maryland.gov .
4th
qtr. 2016 4th
qtr. 2015
Dog Intake: 509 412
Cat intake: 846 792
Dog Adoption: 160 154
Cat Adoption: 377 257
Dogs to rescue: 156 67
Cats to Rescue: 220 209
Dogs euthanized 47 60
(other than owner request)
Cats euthanized 152 341
STATS COMPARISON for each qtr. of 2016:
INTAKE
3RD QTR. 2016
2ND QTR. 2016
3rd QTR. 2015
523 dogs 446 dogs 447 dogs
953 cats 874 cats 838 cats
REDEEMED
3rd QTR. 2016 2ND QTR. 2016 3RD QTR. 2015
165 dogs 132 dogs 144 dogs
23
cats 21
cats 25 cats
TRANSFERRED TO OTHER AGENCY RESCUE
3rd
qtr. 2016 2nd
qtr. 2016 3rd
qtr. 2015
122
dogs 112 dogs 65 dogs
284
cats 438
cats 170 cats
EUTHANIZED (OTHER THAN BY OWNER REQUEST)
3RD
QTR. 2016 2ND QTR.
2016 3RD QTR. 2015
31
dogs 23
dogs 71 dogs
202
cats 96
cats 392 cats
SUMMARY OF LIAISON COMMITTEE
MEETING (JAN. 12, 2017)
1) VOLUNTEER PROGRAM-The volunteer program continues to
expand. There are currently 70 active volunteers at BCAS. This is something
that we, as a commission, have been wanting to see for some time. With the appointment
of Heidi Griswold, the program is going in many new directions. There have not only been many off-site
events, but also training events for volunteers and there are numerous classes
that are going to be offered as well, including a photography class and a
crochet class to make beds for cats in the shelter.
In addition, a professional videographer
is coming to film volunteers. The video will be featured on the Baltimore
County website and will be shown at future adoption events and it will be a
tool to promote the volunteer program and encourage potential volunteers to
join the volunteer team. The videographer will be interviewing volunteers about
their volunteer experience and also video them volunteering with the animals.
2) EQUESTRIAN CENTER- At our last meeting, we told you
the county is working with a group called Foxy G, which is a horse rescue
organization in Carroll County. Baltimore County had plans to build is a 9500
square foot facility with an arena and training classroom there. Foxy G would bring
in 10-12 rescue horses at a time to work with veterans who have PTSD. There
have been some hitches as there was an expectation of some state funding for
the project, but it looks like that is not going to happen. But it is expected
to go forward possibly without any state funding.
3) FINAL RESCUE PLEAS-What happens when an animal either
has a behavior issue or a health issue, is therefore available only for rescue
and not for adoption, no rescue comes forward, and cage space becomes critical?
Someone had asked whether an animal in this situation could be moved into an
available cage in the adoptable area to at least temporarily prevent the need
for euthanizing it. The answer is no.
And the reason appears to make good sense. Unfortunately animals with health
issues or behavior issues cannot be held indefinitely. BCAS is an open
admission shelter. And when an animal is not taken by a rescue and is not
adoptable to the public, difficult decisions sometimes must be made. All
animals in the adoptable area are those considered safe for walking and
available to be viewed by the public. Mixing in those with possible behavior
issues could lead to serious problems if someone accidentally takes the animal
out. That said, BCAS makes extra effort to keep the dogs as long as possible and
they gave us an example of one that was help up to two weeks past the final
plea.
4) WEST SIDE CLINIC-The clinic is open. There has been a
slower ramp up of people seeking its services than the East Side clinic had.
The county is working on spreading the word that the clinic is open. There was
recently a large flyer handout. The county has also reached out to community
associations in zip codes for which a state grant offers free services to
people in three zip codes in an effort to spread the word about this great
service.
5) TNR-The county performed 177 TNR’s in the last quarter
of the year. There have been some difficulties with the program as some
caretakers are caring for cats that are on other people’s property. When they
want to have the cats TNR’d, the county cannot legally go on someone’s property
without permission to trap the cats. They also need permission to bring the
cats back and sometimes these property owners don’t want them back. It’s going
to take some time to get all the wrinkles out. But the program is moving along.
6) COUNTY CODE CONCERNING DANGEROUS AND MENACING DOGS-The
county is moving forward with re-writing the county code dealing with dangerous
and menacing dogs. This is an issue of
semantics…and very often there’s little or no distinction between whether a dog
is categorized as menacing or dangerous. If it’s determined to be menacing,
there is just a $500 fine, and the county cannot take any other action to
prevent another incident. Once a dog is deemed dangerous, the county has
ability to seize the animal or take it to BCAS until the owner takes corrective
action.
The wording change would eliminate the
“menacing” category to give the county more ability to prevent aggressive dogs
from harming other dogs or people.
7) STATE BILL REQUIRING VETERINARIANS TO REPORT RABIES
VACCINATIONS-Baltimore County is hoping for passage of a bill that will be
introduced before the General Assembly. The bill would require veterinarians to
provide rabies vaccination data to their local jurisdiction. There were 4 incidents
of rabid cats in Baltimore County. BCAS wants to be able to know immediately if
an animal that comes into the shelter has been vaccinated and veterinarian
reporting is a way to accomplish that.
8) SOP’S-As you know, the county hired a technical writer
to rewrite the shelter’s standard operating procedures (SOP’s). The SOP’s have
been under review by lawyers and others within county government. Fred Homan
has asked members of the liaison committee if we would be willing to read them
as well and we have agreed to do that.
d) Opening of General Assembly-upcoming legislation-Statewide Oversight bill-The General Assembly has started its 2017 session with many animal welfare bills expected to be introduced. The ASPCA says its highest priority is on a bill that would create statewide oversight of all shelters in Maryland. if you would like to learn more about the current session and some of the bills that will be introduced, please read my blog, "OH! SNAP". It can be found at jmoreliving.com...click on blogs and scroll down to my blog.
e) How you can make a difference in legislation-Your voice matters. Check out my blog with the address above to learn how you can make a difference.
6) Announcement of next meeting location and time-Our next meeting will be held on Feb. 21, 2017 at the Drumcastle building at 6401 York Rd. on the third floor.
7) Adjournment
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