Ellen Jefferson, DVM Executive Director Austin Pets Alive

Transcription

1 Ellen Jeffersn Ellen Jeffersn, DVM Executive Directr Austin Pets Alive Had tried N Kill in Decreased euthanasia frm 85% t 50% 50% euthanasia rate was static since 2001 Massive Spay Neuter Effrts EmanciPET spay/neuter clinic: 16,000/yr Animal Trustees f Austin: 6,000/yr Austin Humane Sciety Feral Cat s/n: 1,000-5,000/yr Wellness Clinics Emancipet and ATA Free Micrchips One N Kill Shelter (AHS): 2,000 adptins per year 80+ rescue grups- unknwn # f adptins N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

2 Ellen Jeffersn Averaged 25,000 annual intake fr previus 7 years Live utcmes were static at ~10,000 per year, independent f intake Euthanasia fluctuated between 11,000 and 15,000 depending n intake numbers (50 t 55% f intake, and 14,000+ in 2007) N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

3 Ellen Jeffersn AVMA Study New hmes- estimated 75,000 hmes get a pet under 1 year f age per year 25% f new pets cme frm shelter/rescue lts f rm fr imprvement Peple lve animals Pet industry is bming 2008 saw $40,000,000,000 spent n U.S. pets up frm $17,000,000, years befre The City had grwn tremendusly but live utcmes had nt changed in 7 years. Nathan Wingrad 2-day cnference San Francisc in 1990 s Knew mre abut shelter peratins than I did in 1999 N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

4 Ellen Jeffersn It made sense t fcus wrk n Measurable Impacts Nt simply by measuring Inputs Spay/neuter desn t save the animals already at r entering the shelter. Martin Luther King Right thing t d Csts t much Can never raise the mney Irrespnsible If can t raise the mney, shuldn t d it T many animals & nt enugh hmes Spay/Neuter is the nly answer Shuld nt divert funds frm s/n Dn t dwell n the negativity N ne wants these animals because they are unadptable Yu are divisive, wrk with ther grups t develp lng term plan N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

5 Ellen Jeffersn Animal-welfare rganizatins City/shelter management Nt the Cmmunity* *Guess which ne we spent ur time and energy n? Is there anyne in the cmmunity wh culd and wuld step up t save these lives? Rescue grups, shelters, spay/neuter clinics N Kill Shelter vs. N Kill City Kill vs. Euthanize Can we just augment the shelters prgrams? Asked many times but we expected t big f change Statistics Knw the euthanasia statistics Hw many? What mnths? Why were animals dying in Austin? Species, Age Is there any inf abut reasns animals are euthanized at lcal shelter? What are we missing here? Are there any prgrams ut there in the wrld that address the reasns the same animals in ur cmmunity are being killed? N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

6 Ellen Jeffersn What will ur missin be? T make Austin a N Kill City Chse the Plan: Gain cnsensus fr lng term ambiguus plan Plitical cup d etat Save the lives urselves Recgnized need fr a new entity t save lives- US! Wh will US be? Austin Pets Alive What is ur main message? This is an urgent crisis and we need t start acting like we did when Hurricane Katrina came ACT NOW t save lives Hw will we meet ur missin? By fcusing ONLY n the animals wh wuld definitely die if we didn t intervene Hw d we identify them? Difficult because they are nt already dead. Wrk with TLAC t mark the animals wh have n mre pprtunities t be saved by ther means Wh will jin us? Met with Key Austin Stakehlders Asked fr supprt Didn t ask twice fr help Divide and Cnquer the Missin with Cmmittees/Teams Recruited key members where we culd Held Twn Hall Meeting t g ver plan and sign n vlunteer team members # f vlunteers is directly related t amunt f success Created Actin Items fr each team *Changed ver time Be Smart! Knw what yu need t have set up BEFORE yu start saving lives. Learn frm ur mistakes/successes s yu dn t have t wait t lng. It tk us abut 30 days t start saving lives. N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

7 Ellen Jeffersn Operatins Teams: Shelter Medical Adptin Cat & Dg Behavir Cat & Dg Behind the Scenes Teams: Lcatin Fundraising HR Finance Legal Marketing/Branding Htline (PASS) Website Rescue/Fster Crdinatin Vlunteer Crdinatin Develped clear rescue criteria t ensure measurable success We started by saving the lives that we knew peple wanted t adpt Then wrked twards the next lwest hanging fruit If this dg/cat gets mre marketing/training/ medicine she/he has a greater chance f meeting the right persn Lastly, wrking n hardest cases that have an apparent lack f hmes Recgnized need t emphasize adptins as much as rescue N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

8 Ellen Jeffersn Rescue Culd nly rescue what we culd get int permanent hmes Sense f urgency t save lives pervaded all peratins Set up daily schedule t evaluate animals fr pulling Decreased euthanasia by 9% in June-Sept 08 Adptin int Frever Hmes Exit Strategy - mst imprtant cncept in high vlume adptins Adpted 384 dgs between June and September 2008 N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

9 Ellen Jeffersn Psitive messaging Healthy, happy animals Cnsistency Message Hurs f peratins Lcatins GREAT custmer service 6 lcatins fr dgs 10 lcatins fr cats Rule f Thumb: Must be destinatin fr pet lvers Petsmart Shelter OR must have very high ft traffic s that a certain percent f passer-bys are pet lvers Mst f APA s sites are nt destinatin fr adptins but benefit frm ft traffic N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

10 Ellen Jeffersn 1. Catteries that will allw cats t make themselves at hme (decreases stress) 2. Adptin events 1. Cats cme frm fster s site must be easy t set up and easy t break dwn 2. Takes advantage f ther peple s marketing fr event and gives reasn t d yur wn marketing Set up utside right in frnt f stre/destinatin Increases space and # f dgs Allws peple entering r walking past stre t see yur dgs withut having t seek them ut Opens dr t cnversatin abut APA Lng enugh hurs f peratin t get peak traffic Shade Water N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

11 Ellen Jeffersn Prvides a prtal fr anyne, anywhere t see adptable dgs and cats Prvides nline cmmunicatin between ptential adpters and APA vlunteers Peple lk nline fr everything: Spuses, cars, vacatins, friends, AND pets Prvides expsure fr dgs and cats wh cannt g t ffsite adptins Immediate reactin- ften the first pet a persn meets will be the ne they bnd with Redirectin and fllwup is essential- if pet requested will nt wrk ut, redirect t anther Dn t lse them! Set expectatins- Adult dgs- expect t be ignred Small breed dgs- expect t be ignred Illnesses/issues- send inf if available Matchmaking- match desired characteristics with dgs and cats thrugh s t fsters/bis Channel t regular adptin prcess with cunselr N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

12 Ellen Jeffersn Fr scared dgs and cats wh dn t d well at sites Or fr pets that have a shrtened life span Set up cnsistent craigslist ads and bis n website PHOTOS are key Prfessinal are best Organized methd f screening applicatins, meet and greets, and cntract finalizatin Vlunteers pst animals wh are at TLAC and in danger f euthanasia t Craigslist, Facebk Increases marketing, awareness in cmmunity Vlunteers call surrenderers and explain that pet will likely nt make it, give chance fr adptin/reclaim Lng stay dgs g t Trail Adptin Site n Saturday and Sundays fr extra expsure Lngest stay mniker fr dgs builds up empathy in adpters N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

13 Ellen Jeffersn Key difference frm ther APA sites is that it is a destinatin fr adpters rather than passerbys Adptin effrts must be n Custmer Service each persn treated with all the bells and whistles Fster Only rescued animals that we had fster fr Fster turnver is key 23 fster hmes used per mnth by Sept 08 Medical Used lcal lw cst clinic fr spay/neuter/rabies Used veterinary crdinatrs t supply medicine all arund twn based n symptms Used lcal vet clinic fr extreme cases N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

14 Ellen Jeffersn Vlunteer Orientatins twice a mnth 20,000 vlunteer hurs June-Sept 2008 Yu are directly respnsible fr saving a life Marketing All marketing is arund saving livesurgent Average 2500 website hits per mnth 2008 Average 15 blg stries per mnth Fundraising $2,000/m mail in dnatins $1,900/m nline dnatins Defined here as less than 4 mnths ld Dying because f illness, injury, and age Parv Mange Ringwrm Diarrhea Brken bnes T yung APA made a gal t save all puppies in Nv 2008 and did it! N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

15 Ellen Jeffersn Disease treatment plans WHILE they are available fr adptin Essential t get them int hmes as fast as pssible Fster hmes Market at 6 weeks f age Emphasize imprtance f expsure while adrable Defined as less than 25 lbs at adult nrmal weight Dying because f behavir and sme medical Terrified in shelter envirnment Typically ne persn dgs and can be Lap Sharks Can be terrible patients N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

16 Ellen Jeffersn Hld and Release Evaluatin Technique Harness all scaredies!!! Fractures heal very easily with little interventin r lss f functin Sleepver adptin meetings Fster-until-adptin prgrams (nline advertising) Saved ver 1000 small breed dgs since 1/10 Made pact t save them all in 12/09 95% save rate verall N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

17 Ellen Jeffersn 3 categries f lwest hanging fruit: 1. bttle babies less than 4 weeks f age 1. Dying because they are t difficult t find fster and t care fr 2. gruel babies- 4-8 weeks f age 1. Dying because it takes t lng t get them t spay age 3. kittens 8-12 weeks f age 1. Dying because s many cme in all at nce If have ringwrm, they g t next level f difficulty t save Innvated bttle baby prgram t handle mass feedings Fster hmes Multiple adptin avenues (12 sites n weekends) Catteries Take yur kittens t wrk Special Pricing N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

18 Ellen Jeffersn Saved ver 2000 bttle babies Saved ver 1500 kittens 4-8 weeks f age Saved ver 1000 kittens 8-12 weeks f age Adult cats Multiple venues Habitats 200 cage capacity G thrugh fster first 97% save rate in 2011 Feral/Unscial cats Barn Placement Prgram Craigslist- screen One vlunteer places 30 per mnth N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

19 Ellen Jeffersn Hardest grup f shelter animals t save ~85% saved but there are still sme that culd be saved, trained, and adpted Need behavir prgram t get t true n kill Pit Bulls Hardest t evaluate in the shelter and t save Still saving >80% f them All ther breeds Same evaluatin prcess Obstacles Lack f fster hmes equipped and willing t handle them Need fr behavir training plan tailred t each dg Very difficult t prmte them in shelter setting Take 3-5 times lnger t get adpted Successes Luies Fresh Start Team- Apprved handlers Ttuch BBBS Since APA made the decisin t start saving lives: Live utcmes have increased by ver 9,000 per year in just 3 years Euthanasia has decreased by 45% due t APA s effrts The City f Austin annunced its N Kill Status in a public press cnference after a February euthanasia rate f nly 8%. January-September have all been at 90%+ save rate. N Kill is nw the City s missin. N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

20 Ellen Jeffersn September save rate fr dgs and cats: 94% FY2011 <2,000 euthanized APA is adpting ut- ~4200 in 2011 Animals in Fster at APA ~ at any time Active Vlunteers at APA ~>2,000 vlunteer hurs per week APA has expanded beynd TLAC t ther high kill shelters Wh wuld have thught we culd? Be flexible Things change cnstantly- whever can keep up wins Peple leave- it is nt an insult, keep ging Keep yur eye n the prize Lead and peple will fllw D gd wrk, tell peple abut it, ask fr help Dn t give up Embrace the chas N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,

21 Ellen Jeffersn They NEED yu t try! N Mre Hmeless Pets Natinal Cnference Octber 21-23,