Animal Control director cites goals of ‘no-kill’ alternative
From July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019, the county’s Department of Animal Care and Control transferred 7,763 animals to low-intake animal shelters.
In support of Tuesday’s decision by county supervisors to pursue an alternative to the county’s no-kill policy, Marcia Mayeda, director of the county’s Department of Animal Care and Control, compiled a list of fundamental goals embraced by the new policy.
The fundamental goals of socially conscious animal sheltering are to:
▪ Ensure every unwanted or homeless pet has a safe place to go for shelter and care. DACC care centers will not turn away animals in need of assistance.
▪ Making every healthy and safe animal available for adoption. DACC will not offer for adoption animals that are irremediably suffering or dangerous to the community.
▪ Assess the medical and behavioral needs of homeless animals and ensure these needs are thoughtfully addressed. DACC, through its medical team and its animal behavior and enrichment team, provides a holistic approach to ensuring each animal’s needs are properly addressed.
▪ Align DACC policy with the needs of the community. DACC recognizes its responsibility to the public trust, and ensures its programs and policies reflect and support this obligation.
▪ Alleviate suffering and make appropriate euthanasia decisions. DACC often accepts animals that are irremediably suffering and cannot live without experiencing severe, unremitting pain or other serious health challenges. In these situations, it is most humane to relieve an animal’s suffering with compassionate euthanasia.
▪ Consider the health and wellness of animals for each community when transferring animals. DACC participates in many animal transport programs where animals are taken from DACC’s care centers to areas of the country that are experiencing a shortage of shelter animals.
▪ Enhance the human-animal bond through thoughtful placements and post-adoption support. DACC works with potential adopters to ensure animals they select are suitable matches for their lifestyles, the adopter is able to properly care for and handle the animal, and other factors to make certain the placement is successful.
▪ Foster a culture of transparency, ethical decision-making, mutual respect, continual learning and collaboration.