Meeting Gwinnett Animal Advisory Council

There will be a meeting of Gwinnett's Animal Advisory Council's at the Gwinnett Shelter this Thursday evening (October 16th) at 7:00 PM.

While it is unclear what the agenda of issues to be discussed there are early a number of animal welfare issues that need clarification. With the dramatic increases in dogs and cats being killed at the new Gwinnett's Animal Shelter the focus has shifted to the role the county's animal advisory council should have moving forward.

Commissioner Mike Beaudreau has recommended a dialog be opened with local animal advocates and pet owners on alternatives that would open up county animal welfare policies and solutions to those who feel disenfranchised in the process.

Proposals that are being raised which include replacing four council members up for reappointment, term limits on how long volunteers can serve on the AAC and a process of having each of the four elected commissioners nominate one dog owner and one cat owner to the council thus expanding the makeup of the AAC.

Changing the stagnation of ideas coming out of the current AAC is only the first process in turning the tide in our shared animal welfare policies. We must rebuild the current "bridge to nowhere" between the shelter and the local animal rescue community in order to accomplish our community goals.

This recent article in the Gwinnett Daily Post addresses many of the challenges the new shelter faces.

http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=50301&SectionID=23&SubSectionID=37&S=1

Just because you build a larger, newer shelter does not mean you'll have more adoptions - especially if you leave everything else the same. Comparing numbers from June of 2007 from the old shelter and June of 2008 in the new shelter adoptions are down by 20%. There is an even more dramatic reduction in the number of pets going to local rescue groups with those numbers down by close to 60%.

In June of 2007 there were 124 animals sent to rescue out of the old shelter on Hi Hope Road while that number dropped to 54 in June of 2008. While the problems associated with numbers of pets increasing in the new shelter makes finding solutions more tenuous the issue of a dramatic reduction in the number of pets going to rescue groups is more problematic. There is clear evidence that the rescue community feels not only disenfranchised in the process but fears the intimidation issues as well.

Despite repeated requests animal shelter reports for all of 2007 and the first three quarters of 2008 are not available through the county's web site.

A huge market for second hand pets has flourished when instead people are exposed to wonderful dogs and cats while shopping at local pet supply stores. Shelters finding their numbers of pets being killed increasing have turned instead to building solid working relationships with local rescue groups and by seeking out community volunteers to participate in off site adoptions.

Common sense dictates that pet owners/taxpayers are relied on to fund animal control and therefore should be entitled to help with oversight on county's animal policies. Taxpayers have the right to choose between funding "kill as you go" shelter policies as opposed to implementing cost saving no kill or low kill policies.

This would be a stark contrast to the current makeup of the council which is and has been controlled by special interests.

The last several years has been a turning point for many animal welfare programs seeking to find solutions to rising euthanasia rates when they discovered that pets sell themselves if you simply get them in front of people who are most likely to adopt. No matter how much you dress up any kill shelter there is still going to be the issue that many pet owners simply don't want to have to face the guilt associated with picking out the next family pet in that type of environment.

For shelters that partner with local pet supply stores opportunities are many. Throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area there are dozens of pet supply stores like Petsmart that have formalized adoption centers on weekends and catered the programs to meet the community's needs.

The advantage of marketing pets through rescue groups and pet supply stores also serves pet owners too. People adopting a fostered dog or fostered cat from a licensed rescue group have an abundant choice of pets who are more socialized, healthier and a better fit for their family. Many pet owners who would like to add a rescue pet as the next family pet are ill equipped for dealing with many of the issues that come with adopting straight out of a county kill shelter.

When you cut off that line of local discussion with pet owners and animal advocates as well you destroy all hope towards finding economical and compassionate solutions that no kill movements offer. To get to no-kill it involves developing the partnerships with rescue groups in the community AND with involving local volunteers as part of that solution.

True partnerships only flourish in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust not in one where condemnation and threats flourish instead. True partnerships grow through seeking out solutions rather then focusing on finding blame. A no-kill community learns how to harness the expertise of many of it's experts in those fields.

A true no-kill policy benefits all pets, mutts, pure breeds, cats by providing an example of responsible pet ownership. Responsible pet owners, responsible animal advocates and responsible shelter staff work as a team in helping to teach others the role they play in that no-kill community.

Over the next four years Gwinnett is in serious need of major changes in nor only our poorly written animal ordinances but more importantly how the county handles it's animal control issues. It is no longer acceptable to simply accept killing off excess dogs and cats as an acceptable solution financed by county funding. Revamping the animal advisory council in a manner that will encourage new ideas is a step in the right direction.

Please take the time to attend tomorrow evening's meeting and have your voice heard on these very important issues that serve all of our community's pets.